Brother, I'm Dying (Vintage Contemporaries)

by Edwidge Danticat

Paperback, 2008

Status

Checked out

Genres

Biography & Memoir

Biography

Publication

Vintage (2008), Edition: Reprint, 288 pages

Description

Danticat came to think of her uncle Joseph, a charismatic pastor, as her "second father" when she was placed in his care at age four when her parents left Haiti for America. So she experiences a jumble of emotions when, at twelve, she joins her parents in New York City, whom she struggles to remember--she has left behind Joseph and the only home she's ever known. The story of a new life in a new country while fearing for those still in Haiti soon becomes a terrifying tale of good people caught up in events beyond their control. In 2004, his life threatened by a gang, the frail, 81-year-old Joseph makes his way to Miami, where he thinks he will be safe. Instead, he is detained by the Department of Homeland Security, brutally imprisoned, and dead within days. It was a story that made headlines around the world.--From publisher description.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member lauralkeet

In Brother, I'm Dying Edwidge Danticat has written a book that is both a personal memoir and an homage to the two most significant male figures of her childhood: her father and uncle. Danticat was born in Haiti and raised primarily by her aunt and uncle after her parents left to start a new life in

New York. At the age of twelve she and her brother were reuinted with their parents, and with two more brothers born in New York. Her memoir highlights the emotional impact of such an unusual childhood, but this is not a negative tell-all story. Rather, Danticat focuses more on Haiti's tumultuous political climate, its effect on her uncle and other relatives, her parents' struggle as immigrants, and the relationship between her father and uncle, which only develops when they are well into adulthood.

In 2004, just as Danticat was anticipating her first child, she also faced the responsibility of caring for aging parents. Her father had a life-threatening condition and was declining rapidly. Her uncle was still in reasonably good health, but was forced to leave Haiti during riots that same year. On arrival in the U.S., he became the victim of distressing acts of bigotry and prejudice, was held in a detention center, and died within days. Danticat matter-of-factly described the series of events that led to his death, in a way that made me feel simultaneously outraged and heart-broken.

Danticat is a talented writer; I enjoyed her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory and look forward to reading more of her work.

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LibraryThing member chickletta

Edwidge Danticat has made a name for herself chronicling the lives of Haitian immigrants in the States as well as in the home country. In this autobiographical book, she writes eloquently of her own life. In 2004, she finds out she is pregnant while at the same time she gets the news that her

father Andre is dying of cancer. Danticat's parents emigrated to the US on their own initially, leaving Edwidge and her younger brother in the care of Andre's brother Joseph and his wife. Danticat thus has deep and enduring ties to two sets of parents. During the duration of her pregnancy, her uncle is fighting his own battles in Haiti, targeted by the regime for his outspokenness as a pastor.

On hearing of his brother's illness, Joseph Dantica travels to United States, only to be held at the point of entry in the States when he innocently and honestly lets the immigration officials know that he is a victim of the political situation in his country, though he also states categorically that he plans to go back to his country and continue his church work. His admission of course raises red flags amidst the attending immigration officials; in post 9/11 America, anyone and everyone with a less than stellar past is fair game. Joseph becomes a victim of the heightened security situation in the States.

The author weaves her life story beautifully with those of her father and uncle - one in which birth and death, loss and gain, the personal and the political intertwine. If immigration is one of the compelling narratives of the 20th century, this book shows us the human costs of that narrative.

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LibraryThing member Judy58

The book tells the heart-rending story of the author's family's journey from Haiti to the US, including the horrifying detainment of her 81-year old uncle that resulted in his death. The clear writing and vivid descriptions make this a compelling read.

LibraryThing member MamitaMala

It makes sense that this book won non-fiction awards next to Juntot Diaz's Oscar Wao. Taking place mostly on the other half of Hispaniola, Haiti, this true story tells of survival and resistance in Haiti under military dictatorship and the failure of the current U.S. immigration system. Overall, it

is an incredibly sad story, but there is also glimmer of hope coming from new life.

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LibraryThing member dianemb

An engrossing story of a young woman caught between two cultures. She focuses in on her relationships to the two men in her life - her uncle and her father. One stayed in Haiti and one left for a new life in the United States. She describes her childhood in both places and also the struggle of

living through the turmoil which is life in Haiti. She gives an intimate portrayal of her relationship with the two men who were both fathers to her and their importance in her life.

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LibraryThing member theageofsilt

I read this as a love story between two brothers. Although separated for most of their lives, they are profoundly linked through devotion. Their story is a moving backdrop for Edwidge Danticat's own complicated life -- left behind in Haiti with her brother for most of her childhood and then brought

to the United States to be reunited with her parents and young siblings, who are virtual strangers to her. The tumultous events in Haiti are also central to the narrative of this interesting and moving book.

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LibraryThing member andreablythe

When Danticat was a little girl, her parents moved to New York to begin shaping a new life for their family, while she and her brother were left in the care of her Uncle in Haiti. Danticat weaves a touching narrative with this memoir about two of the most important men in her life. It's beautifully

written and very moving.

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LibraryThing member PaulaCheg

My choice for bookgroup. Interesting book about Haiti.

LibraryThing member nmele

I have been interested in reading Edwidge Danticat for some time but this is the first book of hers I actually read. Powerful writing, personal recollections of how Haitian history affected her family, especially her father and the uncle who raised her until adolescence, this is a great book. I got

a sense of Haiti, its culture, its history, its street life and its values and language, all from this memoir. I also got a sense of outrage at the treatment of Danticat's uncle by U.S. immigration authorities, and of her uncle's great courage, patience and wisdom.

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LibraryThing member marandaray

Great story. I really enjoyed the emotional roller-coaster of this families journey. It had an interesting way of retelling the tale this family. sometime the writing became awkward to read but it was never too overpowering that it brought the story down.

LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd

A difficult and disturbing memoir of life in Haiti through many tumultuous times. Danticat, who spent much of her childhood in the care of her Aunt and Uncle in Haiti after her parents left for America, tells the parallel stories of her father and his brother against the background of political

unrest, violence, natural disasters and bureaucratic inhumanity. It must have been an incredibly hard story for her to tell, as parts of it were almost impossible for me to read, particularly the last several chapters, in which the U.S. Customs & Immigration officials come out looking no better than their Haitian counterparts. The author lived through some of the events she chronicles here, and reconstructed the rest from official records and family accounts. I admire the skill and strength it took to put this on paper; I wish I could take away a feeling that either I or the circumstances described in Brother, I'm Dying have been improved in any way by my having read it. It just made me feel bad.
Review written February 2012

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LibraryThing member porch_reader

I love Edwidge Danticat's fiction. She writes beautifully about difficult situations in her home country of Haiti and in the Haitian diaspora. But my favorite of her books is [Brother, I'm Dying], a memoir that focuses on the role of two men in her life, her father and her uncle. The book begins

when Edwidge goes to visit her father in New York and learns that he is dying. On the same day, she learns that she is pregnant for the first time. This initial chapter is powerful. Although we have not come to know Edwidge or her father yet, she writes her emotions on every page.

Through flashbacks, we learn about Edwidge's childhood. Edwidge's father and mother left Haiti when she was young to go to New York. She and her younger brother Bob were raised by their Uncle Joseph and Aunt Denise. For eight years, they communicated with their father through letters and dealt with the turmoil that filled the streets of Haiti. Even after Edwidge and Bob move to New York, they stay in touch with their uncle. In a way, the bond between Edwidge's father and her Uncle Joseph is stronger because of the important role that both men play in Edwidge's life.

The story of Edwidge's childhood is fascinating, but it is the events that unfold as her father's health worsens, Uncle Joseph's Haitian neighborhood is struck by increasing violence, and Edwidge prepares to welcome a baby that make up the emotional center of this book. I turned the final pages of this book with tears running down my face. Having lost my father only a year ago, I was struck by Edwidge's ability to convey the deepest emotion in simple and straightforward language. It is a powerful book that spoke to me when I read it originally in 2008 and that was just as impactful as a re-read.

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LibraryThing member moonshineandrosefire

Award-winning writer Edwidge Danticat was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in 1969. By the age of four, her parents had immigrated to America, leaving Edwidge and her younger brother Andre to be raised by their aunt and uncle. As a result, she quickly came to see them as a second set of parents to

both herself and her brother. So, Edwidge stayed in Haiti with her beloved Uncle Joseph and Aunt Denise for the next eight years.

Edwidge was twelve years old when her parents sent for their two children to come join the rest of their family in New York City. Although she was elated to be reunited with her family again, she was also deeply saddened to be leaving Haiti behind. As she slowly began to make a life for herself in a new country, Edwidge struggled to adjust to living so far away from those she loved. Although their hearts and thoughts were never far from those whom they loved, Edwidge and her family continued to fear for the safety of those still living in Haiti as they watched the political situation rapidly deteriorate.

In 2004, tensions reached a boiling point and the Haitian people were swept up in events beyond their control. Life changed drastically for Edwidge as well: on the same sweltering July day that she learned that she was pregnant, she also learned that her father was suffering from end-stage pulmonary fibrosis. As she struggled to process such disparate events - tempering her sense of exhilaration with a certain amount of devastation - Edwidge eventually decided that her family's complex story deserved to be told; as much to commemorate her father's close relationship with his brother, as for the benefit of her relatives still living in Haiti.

I have to say that this is an extraordinary book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and found Ms. Danticat's story to be beautifully written and deeply thought-provoking - filled with a poignancy and bravery that I absolutely admire. I would certainly give this book an A+!

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LibraryThing member Carolee888

Brother, I am Dying by Edwidge Danticat is a must read for people to learn more about Haiti, the author and her family and the problems with immigrating to the United States.

The author was only four years old when her parents left for United States. Her uncle Joseph was left in charge of her and

her brother Andre. At that age, she did not realize what was happening. So they lived under the protection of their aunt and uncle for eight years. When living in Haiti became more and more dangerous, her parents sent for them. It was heartbreaking for her to leave her uncle Joseph and Haiti and but it was necessary. The last stories of her uncle coming to the United States are so horrible that I kept hoping for a happier ending but it was not to be.

This story is full of tender moments of love, forgiveness, folk tales, family lessons, and tragedy.

Please either read or listen to it.

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LibraryThing member burritapal

Autobiographical work recording the lives and events of the author's family, from the time they lived in BelAir, Port O Prince, Haití, to New York City and Miami, Florida. Haiti was passing through years of political upheaval and unrest, aggravated by U.S. intervention and gang warfare. Danticat's

uncle, a Baptist preacher with his own church and school, was targeted for retaliation when UN soldiers shot at hang members and civilians from the roof of his church. Fleeing their promise to behead him, he seems temporary Asylum in Miami, only to be fvcked over by the U.S. Customs. At the same time that her uncle is being killed by a racist U.S. regime, the author's father is dying of lung disease in NYC. An important work, however frustrating and disheartening.

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