Monday, 6 September 2021

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

by Katie,

Ms. Danticat is hailed as a novelist “who evokes the wonder, terror, and heartache of her native Haiti…” Goodreads says she will give us “vibrant imagery and narrative grace” in her work. 

Our story is about 12-year-old Sophie who is sent from the only home, country, and people she’s ever known to a new country and to a mother she doesn’t remember.  Our story travels between Haiti and the United States as Sophie uncovers truths about her family and what it means to be strong.  From what I have read looking for questions for our novel, our novel will involve a sexual trauma within this family’s history.  Going forward we may want to think about the following questions (which I borrowed from Readinggroupguids.com). 

Atie says to Sophie, "Your mother and I, when we were children we had no control over anything. Not even this body" (p. 20). How does this knowledge help Sophie shape her life? 

In what ways does Sophie take control of her own life as her mother and aunt never were able to? 

Breath, Eyes, Memory is primarily a story of the relationships between women: mothers, daughters, grandmothers, sisters. But there are two significant male characters in the novel, Joseph and Marc. 

Does Danticat depict Joseph and Marc as full, rounded-out characters, or do we see them only through Sophie's slanted point of view? 

How does Sophie express her ambivalent feelings about both of them? 

Why is she so angry with Marc after her mother's death? 

Do you feel that her anger is justified? 

Is it possible that Sophie's aloofness from both these men stems from her upbringing in an almost exclusively female world, where "men were as mysterious to me as white people" (p. 67)?

Do you believe that the three women in the sexual phobia group have comparable problems? 

Is the word "abuse" equally appropriate in each of their cases? 

How effective is their joint attempt to free themselves from their past? 

Is Buki's wrecked balloon a pessimistic symbol? 

Do you believe that the therapist's psychological tools are adequate to deal with the complex, culturally rooted problems of Sophie and Buki?

Despite the intense subject matter, I hope we find this book moving and insightful.  I look forward to hearing from you. 

3 comments:


  1. Hi Katie,

    Thanks Katie for choosing this story. I found it very interesting and learnt a lot about the role and treatment of women in Haitian culture.

    Ms Danticat wrote this when she was 25 years old and I felt her youthful voice throughout [this isn’t a criticism].
    The story is so complex with so much depth and background, yet told so simply. It almost feels like a memoir and only someone whose lived this experience could write with such authority at such a young age. It feels lyrical as well as brutal and a moving portrait of how trauma shapes lives.

    I enjoyed this so much I have begun reading her 2019 book of short stories called Everything Inside, it is also really good and reminds me of Interpreter of Maladies. Ms Danticats range and voice has gotten more mature and even better.

    I have been reading a few different stories recently about diverse women lately. Girl Woman Other by Bernadine Evaristo about Nigerian/British women and The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See which is about the women divers of Jeju Island and their matriarchal society and now Breath, Eyes, Memory which rounds out an insightful trio of stories of the challenges facing women of racism, sexism, anti feminism, male and cultural abuse.

    It has been a very valuable learning experience, pretty heavy though and I’m looking forward to next months novel for some distracting gratuitous murder and torture.
    There are lots of subjects to discuss in this novel although I feel in no way educated or qualified enough to really make comment, I have chosen three of our questions to attempt to answer.

    Aties statement about her and Martine having no control over their life and their bodies as children is such a sad comment. Her seeming acceptance of how things are is a generational, cultural, economic and sadly female mindset. I imagine in Haiti choices are few. Sophie maturing in America was still subjected to the same abuse but has access to help and a diversity of people to say that it is not OK. So, I feel simply her choices are so much better and more available to improve her and Brigette’s life.

    As I’ve said previously this story almost feels like a memoir and written from Sophie’s viewpoint, so I do feel the characters of Joseph and Marc where on a need to know basis. There was no indication that these characters were in any way unsupportive or abusive yet Sophie seemed to that them with lack of consideration and distain.

    The women in the phobia group were so diverse and their problems so different, yet the common thread is this ritualistic abuse perpetrated under the guise of cultural or religious reasons generally by other women. Definitely abusive situations linked them all together .

    I hope you and the family are well, we are all OK, still experiencing lockdowns and restrictions so that’s a bit of a drag. Fingers crossed we can all be together for Christmas!
    Love Nancy

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  2. Hi Nancy!
    How are you doing? I am loving all your beautiful nature pictures. I hope you are enjoying all that wonderful hiking and outdoor splendor! The kids are back to school now. Lillian is loving it. Benjamin is tolerating it because there hasn’t been any homework yet.

    This month’s book was short and quick to read. I felt so much heart break for our female characters and the suffering they went through. I wonder if Martine would have stayed in Haiti if she hadn’t been raped at 16. Was the violence the only reason for Martine fleeing her home? More disturbing was Martine’s inability to ever come to terms with her assault. Based upon this novel, the Haitian culture seems to have a negative view in how to deal with sexual violence.

    My colleague from Jamaica has noted the difference between how Americans deal with sexual trauma versus island cultures. In Jamaica, they feel it is better not to talk about sexual violence which seems to be similar to the Haitian culture (as presented in this book). Whereas in America, we’re big on facing the past to heal the future. Our culture, particularly in today’s time, promotes therapy and openness to promote healing. What would you say is the Australian view regarding sexual violence? Would you say Australian culture promotes hiding it away, like the Haitians, or facing it head-on, like Americans?

    While Sophie traveled to the US as she was told to, I would say Sophie used the knowledge from Atie to take control of her own body when the “tests” started. She could have easily lost her virginity with Joseph rather than injure herself with the pestle. I suppose the use of the tool was a means of keeping her “purity” while simultaneously getting rid of it. Do you think that Sophie knew Martine would throw her out or do you think she was only trying to end the “tests”?

    I also felt that we only saw the male characters through Sophie’s view point. Especially I feel this is true regarding Marc. I felt he was barely mentioned in the book to be any more important to the story than the van or cab drivers were. I don’t really understand Sophie’s anger toward Marc. Martine refused to go to therapy to deal with her trauma. She didn’t care for her mental health and she actively tried to down play it to keep it hidden because she didn’t want to end up in a mental institute. How could Sophie hold Marc accountable for that? Especially if he didn’t know the fullest extent of her trauma. Do you think that Sophie was directing her self-anger at Marc? Sophie knew more than most the extend of Martine’s pain and Sophie became American enough to view the importance of therapy. Maybe if Sophie had done more to encourage Martine to go to therapy, she wouldn’t have killed herself.
    While Martine was the cause of Sophie’s sexual phobia, maybe it would have been beneficial for them both to attend the phobia group. Maybe together they could have reconciled better and moved forward in their relationship.

    Certainly a very intense book subject but it was really well written. I also found Ms. Danticat to be an impressive author for such a powerful theme and at such a young age when she wrote it. I usually borrow my books from the library and typically only purchase when the library doesn’t have it. However, I bought the other two Stuart MacBride books! I also look forward to something a little less mentally stimulating, haha.
    Much love,
    Katie

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  3. Hi Katie,
    I do feel Sophie was trying to end the testing but was so traumatised she saw no other option but self harm. I feel she didn't think she was ready for a sexual relationship with Josep, due to her abuse she would probably never be ready for that. Maybe it was her way of ending the tests and punishing a part of her body she felt was responsible for why she was being abused and also to punish Martine

    Sexual abuse and sexual harassment has finally become a talked about issue in Australia. We have had the #metoo movement as you guys have had in the States and while it is finally under discussion it does feel like not a lot of progress is being made. Sadly in our remote and Indigenous communities it is still an overwhelming and mostly hidden problem.

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