Drifting

March 17, 2014
Ulysse’s debut collection of interlinking stories shows the impact of change, both geographic and cultural, on five modern Haitians. Most depict immigration to the U.S., with the exception of “Part I: The Least of These,” which shows a Haitian-American woman named Michelle returning to her homeland. In “Part II: Flora,” Flora Desormeau moves to New York City with her mother and two sisters, where she hopes to be reunited with her best friend, Yseult Joseph, who made the move before her. There she encounters a sexually predatory schoolteacher, “Mr. E,” who lures his pupils into working at strip clubs. In “Part III: Yseult,” we see Yseult’s own journey to New York. The title character of “Part IV: Sagesse” leaves Haiti with her mother and has the same fate as Flora. Ulysse’s stories weave back and forth across time (from the 1970s to 2010) and space (from Haiti to New Jersey). Her characters are diverse in age and class, but united by common experiences. As one says: “Going to New York is a lot like dying. You have to leave all your possessions behind.” Aside from the melodramatic Mr. E. plot strand, which better fits the soap operas Flora’s mother watches obsessively, this is an arresting account of the contemporary Haitian-American experience.

June 1, 2014
A novel in stories that explores the culture clash for immigrants coming to America.Ulysse re-creates the sometimes-magical, sometimes-brutal world of her homeland, Haiti, in a series of interwoven vignettes that follow friends and relatives from a town called Puits Bain through several generations. The book begins with a story that subtly builds to the horror of the 2010 earthquake as the seemingly safe space of a clinic for children is buried, lost within its own rubble. This is the launching point for people waiting to join relatives in the wonderland that is New York. Stories about Yseult and Flora showcase the trials of old home and new home. Inseparable schoolgirl friends in Haiti, they can't find each other in the vastness of the city after they immigrate with their families at separate times. The loss of familiarity is devastating, a loss of culture. Enide opens a Haitian restaurant in Brooklyn only to discover she can make more money serving hamburgers and fries and becomes the embodiment of the American dream. She torments her son and granddaughter Yseult for interrupting her success. America it seems is just as predatory as the home fields of Puits Bain. Language and place are important here, as is the central factor of family, whether loving or biting and bitter. But for every fine story, another is flat, and the rhythm of the whole is never established. Ulysse does succeed in breathing life into a Haiti we know mostly through news reports of disaster. Humanity is lost and found in these stories.Ulysse has created a fascinating world of class and cultural distinctions; her stories are engaging though uneven in quality.

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May 15, 2014
Ulysse's debut novel manages to fuse form and function in an unsettling and fluid narrative that connects Haiti and New York. The story unfolds in five parts, each following different characters as they cope with the transition between Haiti and the U.S., whether they're dealing with their own experiences or those of a family member. Themes and characters recur in various circumstances, such as the two bosom friends Flora and Yseult, who search for each other in vain after moving to America. Both are preyed on by Mr. E, a white high-school teacher who instructs young girls in far more than English. Exploitation and violence occur throughout, yet the tale never descends into despair. The effect of the shifting narrators is that of gaining glimpses into different lives, and through those perspectives, diverse modes of and motivations for hope, the profound emotion at the heart of the strength that defines so many Haitians. Ulysse displaces and redeems her characters with formidable skill, while her precise prose cuts through all preconceptions. An intense and necessary novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)