AYITI ROXANE GAY AMAZON SKIN
The Haitians who move to America face issues like unemployment and bullying due to skin colour, accent or any other seemingly unimportant reason. This was a topic she developed further in another of her novels, An Untamed State. Stories dedicated to these issues offer insight into life in Haiti, where kidnappings and rape are a part of life. Crime and poverty are ripe so is illegal immigration to Miami.
It is rich in culture and natural beauty but it the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti, as Gay,describes is a “land of contradictions”. She has a scathing and honest insight into experiences that are sometimes routine but sometimes very specific to Haitian diaspora. Gay once again traces back her Haitian roots and beautifully incorporates the experience of her American upbringing in her stories from the perspective of a Haitian immigrant. I know I’m making it sound awful, but I like to judge a book by how deeply it can make me feel, and this book went deep.Īyiti is a collection of Gay’s short stories which have been republished recently. There is violence, sadness and an undercurrent of sorrow throughout the book, with just glimpses of happiness.
Parts of the book made me feel uncomfortable and guilty that I’ve never had to live a life such as theirs, but that’s the beauty of this book and the writing that so perfectly and easily transported me into these people’s lives, with their fears and desires laid so bare. Some stories are 1 page, others are maybe 20, and each is such a different character and unique perspective. Haiti has obviously been through a lot, including war and poverty, and this book tells a whole bunch of short stories from different Haitian perspectives, to give the reader a feel for the country and its inhabitants, descendants and immigrants. I knew nothing much of Haiti before reading this, but now it’s like I have a palpable feeling for it. It’s a collection of short stories all relating to Haiti, which is where Roxane’s ancestry lies. And, the verdict is in… I loved Ayiti SO MUCH. And since Hunger was non-fiction, I was really curious to see if I’d love her fiction just as much. So, after reading Roxane Gay’s book Hunger, and LOVING it, I couldn’t wait to read another one of her works.