Customer Reviews

Paroles et Lumieres-Where Light Speaks: Haiti (English and French Edition)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Where Light Speaks glows with the beauty and riches of Haiti and its people. This collection of photographs vividly protrays the colors of Haiti in a celebration of natural beauty and everyday sights. Most of all, this book captures the dignity, warmth and joy of Haiti's people. This book invites the reader to see Haiti with attentive eyes; each photo offers a rich display of color, light and detail. The texts in French, Creole and English that accompany the photographs encourage reflection and participation in the images. Great care has been taken to allow the unique voice of each language to reflect carefully and lovingly on the scenes pictured. Those who love Haiti know that the prevalent images of poverty offered by the newsmedia tell only a small part of Haiti's story. This book offers a new lens and a positive viewpoint that encourage people to see Haiti in all its beauty and brightness.

I am the adoptive mom of a little Haitian girl. The other night we went to a church to hear a missionary speak about Haiti, and this gorgeous book was on the missionary's display table as a way of showing Americans the beauty of the people in that desperate land. Though we have plenty of photographs ourselves from my husband's trip there in 1997 (to finalize the adoption and bring our daughter home) we were deeply moved by the professional photography in this book. It shows the poverty, yes, but it also shows beauty and community, the natural splendor of the land and the warmth of a people so ravished by the cruelty of their government, but still able to smile. This is a book of hope, and a book of brilliant color, and a book which shows the strength of the Haitian people. Each gorgeous photo has an accompanying poetic verse in Creole and in English. A truly lovely book....

The photos and text of this book are truly amazing. As soon as I opened the book, it was as if I were back in Haiti once again. Smelling the smells, hearing the sounds, seeing the sights.

A wonderful gift for someone who has been to Haiti and was touched by the beauty and simplicity of a country so close to the U.S. in proximity and so far away in reality.

I lived in Haiti for 18 years and I must say that this book does a wonderful job of portraying Haiti. If you've ever traveled to Haiti or lived there, this book will bring back fond memories. If you've never been to Haiti, you might find yourself longing to visit. This book will help you see why so many people who visit Haiti end up falling in love with it despite the fact that it's one of the poorest, most destitute countries in the world.

This book provides powerful, beautiful photography, sensitive narrative, and original poetry. It respects the country, its culture and its language. It has a depth not expected in "table top" books. It is the number one book on my gift list this year! (not found in most book stores). Wonderful -

I love this book because it is so positive and shows the beauty of the people and places of Haiti. The combination of photography and poetry is striking and really draws you in. Every time I open it, it's like being back in Haiti again. Best of all, the proceeds go to International Child Care, a non-profit health development organization that is working to help children and families in Haiti live better lives. What more could you want from a coffee table book?

I lived in Haiti for 2 years, and have gone back numerous times since. This is a book that makes me nostalgic in a way i can't explain. Bits of French, Creole, and English, most saying slightly different things. It's a great book.

As another reviewer said, nice effort, for a nice cause - that's why I gave it the 3 stars.

If I were rating on how well it represents all of Haiti, including the city, and if it were NOT going for a good cause, I would give it less.

I was hoping to get a book representative of what *I* have seen of Haiti: THE CITY. This book is just for the country. I think it has maybe 1 or 2 pics of the city. They should have stated that in the description.

What I saw of Haiti, and what I remember, is The City, and The Market: THRONGS of people, hustle and bustle. People wearing brightly colored clothes, brightly colored buildings, and most important, those incredibly painted TAP-TAP BUSSES!!

But this book didn't have Any of that, maybe one or two pictures! Also, the pictures were mostly of scenery, and not enough PEOPLE. There were many nice pics of sunsets and amber waves of grain fields, etc. Very artsy. Perhaps very representative of the Haitian countryside?, I don't know, I didn't spend any time in the countryside.

As long as you understand this book is for the country pics and not the city, that's fine.

If you're specifically hoping to find books of the pre-quake City Life of Haiti, unfortunately this book doesn't cover that.

I returned the book for a refund, and once Amazon deposited the money back in my account ($20 for book cost minus shipping they deducted), donated $20 to the "Haiti Relief and Development" fund, as they are currently calling it, of the Red Cross. Its easy to donate online, the menus are very straightforward, and easy to specifically choose Haiti as the recipient.

I hope someday, that pre-earthquake photos of the vibrant CITY LIFE of Haiti will be collected into a picture book! For now, I just go to YouTube, search on Haiti Tour or something similar, and some visitors have shot video of driving through the city, with that desperately poor, yet Magnificent, beauty of the brightly-painted old buildings, people, and busses that could only be found in Haiti before the quake - THAT's WHAT I WISH FOR in a coffee table book!