Review: Ayiti, by Roxane Gay

Ayiti
by Roxane Gay

Edition: 2018
Publisher: Grove Atlantic / Grove Press

Summary:

Roxane Gay is an award-winning literary voice praised for her fearless and vivid prose, and her debut collection Ayiti exemplifies the raw talent that made her “one of the voices of our age” (National Post, Canada).

Clever and haunting by turns, Ayiti explores the Haitian diaspora experience. A married couple seeking boat passage to America prepares to leave their homeland. A mother takes a foreign soldier into her home as a boarder, and into her bed. And a woman conceives a daughter on the bank of a river while fleeing a horrific massacre, a daughter who later moves to America for a new life but is perpetually haunted by the mysterious scent of blood. Wise, fanciful, and daring,Ayiti is the book that put Roxane Gay on the map and now, with two previously uncollected stories, confirms her singular vision.

Rating: 2/5

Review: 
I received an online copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.
Roxane Gay is most known for her feminist books. Even knowing something about her works, I've never had the curiosity to read them until this story collection came up.
Nowadays, the refugees' problem is an highlight of our challenges and we can't escape them. The dysfunction between the realities and the approaches from everybody, from the welcomers (and sometimes, less welcomers) to the outsiders need to be explored and analysed, otherwise we will not find bases for compromise and the obstacles will not disappear.
Starting with that in mind, I wanted to learn more about the Haitian diaspora.
I was hoping to enjoy this book in the whole, but it felt a bit disappointing.
By reading the synopsis we can perceive this is not going to be a happy book. But I do believe, with all their constraint, that not everybody is unhappy and lives in difficulty, at least more than anybody else. Of course there are communities that are developed in a bubble and live by and for themselves, even living abroad. Even so, there are others than can find the balance to live in peace and feel fulfilment in every aspects of their lives.
The majority of the stories transmit pain, incomprehension of the characters came to a determined point in life and don't show any hope.
Focusing in the writing style, Roxanne Gay speech brings fluidity and pleasure, but at times there was something missing in order to glue the narratives.
I didn't was as much impressed as wanted to my abashment. Maybe in the future Roxanne and I will meet again.

Cláudia

About the author:
 

Addicted to the library Claudia loves to read on the move and we can usualy find her sitting in a train or bus reading while commuting to and from work. But don't be fooled she is also keeping an eye on the landscape and all around her. She is an avid defender of sustainability and volunteering and it's as easy to find her starting a new project as it is to find her chatting with her friends. She is a dreamer and loves good stories so she keeps looking for them in her personal life.