'Claire of the Sea Light' is Kerri's book pick
Kerri's book pick this week is "Claire of the Sea Light" by Edwidge Danticat. Danticat will join Kerri at this season's launch of Talking Volumes on Sept. 25.
The novel follows Claire Limye Lanme Faustin, a 7-year-old whose mother died during childbirth. Through a collection of stories, Danticat brings to life a small Haitian town and the complications of a community enmeshed in economic struggles.
Kerri says she picked up the book with a bit of skepticism, hoping the book would prove able to portray the trauma and tragedy of Danticat's home country.
"She weaves that together just in a beautiful way that I can't wait to explore when she comes to Talking Volumes," Kerri said.
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Deborah Sontag reviewed the book for the New York Times:
Although billed as a novel, "Claire of the Sea Light" functions in much the same way as the stories in Danticat's powerful 2004 collection "The Dew Breaker," its chapters gradually fitting together into a jigsaw puzzle of entwined lives... Claire goes missing in the first chapter and stays missing until the very last pages, as a portrait of Ville Rose's sometimes beautiful, sometimes brutal reality is painted and a collision of fates inches closer.
Stephanie also recommended a book she's been reading, "The More You Ignore Me" by Travis Nichols. Stephanie says it's a funny read, written from the point of view of a troll leaving nasty messages on a wedding blog.
VIDEO: Booktalk Nation with Edwidge Danticat
