Everything Inside

Description

From the internationally acclaimed, best-selling author of Brother, I'm Dying, a collection of vividly imagined stories about community, family, and love. AUGUST 2020 REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER OF THE STORY PRIZE WINNER OF THE 2020 VILCEK PRIZE IN LITERATURE Rich with hard-won wisdom and humanity, set in locales from Miami and Port-au-Prince to a small unnamed country in the Caribbean and beyond, Everything Inside is at once wide in scope and intimate, as it explores the forces that pull us together, or drive us apart, sometimes in the same searing instant. In these eight powerful, emotionally absorbing stories, a romance unexpectedly sparks between two wounded friends; a marriage ends for what seem like noble reasons, but with irreparable consequences; a young woman holds on to an impossible dream even as she fights for her survival; two lovers reunite after unimaginable tragedy, both for their country and in their lives; a baby's christening brings three generations of a family to a precarious dance between old and new; a man falls to his death in slow motion, reliving the defining moments of the life he is about to lose. This is the indelible work of a keen observer of the human heart--a master.

Edwidge Danticat is the author of numerous books, including The Art of Death, a National Book Critics Circle finalist; Claire of the Sea Light, a New York Times Notable Book; Brother, I'm Dying, a National Book Critics Circle Award winner and National Book Award finalist; The Dew Breaker, a PEN/Faulkner Award finalist and winner of the inaugural Story Prize; The Farming of Bones, an American Book Award winner; Breath, Eyes, Memory, an Oprah's Book Club selection; and Krik? Krak! also a National Book Award finalist. A 2018 Neustadt International Prize for Literature winner and the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.

What brings the stories together is Danticat's precise yet emotionally charged prose, and the way she has curated this volume to create a satisfying whole -- Aminatta Forna * New York Times * Haunting, profound -- an answered prayer for those who have long treasured Danticat's essential contributions to the Caribbean literary canon. These eight intimate tales, centered primarily around the diverse experiences of women in Port-au-Prince and Miami's Haitian diaspora, probe what it means to love a deeply troubled country, to leave it, and to then come home. Danticat's characters feel not like strangers, but close friends. How does an artist write so deftly from the outside about people's interior lives? Everything Inside is an answer to that question: This remarkable writer shows us how -- Alexia Arthurs * Oprah Magazine * Immensely rewarding, clear-eyed, gorgeous. . . a stunning collection that features some of the best writing of Danticat's brilliant career. Everything Inside is a relentlessly honest book about how we say goodbye; about compassion and cruelty in the face of death; about, as Danticat writes, 'loves that outlive lovers.' The reader feels connected to Danticat's characters, but she refuses to manipulate her audience with anything sentimental or overly pat. Her writing is, as usual, superb. There are no wasted words; she writes with both economy and urgency, never shying away from difficult questions . . . 'While we are still alive, we are the ones who get to write the story, ' Danticat wrote in [her memoir] The Art of Death. That is what she has done in Everything Inside, and unsurprisingly, she does it perfectly. -- Michael Shaub * NPR * Powerful, finely crafted. Like Danticat herself, many in these stories are members of the Haitian diaspora--they live in Florida and New York, but their emotional ties to Haiti are profound. When a home nursing attendant in Miami hears of her ex-husband's lover's abduction, she makes an offer of help--[with] surprising results. A young woman who teaches high school in Brooklyn has never met her father; [now] he's dying and wants to see her, and she finds something she never imagined. In the final story, life passes before [a construction worker's] eyes; Danticat gives us a warm portrait of the life he made, and she renders his death even more heartbreaking by revealing how his undocumented status will shape it . . . Danticat's characters have fled [their] island nation, but her luckiest wanderers find their heart's home, wherever it may be -- Colette Bancroft * Tampa Bay Times * Impactful . . . Danticat reveals with stunning precision the myriad ways lovers, friends, parents, and even nations people [can] disappoint, as well as the hard knowledge that shapes their path forward. Danticat's women, in particular, find the narrow spaces where they learn to live with difficult decisions. Haiti remains a vital presence--when a woman says, 'I can't live without my country, ' it's as if she's talking about a vital organ. Danticat writes with spare, clean prose; she lets her words breathe. With an unfaltering voice and evocative beauty, Danticat shows the uncelebrated resilience it takes to move toward something that, if not quite happiness, still burns brighter than sorrow -- Renee Graham * The Boston Globe * Danticat's voice has woven its way into our consciousness, with unforgettable tales of families and lovers--from Haiti to Miami, Brooklyn, and beyond--often struggling with grief, loss, and missed connections. Her new book deals with marriage and mortality, secrets and separations, as well as the physical and psychological aftershocks of Haiti's devastating 2010 earthquake * Vanity Fair * Poignant, emotionally driven stories by the masterful Danticat, set everywhere from Miami to an unnamed Caribbean island. It's Marie Claire's #ReadWithMC September book club pick, so trust us on this--it's a good one -- Alexis Jones * Marie Claire * These stories . . . are stunning ruminations on the Haitian diaspora identity, as well as the layered complexities of seeking hope after tragedy . . . Read it, you will not be disappointed -- Bad Form Danticat is an increasingly important part of the Haitian literary canon, and Everything Inside is a collection of small but powerful consciousnesses - a vivid picture of diaspora and national identity. * Lunate * Everything Inside is a whistle-stop tour of Danticat's incredible body of work. Read it to bask in the depths of big moments relayed in delicate, understated prose * Mslexia * In Danticat's hands, with great tenderness, these hidden lives are moved away from the margins * TLS *