Taser - Shop now
Buy new:
-10% $13.45
FREE delivery October 22 - 28
Ships from: Magnolia A Books
Sold by: Magnolia A Books
$13.45 with 10 percent savings
List Price: $14.95
FREE delivery October 22 - 28. Details
Or fastest delivery October 20 - 22. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.45 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.45
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Magnolia A Books
Magnolia A Books
Ships from
Magnolia A Books
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$9.09
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Nice clean copy with no highlighting or writing. We take pride in our accurate descriptions. Satisfaction Guaranteed. See less
FREE delivery Friday, October 17 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or Prime members get FREE delivery Monday, October 13. Order within 22 hrs 43 mins.
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$13.45 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$13.45
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Krik? Krak! Paperback – April 2, 1996

4.5 out of 5 stars 628 ratings

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$13.45","priceAmount":13.45,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"13","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"45","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"s28UGSkpGQ0p9hBv2pOe7uBrl6%2FfGUb%2FdyJZCKiy%2FGR%2FZSxmctFHy4VZkLcdQhZ1vML6BJpyYClewakE00qa7fqFQR6t2hTYPREEhhjR2PuXIyhzjTU%2FOCQKXfzWgwtgErcn8xI2y9wKGiRnlAuTo1cAK9fs7AgfPyAdZ%2BaFUPnPSomkZDo12WafvXO0i9QH","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$9.09","priceAmount":9.09,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"09","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"s28UGSkpGQ0p9hBv2pOe7uBrl6%2FfGUb%2FEd%2B%2BSVYdTQHh%2Fk2YdNiHwyWkGkCzYD81496qIvxWjeHSfJ6pNtvnX9PJf%2Bu1uUh7W4Itsi68LIHJeFOQ7yRoVUinADJvsyJoQT8Zg85k5ARlyxliScUPqT9gWNjGYaVA1KyL0rSPr51Qb%2FfpHHydZeq5uMIyBrri","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

When Haitians tell a story, they say "Krik?" and the eager listeners answer "Krak!" In Krik? Krak! In her second novel, Edwidge Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

This item: Krik? Krak!
$13.45
Get it Oct 22 - 28
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Magnolia A Books.
+
$8.20
Get it as soon as Thursday, Oct 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
$8.13
Get it as soon as Thursday, Oct 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

When Haitians tell a story, they say "Krik?" and the eager listeners answer "Krak!" In Krik? Krak! In her second novel, Edwidge Danticat establishes herself as the latest heir to that narrative tradition with nine stories that encompass both the cruelties and the high ideals of Haitian life. They tell of women who continue loving behind prison walls and in the face of unfathomable loss; of a people who resist the brutality of their rulers through the powers of imagination. The result is a collection that outrages, saddens, and transports the reader with its sheer beauty.

From the Back Cover

"Steeped in the myths and lore that sustained generations of Haitians, Krik? Krak! demonstrates the healing power of storytelling." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Virtually flawless. . . . If the news from Haiti is too painful to read, read this book instead and understand the place more deeply than you ever thought possible." --Washington Post Book World

"Spare, luminous stories that read like poems. . . . These. . . tales more than confirm the promise of her magical first novel. A silenced Haiti has once again found its literary voice." --Paule Marshall, author of Daughters

"The voices of Krik? Krak!. . . encapsulate whole lifetimes of experience. Harsh, passionate, lyrical." --Seattle Times

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 2, 1996
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ Reprint
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 067976657X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0679766575
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.9 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.18 x 0.61 x 7.99 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #1,920,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 628 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Edwidge Danticat
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Edwidge Danticat was born in Haiti in 1969 and came to the United States when she was twelve years old. She graduated from Barnard College and received an M.F.A. from Brown University. She made an auspicious debut with her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, and followed it with the story collection Krik? Krak!, whose National Book Award nomination made Danticat the youngest nominee ever. She lives in New York.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
628 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book captivating and easy to read, with interconnected stories about Haiti's history. The writing style receives positive feedback, and customers appreciate its depth, with one review noting how it provides insight into complex historical events. Customers describe the book as beautiful and interesting, with one review highlighting its ability to evoke both sadness and joy. Customers value its educational value, with one mentioning how it helps readers understand Haiti's cultural behavior.

24 customers mention "Readability"20 positive4 negative

Customers find the book captivating and easy to read, with one mentioning it's suitable for classroom use.

"This is a beautifully written, totally engrossing, and emotionally challenging series of short stories...." Read more

"It was a great read. Allows you to understand unknown struggles that are overlooked." Read more

"Good read" Read more

"...But it was an amazing read I will definitely read it again!" Read more

23 customers mention "Story quality"21 positive2 negative

Customers praise the book's interconnected short stories, with one review highlighting its nine narratives about Haitian history.

"Really good short stories that combine together at the end with the characters names. Will want you to keep reading more ...." Read more

"A rich tapestry of human sorrow, hope and survival...." Read more

"A great collection of short stories...." Read more

"Amazing book filled with great short stories, great author and a must read." Read more

14 customers mention "Writing style"14 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the author, with one describing it as a work of art painted with words.

"I enjoyed my copy of Krik? Kral! It was beautifully written Loved reading it and could not put it down until it was completely read. Thank you." Read more

"...As I was reading this book, a well-written book, I got introduced to different feelings and emotions. The author takes her time in Krik? Krak!..." Read more

"Amazing book filled with great short stories, great author and a must read." Read more

"Edwidge Dandicat is a superb writer, and these stories are no exception...." Read more

11 customers mention "Depth"10 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the depth of the book, with one customer noting how it provides insight into complex historical events.

"...short stories on the suffering souls of Haiti – beautiful, painful, instructive...." Read more

"College book that has more depth than any of the Kardashians." Read more

"A great collection of short stories. They are deep, interesting and have great cultural values from a society that U.S doesnt usually hear about or..." Read more

"...With grit and insight, Dandicat describes people caught in the strange web of everyday life, struggling to free themselves or just to survive, both..." Read more

6 customers mention "Interest"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting, with one review noting its wide-ranging experiences and another describing it as mind-boggling in its savageness.

"A great collection of short stories. They are deep, interesting and have great cultural values from a society that U.S doesnt usually hear about or..." Read more

"Some literary value, but mostly interesting for its glimpse into a very foreign cultural experience." Read more

"...amid the violence of the Duvalier regime, shocking and mind-boggling in its savageness. Not for the faint-hearted but the curious will be rewarded." Read more

"...kaleidoscope of moments from the female Haitian diaspora, wide ranging in the experiences, backgrounds and identities it represents...." Read more

6 customers mention "Literacy"6 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's educational value, with one mentioning it helps readers understand Haiti's cultural behavior, while another notes it leaves them better educated.

"It was moldy and smelly, but needed for a class and served its purpose" Read more

"A book like this is perfect for girls like me who are of Haitian descent & yearn for knowledge of their parents home after being told "Haiti is too..." Read more

"...I really enjoyed it. With her short stories, Edwidge helped her readers to travel back in time...." Read more

"...This book has influenced my own literary practice. Its definitely a must read." Read more

5 customers mention "Beauty"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book beautiful.

"...A voyage of short stories on the suffering souls of Haiti – beautiful, painful, instructive...." Read more

"...Her work is a beautiful tapestry of the Haitian struggle during the dictatorship, infused with magical realism and a mythical feel...." Read more

"beautiful book..." Read more

"Hauntingly beautiful..." Read more

5 customers mention "Emotional depth"4 positive1 negative

Customers appreciate the emotional depth of the book, with one noting how it evokes both sadness and joy, while another describes it as heartwrenching.

"Heartbreaking and vivid, captured a lot of the spirit i saw when I was in haiti. One of my favorite books." Read more

"...was reading this book, a well-written book, I got introduced to different feelings and emotions. The author takes her time in Krik? Krak!..." Read more

"...I could not resist, literally a one day read. Had me get a little emotional, shield tears of sadness and tears of joy...." Read more

"I bought this book for a class. It is very sad, I didn't like it." Read more

Amazing Read
5 out of 5 stars
Amazing Read
The book was so captivating! I could not resist, literally a one day read. Had me get a little emotional, shield tears of sadness and tears of joy. Made me miss Haiti and all tales that the elders had shared.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2019
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    What a collection of stories. A kaleidoscope of moments from the female Haitian diaspora, wide ranging in the experiences, backgrounds and identities it represents.
    Most stand out atm: a wall of fire rising...
    hot air balloons & the lines between *hope*, which is a just-delicate enough bit of faith, a spark, a kindle of light, to keep us going, and *despair*, the complete and utter loss of that hope, that spark, that match, which ironically engulfs us and overwhelms us and drowns us in blazes and ash if we were to give in. And yet, there's freedom in that absence.

    Also, krik? krak! Derived from call and response, an essential aspect of african storytelling and oral traditions that survived to this day, despite the centuries and journies of slavery, colonization, sufferation and attempted annihilation of the black voice. The title, like the stories, for me, represents a triumphant testament to the endurance and perseverance of these voices.
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Krik? Krak! is the second full-length volume from award-winning Haitian-American author, Edwidge Danticat. Born in Haiti in 1969, Danticat immigrated to Brooklyn, New York from Haiti to join her parents, when she was twelve years old. Having never been taught to write in her native Haitian Creole and not fluent enough in French to write in that language, Danticat writes in English. Published at fourteen, she earned a degree in French Literature from Barnard College and completed an MFA at Brown University. Danticat’s writing juxtaposes the beauty and flavor of Haiti with the poverty and brutality suffered by those living under the Duvalier regime, and shows how both the rich culture and crippling fear follow those who manage to immigrate to the United States.
    Like her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, the stories in Krik? Krak! center around the experiences of Haitian women, both in New York and still in Haiti. However, while Breath, Eyes, Memory follows Sophie from her childhood in Haiti where she lived with her Tante Atie to the death of her mother, years later, in New York and her burial back in Haiti, Krik? Krak! relates the stories of a variety of Haitian, and Haitian American women.
    The first story in Krik? Krak!, “Children of the Sea,” alternates between the journals of two lovers separated by the political upheaval which characterizes life in Haiti. The unnamed teens, one in a leaky boat full of refugees fleeing a Macoute death sentence, the other, still in Port-au-Prince unwittingly protected by her father’s bribes, both realize, but deny, their personal peril. One of the so-called Radio Six rebels, the refugee keeps a journal relating the group’s desperate flight across the Sea in the forlorn hope of reaching America. As he records the death of the infant born and buried at sea along with its distraught mother, his young lover still in Haiti records the reprisals perpetrated upon those left behind. Her description of of Madan Rogers walking all over Port-au-Prince carrying her dead son’s head—the only part of him returned to her after his death at the hands of the army—is as poignant as her final realization of the sacrifices made by her parents to secure her safety after her involvement with the dissidents.
    In “Epilogue: Women Like Us,” Danticat connects all the “nine hundred and ninety-nine women . . . boiling in your blood” and reiterates the danger to women inherent in writing because in “our world, writers are tortured and killed if they are men. Called lying whores, then raped and killed if they are women.” Writing, to the women of Haiti who worked so hard to make a better life for their daughters, is a useless, as well as dangerous, occupation.
    Each of the stories between explores another facet of the lives, hopes, dreams, and realities of women in and from Haiti. Edwidge Danticat, herself one of those women, arrived in the United States right on time to join a vibrant community of black female authors determined to speak to and for those women of color whose voices had seldom previously been heard.
    7 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2016
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I got introduced to Edwidge Danticat in my English Literature class. The book is divided into nine stories (and an epilogue) and each, somehow connect to one another. As I was reading this book, a well-written book, I got introduced to different feelings and emotions. The author takes her time in Krik? Krak! introducing each character and describing each situation. If you love reading, you love being introduced to new plot stories, and want to feel what pain, suffering, and loss felt like - I highly suggest you read this book! It's an awesome read, you won't regret it!
    6 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Krik? Krak! By Edwidge Danticat

    A voyage of short stories on the suffering souls of Haiti – beautiful, painful, instructive. Edwidge Danticat’s voice, voices, sing and lead us to her land, her lands – Haiti and the US – and fill us with the emotions and realities of a people living through troubled times. It is a must read for anyone who seeks a window into Haiti. It is a must read for those who seek the rich and profound melody of the Haitian voices.

    Edwidge Danticat is a magician with words, a poet-philosopher-mystic-sociologist-psychologist writing short stories. Here are three quotes I loved:

    Their feet sounded as though they were playing a wet wind instrument as they slipped in and out of the puddles between the shacks in the shantytown.

    They slip phrases into their stew and wrap meaning around their pork before frying it. They make narrative dumplings…

    When the tree is dead, ghosts eat the leaves.

    Read it and take the time to enjoy the language, the images, the voices of a culturally rich nation. But beware, Edwidge Danticat shares the pain of her people with the readers, and that pain is deep.

    For writers looking for tools of the craft – seek out rich and diverse and convincing voices of her characters, the power of telling the unforgiving truth of reality, and the depth given by threading cultural heritage into a work.
    14 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2017
    This is a beautifully written, totally engrossing, and emotionally challenging series of short stories. Danticat skillfully evokes the complexities of cultural memory and identity, illustrating the simultaneity of violence and resilience, loss and hope, pain and imagination. Although you could read each story out of order and still understand what is going on, picking and choosing which ones you are drawn to most, it really should be read front to back. Each story references others and the characters are importantly connected -- it's almost like each story adds a new layer to the previous.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2023
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    A book like this is perfect for girls like me who are of Haitian descent & yearn for knowledge of their parents home after being told "Haiti is too dangerous to visit now". I loved every page! I loved how each story connected to the previous one. I will buy more books.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
  • Norma
    5.0 out of 5 stars Krik Krak
    Reviewed in Canada on December 14, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it to all the avid readers.
  • schazzie
    5.0 out of 5 stars 読み終えるまで本を閉じられない
    Reviewed in Japan on June 14, 2003
    それぞれ独立した短編ではあるが、どこかで繋がりがある。ハイチの歴史を考え合わせながら読むと、何か胸がしめつけられるような気もする。血塗られた恐ろしい現実と、死者とも会話するアフリカの不思議な伝承文化がミックスされ、時にはファンタジーのようでもあり、時には逃れようのない真実であったりする。家族の絆、祖先との繋がりを大事にする彼らの温かく心優しい一面と、それらを断ち切る無残な社会とのコントラストが哀しい。
    すべての物語に、ドキっとさせられる部分があって、一気に読んでしまった。カリブの暑く湿った空気を感じながら、ダンティカの不思議な世界に引き込まれ、読み終わるまで本を閉じられなかった。
    Report
  • Daniel Karczewski
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 19, 2017
    Arrived as described.
  • aarti mahajan
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting stories yo learn about rough history of haigi
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This book helps you in understand all the pain Haitian has gone through over time. All the stories are nicely written n keep the reader engaging.