A Journey Back Home

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5.0

𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: The first thing that drew me to 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 was the cover. Though the colors were bright and beautiful and alluring, the young woman on the cover captivated my attention and really drew me in. Looking into her eyes, I knew she had a story to tell. Behind those eyes were secrets, pain, agony, and sadness. I knew from the cover alone that I needed to read this book and I am so happy I did.

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 tells the story of young Lucille. When we first meet her, she is living in the country side in L'Artibonite, Haiti. It is 1935 and the US occupies Haiti. At 16, Lucille has a lot of hopes and dreams but life has other plans. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 follows Lucille as she is forced to leave the only home she has ever known to go to Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. There, Lucille meets an array of characters that change her perspectives and shape her future. There, she finds love and purpose.

I really enjoyed reading this book. As someone who left my country, Haiti, and all that I knew and loved about it, I felt seen reading this book. This is my culture, my first love. I miss my country so much and long for the day that I can return, but in reading this book, I felt transported back home. The places, the food, the people, the language. Wow! Just wow!

One of the things I enjoyed most about 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 was that it featured my mother tongue--Haitian Creole. There were so many proverbs included in the story that I was taught by my grandparents growing up, and just hearing them and reading them again, brought tears to my eyes because my grandparents are no longer here. I cannot put in words how much this book truly meant to me.

Pinede's writing style/structure was perfect for the story. I think that writing 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 as a verse novel really helped in shaping the story and made it a very quick read with great pacing. There were no dull moments or empty spaces. Every chapter, every verse, every line, every word, had meaning and importance. This narrative style was unexpected but quite enjoyable.

The world building in this book was also really good. Like I stated above, this book brought me back home. Not only did I love the cultural references but I loved the historical nature of the book. I felt like I was back in 1935, during the American occupation of Haiti. The way that the author discussed and explored classism, colorism, the religious complexity (voodism vs. catholicism) and the intricacies of preserving the Haitian culture and identity as it relates to the language war (French vs. Haitian Creole) was very well done in this book. These are things that we as a country have been grappling with for years and its great to see where we have come from and how far we have progressed since the 1930s.

The characters in 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒖 𝑺𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 were phenomenal. I just loved Lucille. Growing up in poverty, without a mom, and coming of age in a time where your country is in a state of disarray, can be quite challenging. But I just loved how Lucille always tried to have a positive outlook in life. Though a little naive at the start of the book, she grew into herself by the end of the story. I loved how she never played small. Her inquisitive nature made her such a great character. I loved her creativity when it came to her carvings, her entrepreneurship, even at such a young age, (selling her stuff at the market), her loving nature (never giving up on her search for Fifina, her romance with Oreste). She was a dynamic character that was very well written. As someone who loves Zora Neale Hurston and her writing, her inclusion in this story was such a bonus. I think Zora was a pivotal part of Lucille's entrance into adulthood/womanhood and I really enjoyed their scenes together.

Overall, this was a great book that I would highly recommend! Though this was my first Nadine Pinede book, it will not be my last!

𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐: I read and listened in tandem. Doing this enhanced my reading experience. 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆-𝑭𝒓𝒂𝒏ç𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒓𝒆 did a really great job narrating this book and bringing the characters to life.

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