Brother, I'm Dying: National Book Award Finalist (Vintage Contemporaries)

Simply written, accessible and moving.

This was a captivating read. Told very simply from the narrator's point of view, it gives a clear picture of the world of the narrator's current life and the world she was born into. An excellent description of the culture. Very poignant story of the process of death, juxtaposed against the coming of new life. Written simply but starkly, this book keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

Ms. Danticat recently gave a talk at the university where I work, and it was a very enjoyable evening. I bought two of her books for my kindle when I got home. This is the first one I read. Having seen her made a difference, and by the end I felt like I knew her very well. She conveys emotions brilliantly without a lot of words, and it is easy to immerse yourself in her life in Haiti and all the troubles she recounts in that unfortunate place. It is not about her, though. She tells of her father and his brother, who served as a surrogate father for her while her parents carved a life for their family out in Brooklyn. As her father's health declines, her uncle goes through a series of catastrophes out of his control, all of which could have been prevented by a shred of human decency and which point out how little has changed in how our country treats the lives of others. I am excited to read the second book soon.

This book was a mandatory read for my daughter in college. After she read Edwidge Danticat's memoir that she found to be compelling and enlightening of our government and the Haitian people's lives, I read this true story. One of the themes of the book is death, but it is a love story told to the reader of the two men who raised her, her uncle and her father, both of whom are no longer living. One learns about Haitian customs and their way of life, and you will gain a whole new respect for their way of life on that island. Besides these two wonderful family men, Danticat's other family members are very interesting, and their world is unlike anything we know. How our government in Miami treats refugees and her uncle is reprehensible. I recommend this book highly to teen students and adults. Danticat is now a famous writer who lives in Miami, and she deserves every success as she is a phenomenal story teller.

Edwidge Danticat is possibly the best American fiction writer of the younger generation. Her novels and story collections have cut a broad swath through the history of 20th century Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Their virtues include lyric and narrative pleasures, a plainspoken and elegant voice, intelligence and intelligibility, and the bridging of two cultures separated by language and mutual misunderstanding.With Brother, I'm Dying, Danticat expands upon the gift for nonfiction she first demonstrated in her book about carnival in Jacmel. This time, she tackles memoir by way of family history, a private story that stands in for hundreds of thousands of other private stories and has deep public policy implications. Through the Dantica and Danticat families, we get an up-close-and-personal look at the terrors of Haitian history from Papa Doc to the present, alongside the beauties of place and people too often underexplored in newspaper accounts of Haiti.The book's velocity increases toward the end, when Danticat's uncle is run out of Port-au-Prince by street gangs, only to encounter the surprisingly deadlier American immigration system. This part of the story is the most deeply felt section of a deeply felt book, and the reader wants to scream with outrage and the indignities Danticat's uncle suffers, and especially at the unwillingness of the immigration authorities to respond humanely to his illness, his difficulties in communicating, or his family's quite reasonable requests that he receive proper medical and legal attention.I find myself grieving now, after finishing this book, and I want to know what I can do to make my country more compassionate. Certainly, Haitians receive shabbier treatment than almost any other ethnicity in our immigration and legal system, and, like Danticat, I find myself wondering why, and suspecting that it might be a manifestation of the worst prejudices we have not yet laid to rest.It is true that books can be about virtuous things without being very good, but the urgency the reader feels about the book's subject owes much to the extraordinary power of the writing. If Danticat were a writer who chose subject matter of a lesser intensity, I believe that more critics would write about the sentences, the structural choices, the wise management of information in her books. That they do not is a testament to the power of the stories she chooses to tell, and her ability to get out of the way and give character and story center stage rather than the pyrotechnics of language which she is certainly capable of exhibiting.

Danticat's book chronicles the history of Haiti in the 20th and 21st centuries through relating her family's story. She brings the reality of US racism and colonialism to life through recounting the saga of her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and her parents. The relationship between her father and his brother is particularly poignant. Her spirit honors life, recognizing that it can be fraught with difficulties.

This won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. It is lively and engaging. Parts are wrapped in joy and humanity; others are wrapped in devastating evidence of the cruelty of war to the non-political citizenry. It is the account of Edwidge's family, part in civil-war-torn and occupied Haiti and part in New York and Miami. The depth of cruelty of all sides in the wars and civil unrest in Haiti and in immigrant detention in Miami destroys any confidence you might have in humanity. The love, dedication, and family bonds coexist with pervasive inhuman cruelty. The narrative voice - Edwidge in first person - puts the reader into the story so completely it's hard to emerge. You finish it with hope for the human spirit, but sadly convinced that there isn't a consistently compassionate God.

Brother I'm Dying is an impressive memoir paying homage to two admirable men. The devotion Edwidge imparts presenting the life and death of her uncle and father is well done. I became most fond of her voice early on, really appreciating the intermittent storytelling. The connotations behind `We're All Dying' and `The Angel of Death and Father God' were most poignant. I, as well, really took to the washing one side of a child, and just loved `One Papa Happy, One Papa Sad.'Above all, it is the passionate pacing and extraordinary delivery in the way Edwidge relays her fondest memories, that I couldn't help but not only admire her as a writer and gifted storyteller, but as a person too. One Standing Ovation.

Beautiful book--very nice jacket; elegaic memoir of the Haitian uncle who raised her and tragically died on immigration hold when sick and over 80 entering this country to escape chaos & a probable vendetta revenge death in Haiti; recommended for anyone interested in women's biography, Haiti, the power of family ties, cross-cultural identities (esp. those of Carib-Americans), and up & coming younger writers. The first chapter reminded me of the first chapter in Bliss Broyard's book on her father, "One Drop", where the book starts out her identity journey as her father lays dying. Bliss may perhaps be the better writer, but this is a sweet book, delicately observed and written with a great deal of composure, given all the tragic events. Would like to read more by Edwidge Danticat.

My book club selected this book, I enjoyed it. The title was very intriguing. The dynamics of the relationship with the various characters in the book was interesting and thought provoking, especially between the 2 brothers. It was a little long, a little to 'wordie'. Overall this book will make for an interesting book discussion.

I am a fan of Ms Danticut and enjoyed this deeply personal account of her love for two fathers and their love for each other. It allows a personal look inside the life of the Haitian exile and a deeper look inside the struggle of those that stayed in Port-au-Prince. I am thankful for that revelation. I could hear the noise and taste the smoke and grit of that smoldering city. The love and commitment between brothers is palpable and to be admired. I do not think this the authors best work as it lacks the whimsical though serious flow of her other works. I think it deserves our attention though and I would recommend it to others.

I heartily recommend this book. Danticat, though writing her historical accounts, does so in a captivating way. Much of the book is written more like a novel than a autobiography. Readers will find this book enjoyable for many reasons:1) Provides intelligible information about Haiti's culture2) Explores the ideas of Identity, cultural changes, and even medical needs3) Written in an exciting way that allows readers to stay engaged4) All the creole words used in the book are translated by the author.5) Explores family relationships.READ THIS BOOK!Visit Christianlitreview.com for more reviews of literature! [...]

this is an extraordinary book. It just might be the most touching tribute to a father I have ever read. The author was raised by her uncle and aunt in Haiti, when her parents were required to immigrate to the U.S. I was really moved by the affection she writes about each of these men and their loving care for her. The sections of the book that describe these two brothers reunion in Brooklyn are heartwarming. There is real tragedy in this story, yet, triumphant spirit of love in this families trials in war torn Haiti and in the United States. This is a wonderful book.

What a great book! Danticat story is so deep, yet simple. I loved everything about this book. Very real. She switches between present and past so easily. It reads as if you were playing a movie. Highly recommend this book to anyone. An eye opener for those who are not immigrants. LOVEEE IT!

The author effectively makes the reader more than an observer of events, but essentially a part of her world and her family. The story centers on the plight of her uncle and father. One struggles physically, and by extension emotionally in his adopted American home. The other has remained in their native land battling illness, and an historical political oppression. The author, pregnant with her first child, desperately tries to assist these men, their situations often at odds with the worlds in which they live.

This was one of the most interesting books I have read in a long time. I remember most of the events Ms Dantical recounts in her history of Haiti. This book was not a history book, but a book about family connections over time and distance.