The Oldest Woman in the World and Other Stories from Haiti edition by Kirk Colvin Literature Fiction eBooks
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I spent two years (1984-86) as the Coast Guard Attache to the U. S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Looking back all these years later, I realize that those two years were the the most intense, most moving, most heart-wrenching years of my life.
I was your typical middle-class white American when I arrived in Haiti--I'd grown up in the comfortable suburbs of the San Francisco Peninsula. I'd attended private schools, universities, and become a Coast Guard aviator. It was an easy, privileged life. Then I arrived in Haiti. Poverty and despair were everywhere. Garbage littered the streets; sewage ran in the gutters; naked children stood along the roads, their bloated bellies and reddish hair announcing their malnourishment; the corrupt government, led by Baby Doc Duvalier, stole money from the peasants, siphoned U. S. aid money into Swiss accounts, and lived a life of decadence made all the more obscene by its blatant disregard for the plight of the people who made it possible. The country was a living nightmare . . . only 600 miles from our shore, near enough to tempt thousands of desperate boat people to risk their lives trying to reach there. Thousands died in the attempt. Haiti was (and still is) a horror story.
Now, nearly thirty years later, Haiti is in even worse shape, and I'm still unable to fully explain how deeply my short stay there affected me. These few stories are my attempt to give you some idea of what it was like to live in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Somewhere deep inside, a part of me is Haitian. Perhaps after reading these stories, you'll have a sense of what that means.
PS If you liked these stories, you might like my novel "Bloodless Coup," also available as a Book.
The Oldest Woman in the World and Other Stories from Haiti edition by Kirk Colvin Literature Fiction eBooks
Kirk Colvin is a sure-footed writer who does a fabulous job of placing you in Haiti. He spent two years there as the Coast Guard attache to the US Embassy and got a close-up look at the horror, beauty, mystery, and insanity that is Haiti. His memoir translates that experience into haunting prose with an ability to create images that remain seared into the mind of this reader. Colvin writes of a period sometime after Graham Greene and before the catastrophic earthquake, yet the precise time seems irrelevant.Beautiful writing . . ."He stood before me and wrote the number in the air, so that for a moment we shared the glory of the two zero zero glowing before us like holes in Time." (From "The Oldest Woman in the World.") I will never get over the image of the eleven year old girl in "Deadman's Squall.
The best part of the whole book is the promise at the end of a novel soon to be released through Amazon.
***********
After reading the following two reviews, I feel compelled to add that I, too, could not put the book down. I read it in one sitting -- not because the stories are connected, but because it is that good.
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The Oldest Woman in the World and Other Stories from Haiti edition by Kirk Colvin Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
I was shaking my head and mumbling oh yeahhh. I was born in Haiti and started going back there again recently after living in the US for over 40 years. You portrayed the Haitian culture through its people in a humorous yet very accurate manner. It made me laugh and cry. I enjoyed it and will share it with my friend.
After living in Haiti for almost twenty years, doing all my Masters dissertations on Haitian culture, I enjoyed these short stories very much. It's very, very few people who ever really even begin to understand this misplaced, misunderstood people's culture. No one who goes there on a two year, hardship assignment the with the State Dept. or the military ever stays long enough to know what's really going on. But they are the ones who set policy and advise our government on policy. It's the same all over the world; like India, Fr. Guiana, Romania, Jamaica and othe places I worked on; and its the same in Afghanistan and Irag! These short stories brought back many memories and exemplified the fascinating little country of Haiti quite well in some ways.
This collection of short stories covers a wide range of topics from the author's experiences in Haiti, both firsthand and stories he encountered along the way - and they are well written. I've been to Haiti several times but this provided a fascinating new angle on life in Haiti. He mixes in the good the bad and the ugly - the story on encountering the wreackage at sea from some "boat people" trying to make it to the US is very disturbing, while others give a sad commentary on the other lengths some people take to try to get out of the country, while still other stories give a humorous behind the scenes look at everyday life in Haiti, and there are one or two which are just weird. But overall it's an engaging read which will show you a side of Haiti you won't likely see if you just go down there for a week or two at a time.
As mentioned by the other reviews, the imagery in these short stories is vivid and addictive. The pace of these stories is such that the collection ends long before you are ready for the storytelling to stop.
But, what is most remarkable about this collection; and what is so very true of Haiti; is how the author is able to have you laughing, weeping, and hating all at the same time. The love of the Haitian people, despair over their seemingly hopeless existence, and hate of the corruption and injustice, sings from the words of every story. It is that singing which is the essence of Haiti and the brilliance of this collection.
Kirk Colvin paints vibrant portraits of Haitian life with minimal brush strokes. He is an engaging storyteller, clearly a master of the writing craft. I am so glad I found his collection of short stories, The Oldest Woman in the World and Other Stories from Haiti.
"The silver moon splashed in the water, threw diamonds in the air that seemed to fall in a glistening net over the shoulders and breasts of a woman who stood up to her waist in the water. Nestor watched her scoop diamonds out of the river and lift them to her hair. He saw the diamonds cascade down her chest, sparkle from the tips of her breasts."
With such vivid images, Mr. Colvin provides us with glimpses behind the curtain, exposing a Haiti we did not want to see, but cannot take our eyes off. With undercurrents of both humor and pathos, he writes gripping narratives and introduces us to characters that demand our attention. When I finished one story, I could not wait to begin the next. Bravo.
Here's why I really liked this book the author made me FEEL the love he felt for Haiti, the disgust he felt for Haiti, the confusion he felt about Haiti, the clumsiness with which he fit into Haiti, and the frustration he felt dealing with Haiti and Haitians. He put me in the middle of a world where a chance encounter with a seemingly urbane gentlemen turns into a lowdown fleecing con game, and ends in a bizzaro world where in order to escape an indictment for espionage, he marries a girl foisted on him by the urbane gentleman. He meets the oldest woman in the world who was presented with a medal of high order by a famous man who lived long ago, only to find it's a medal for perfect attendance in grade school. He makes me feel the dissonance between the pity or sympathy he feels for an ignorant peasant woman holding on to a dream of wished-for glory, and the anger at having been deceived by such a simple stratagem. It's all there the wonder of a new culture, the fumbling initial attempts to fit in, the earnest desire to understand what he's dealing with, the mind-boggling deceit at every turn, and the frustration that can make him bone-tired. Great read.
Kirk Colvin is a sure-footed writer who does a fabulous job of placing you in Haiti. He spent two years there as the Coast Guard attache to the US Embassy and got a close-up look at the horror, beauty, mystery, and insanity that is Haiti. His memoir translates that experience into haunting prose with an ability to create images that remain seared into the mind of this reader. Colvin writes of a period sometime after Graham Greene and before the catastrophic earthquake, yet the precise time seems irrelevant.
Beautiful writing . . ."He stood before me and wrote the number in the air, so that for a moment we shared the glory of the two zero zero glowing before us like holes in Time." (From "The Oldest Woman in the World.") I will never get over the image of the eleven year old girl in "Deadman's Squall.
The best part of the whole book is the promise at the end of a novel soon to be released through .
***********
After reading the following two reviews, I feel compelled to add that I, too, could not put the book down. I read it in one sitting -- not because the stories are connected, but because it is that good.
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