Customer Reviews

Love, Anger, Madness: A Haitian Trilogy (Modern Library)

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As soon as I read the first few pages in the "look inside this book" feature, I knew I have to read this book. Her narration is so lyrical, the characters so well developed that it was a treat reading these three short novels. I felt as I was there with the characters. With just a few brushtrokes, the author creates an engaging and vivid tale that is hard to put down.


Before reading this book, I knew little to nothing about the bloody history of Haiti, that is the backdrop to each of the stories. I really recommend this book. I don't usually write reviews, but since I noticed only a few people have done so, I thought I would do my part in introducing you to this gem of a book.

This is a great book on the Haiti during the 1950's. the author writes very well and describes each of her characters in detail, such that you get to hear what each is saying or not and what they are thinking. She describes a country under a demonic police force and the Hatian cast system and the self destructive revenge each character has toward others.

What do you picture when you think of Haiti? Do you see an island ravaged by an earthquake, littered with tent cities? Do you hear the cries of people wading in the flooded streets, suffering from cholera? For many people this is all they know of Haiti, and this knowledge is only a result of recent media attention. These are only the contemporary struggles of a country that has a past of violence and oppression. In Marie Vieux-Chauvet's novella Anger, we are presented with an honest depiction of Haiti during the reign of Duvalier. The military occupation, and oppression result in corrupt and unbearable environment where anyone who opposes the government is treated with zero-tolerance, and the government is held accountable for nothing.
The story is set during the post World War I period of American occupation, however, parallels can be drawn to the exceedingly violent and oppressive period of time when Duvalier was in power. The black shirts for instance bear a resemblance to the Tonton Macoutes. There is the same communal fear in Anger of the black shirts ruthless policies on resistance. The similarities were so great that Vieux-Chauvet could not widely publish her book, and had to flee the country. The triptych Love, Anger, Madness was published in English for the first time in 2009 over sixty years after it was originally written.
Anger tells the story of the Normil family, an average middle class family whose livelihood is destroyed when the black shirts seize their land. Each member of the family individually strives to fight the black shirts, which results in a demoralizing struggle that leads each of them to ruin. The novella is saturated with emotion and each character's struggle against the system is fueled by their rage. They are helpless against the system so collectively they fail, and ultimately relinquish their integrity as a result. Anger is a story of complete loss of character, soul, and life because of military violence and oppression.
Vieux-Chauvet does an incredible job of conveying the dehumanizing and demoralizing effects that military presence had on the people of Haiti. She depicts brutal violence, and oppression in a tragic but compelling way. She presents this theme of destruction through military violence simply as it is. She doesn't sugarcoat any of the horrors that Rose endures, and she genuinely depicts the grueling effects of the Gorilla's abuse. She never has to bluntly state her points, but rather the reader sees the atrocity of the military occupation as a result of her frank depictions
This military corruption, violence, and oppression are still present in society today. Countries like Uruguay, Libya, or Syria just to name a few. People still live in environments where their human rights are violated and they live in fear of their oppressive government. Even though we are not aware of these injustices they occur, and by doing nothing we allow the oppressive governments to terrorize their people. In the 1960's not many people in the United States knew the conditions of Haiti, so Vieux-Chauvet wrote Love, Anger, Madness to raise awareness of the deplorable state that Haiti was in. Although her message was suppressed in 1968, her voice can now be heard loud and clear. The oppression and violence that comes with a strong military presence is devastating to the soul of individuals and their culture. These governments exist, and enraged people struggle against them every day.
Anger is ruthlessly critical of the brutal Haitian society, it intimately deals with the emotional struggles that Haitian military presence brought upon the people and culture. At times it is difficult to read because of the potent emotional reactions the injustices that occur, this is why the novella is effective in spreading Vieux-Chauvet's message.

Books were in GREAT condition, just one had a little highlighting but nothing to bother much about, but one was in MINT condition. Actually wondered if the person read the book.... lol... would do it again. Cheers

What I find most compelling about Marie Vieux-Chauvet's work is her lucid, relentless and fearless search for an explanation of the Haitian predicament. Rather than merely pointing the finger at the Duvalierist regime, which is certainly not guiltless, she valiantly takes a look at social class distinctions hidden behind the issues of color and religion. Ultimately, through her unforgiving lens, we come to see true evil incarnated in a society that, in view of its celebrated origins, should have known solidarity and compassion.