Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Danticat

If you are prepared for the fact that a book that is set in Haiti is bound to contain a lot of hardship and heartbreak, then you are prepared to begin this book by the gifted Haitian author Edwidge Danticat.

The book weaves in and out of time but is centered on one particular day, Claire's seventh birthday.  The book opens with Claire's father, Nozias, finalizing a deal to give Claire to Madame Gaëlle, a business woman of middle class means in a community of severe poverty.  Nozias' wife, Claire's mother, died in childbirth with Claire.  It was a particularly heartbreaking death because Claire's mother sole wish and ambition was to be a mother.  She had a lot of trouble getting pregnant with Claire, so there was even more than the usual anticipation for her birth.  Nozias was unable to cope with the loss of his wife, and Claire was initially raised by relatives until Nozias could manage to take her into his home.  He is not giving her away because he doesn't love her, though.  He is doing it because he cannot afford to care for her, and wants her to have a better life than he can provide for her.  That is the heartbreak of modern Haiti. 

There is another story that is partly independent and partly intertwined with Claire's story of a house maid, Flore, who is raped by the son of her employer.  Such is the society in Haiti that when the father is confronted by Flore his reaction is that she should have expected that--it was the norm.  The rich take what they want from the poor, and the poor have no expectation that they will be treated justly.

All of this sounds dismal, I know, yet the book is not one of misery.  It is much more matter-of-fact than self pitying, but there is a lot of material here to think about.  It is a gentle but firm reminder that the world does not offer an equal life for all it's inhabitants.