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“The biggest
questions in life flow from the pen of this brilliant novelist. In Claire of
the Sea Light, Danticat folds the story into a package so preciously tight that
we can tuck it in our hearts and keep it close and warm.”
— Nikki Giovanni, New York Times bestselling author
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“As an ardent admirer
of Edwidge Danticat’s writing, I opened Claire
of the Sea Light as if it were a gift. My high expectations were met, and
then surpassed. The story she has given us is at every turn surprising,
shimmering, deft. It is a jewel—a remarkable book, as luminous as its title.”
— Ann Patchett, New York Times bestselling author
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“Masterful
storytelling…Chapters of the story alternate among narrators, [and] each of
their stories is beautifully, unexpectedly intertwined with that of Claire and
her parents. As Danticat’s narrative unspools with the swift cadence of a
fable, it imparts shocking revelations about these intricately flawed
characters…The unerring lyricism of Claire
of the Sea Light illuminates the poignant struggle for ordinary connection
and peace in a country of ravaged homes and hearts.”
— Elle
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“Raw, dark, poetic—Danticat
at the top of her game…[She] has created a pulsing world of fictional
characters—among them a radio talk-show host with ulterior motives; an
undertaker turned mayor; and a prosperous local woman whose own daughter died
in an accident [and] who agrees to care for Claire as her replacement child.
Their haunting stories make up a web of relationships, coincidences,
misunderstandings, and ambitions—a multifaceted Haitian love story in which the
shimmering Caribbean is both friend and foe. Danticat is expert at subtly
exploring such themes as the far-reaching consequences of poverty and the
powerful bonds between parent and child. On these pages, the human heart is
laid open and the secret contents of its chambers revealed in all their beauty
and agony.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine
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“A fictionalized tale
that will enthrall, of Claire, who goes missing on her seventh birthday…with
descriptions so vivid, you’ll imagine you’re walking down a street in the
Haitian village of Ville Rose. Danticat weaves her magic as we wrestle with
what’s happened to Claire, and why everybody in town [has] a secret that has to
do with her.”
— Ebony
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“A haunting portrait
of heartbreak and healing…One of Danticat’s finest novels…[She is] a powerhouse
writer…Like the best works of Nobel Laureate Gabriel García Márquez and
novelist Maryse Condé, Claire of the Sea
Light fearlessly bends time and space, reality and fantasy. Yet the
storyteller never loses control of the narrative—or our attention. And she uses
fiction for spot-on social commentary about the ways in which black girls—those
who go missing and those whose innocence is stolen—are often invisible even
when in plain sight. In the end, this provocative fable, which plays out in a
single night, delivers us back to our real worlds, safe enough but somehow
touched in ways we may not fully know for days to come.”
— Essence
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“Gorgeous, arresting, profoundly vivid…Danticat once again
tells a story that feels as mysterious and magical as a folk tale and as
effective and devastating as a newsreel. Claire Limyè Lanmè (Claire of the Sea Light) is turning
seven, and yet her birthday has always been marked by both death and renewal.
Claire’s mother died in childbirth, and she has been raised by her fisherman
father in a shack near the sea. The book begins on the morning of her birthday,
before winding back to tell the story of every previous birthday, and who
lived, and died, each year. For some time, Claire’s father has considered
giving her [away], and the heartbreaking question of Claire’s fate adds to the
novel’s suspense, as both the past, and this single day, unfold. In the
meantime, Danticat paints a stunning portrait of this small Haitian town, in
which the equally impossible choices of life and death play out every day.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
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“Highly anticipated…In
interlocking stories moving back and forth in time, Danticat weaves a
beautifully rendered portrait of longing in the small fishing town of Ville
Rose in Haiti…[Characters’] stories and lives flow beautifully one into
another, all rendered in the luminous prose for which Danticat is known.”
— Booklist
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“Nuanced…intricate…intimate…evocative.
Danticat’s prose has the shimmering simplicity of a folk tale and the same
matter-of-fact acceptance of life’s cruelties and injustices. Yet despite the
unsparing depiction of a corrupt society, there’s tremendous warmth in
Danticat’s treatment of her characters, who are striving for human connection
in a hard world. Both lyrical and clear-eyed—a rare and welcome combination.”
— Kirkus Reviews