The Dew Breaker by Edwige Danticat

I was a little confused at the structure of the book. Was it a novel or a collection of short stories? The transitions between the chapters is never abrupt but they all are going in a different direction. But I realised that close up it is like a portrait by Chuck Close ---all those tiny little photos in different shades but when you pull back it is a portrait of a person or in this case a portrait of Haiti. These stories are of Haitian people---in the United States and in Haiti. The Dew Breaker refers to the TonTon Macoute who used to come in the early morning hours---when the dew was breaking---and take their victims away.  The characters and the stories of Haiti are heartbreaking. Haiti is a heartbreaking country.

I remember disliking Danticat's first book Krik Krak which seemed overwritten and pretentious. But another book Breath, Eyes, Memory , a true story about her uncle was truly moving so I thought maybe it was just her fiction I didn't like. It turns out I do like her fiction and she is an excellent writer. I am going to look for her other work.