I can think of only a few Haitian Creole novels that have really impressed me... unfortunately :-|
I'll take this opportunity to ask if anyone out there knows of a good novel written TOTALLY in Haitian Creole (not French), please let us know about it (and where to buy it), especially the ones that may be a good read for learners of the language.
Thanks :)
Here are a few that I wouldn't mind reading again:
M'ap Viv Toujou by Evelyne Nacier (I bought this from Libreri Mapou in Miami). It is the biography of a Haitian woman, who basically chose to air her family's dirty laundry by writing a book. Evelyne Nacier puts herself (and her kids) on a pedestal and lashes out at everyone in her family (her mom, her dad, her brother and sister, her ex-husband, etc...). The book is kind of repetitious but you won't get bored reading it.
Lafami Bonplezi 4èm edisyon by Maude Heurtelou (I bought it from Educavision.com)
This one was a page turner for me because the characters in the book seems so familiar to Haitians I was brought up with ...so much prejudice, rowdiness, naiveté ... A very small part of the dialogue in this book is in French (or broken French).
I did buy another of Heurtelou's books Sezisman which seems to be a sequel to Lafami Bonplezi, but I have not been able to finish it yet.
I loved reading Nan Savann Dezole by Dr. Paul Antoine (I bought this one on Amazon). This book's has got a lot of big Creole words that you won't find in any dictionaries. This book is preachy at times. Dr. Antoine does paint a beautiful picture of life in the outskirts of Haiti. The story is about a young boy who thought he was being taken to Haiti's capital to go to secondary school, but ended up being a servant to a rich family instead.
You may also want to try Jacques Roumain's Fòs Lawouze, the Creole adaptation by Maude Heurtelou (If you haven't read it yet). Written in dialogue form, it's a great novel. You'll find the abridged version written in elementary Creole online (free) from the University of Kansas website dedicated to Creole studies. Just google Chita pa bay.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
I'll take this opportunity to ask if anyone out there knows of a good novel written TOTALLY in Haitian Creole (not French), please let us know about it (and where to buy it), especially the ones that may be a good read for learners of the language.
Thanks :)
Here are a few that I wouldn't mind reading again:
M'ap Viv Toujou by Evelyne Nacier (I bought this from Libreri Mapou in Miami). It is the biography of a Haitian woman, who basically chose to air her family's dirty laundry by writing a book. Evelyne Nacier puts herself (and her kids) on a pedestal and lashes out at everyone in her family (her mom, her dad, her brother and sister, her ex-husband, etc...). The book is kind of repetitious but you won't get bored reading it.
Lafami Bonplezi 4èm edisyon by Maude Heurtelou (I bought it from Educavision.com)
This one was a page turner for me because the characters in the book seems so familiar to Haitians I was brought up with ...so much prejudice, rowdiness, naiveté ... A very small part of the dialogue in this book is in French (or broken French).
I did buy another of Heurtelou's books Sezisman which seems to be a sequel to Lafami Bonplezi, but I have not been able to finish it yet.
I loved reading Nan Savann Dezole by Dr. Paul Antoine (I bought this one on Amazon). This book's has got a lot of big Creole words that you won't find in any dictionaries. This book is preachy at times. Dr. Antoine does paint a beautiful picture of life in the outskirts of Haiti. The story is about a young boy who thought he was being taken to Haiti's capital to go to secondary school, but ended up being a servant to a rich family instead.
You may also want to try Jacques Roumain's Fòs Lawouze, the Creole adaptation by Maude Heurtelou (If you haven't read it yet). Written in dialogue form, it's a great novel. You'll find the abridged version written in elementary Creole online (free) from the University of Kansas website dedicated to Creole studies. Just google Chita pa bay.
Haitian Creole ↔ English Reference, Look up Haitian Creole and English Words
