Krik? Krak!

Krik? children ask. "Krak!" adults answer. At this ritual exchange, a Haitian adult, who often can neither read nor write, launches into a story about the child's ancestors. It can range from horror to love, from poverty to grace. Narrating Danticat's tales, Robin Miles and Dion Graham permit listeners entrance into a world few Americans can imagine. A boatload of Haitians drowns off Miami, a woman suspected of having flown dies in prison, an American-born daughter is about to marry. In an echo of Danticat's own Haitian experience, a woman who decides to write stories is viewed as shaming the 99 women who have gone before her. Luckily for us, Danticat, like her characters, paid no heed. R.R. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

April 1, 1996
Danticat's collection of stories detailing daily life under dictatorship in Haiti was a finalist for the National Book Award.