Christopher Hebert

Although there are flaws that the author might acknowledge himself, this work became a pageturner well before the halfway point. I often felt as though I were reading a fairy tale: there is a hidden garden behind a locked gate, the man and the woman, a parent-child relationship to repair, and a narrator who doesn't relate to people so much as encounter them by chance. But Haiti (as most readers identify the setting) is no place to live in a fairy tale. For me, a former sojourner in Haiti, that was a premise I shared with the author, and found his examination of the effects of history and culture on character fascinating. The protagonist says somewhere near the end that it may be his destiny to be invisible--is this the destiny the world assigns to this beautiful and self-destructive place?… (mehr)

{ I received an ARC of this book for free as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. Full review originally posted to Goodreads. }

Before I started this book, I read a review that said this was more of a character study, and I agree. This book is about Alexandre and his development as a person, about his journey to find his purpose and his place in the world. It is set on an unidentified island in the Caribbean in the midst of war, rich and powerful vs poor and powerless.

Alexandre starts out wanting to distance himself as much as possible from the people around him, and he is adamant that they are not "his people." He sees himself as apart from and above them. He wants more to life; he wants the beauty that his mother sought. He pours his time and effort in restoring Habitation Louvois, an old estate that is his version of paradise: green and untouched. His world revolves around Habitation Louvois, and the outside people and their problems are nothing but an annoyance to him.

I enjoyed reading along as he struggled to develop Habitation Louvois and then struggled to maintain it. Alexandre escapes the real world and envelops himself in preparing the estate, which has now become a hotel, for wealthy foreign visitors. As it becomes popular, I felt fulfilled along with Alexandre; things were going so right, and all his hard work was paying off.

But as you read, you know in your heart that the success of Habitation Louvois cannot last, that the peace at the hotel cannot withstand the violence outside its walls. It was heartbreaking to see all Alexandre's hard work disintegrating right before his eyes as the armies march in. The book ends on a bittersweet note, with a feeling of hope and an Alexandre who has truly discovered who he is, despite all he has lost throughout the book.… (mehr)

Alexandre spent his childhood in the slums of a Caribbean island rife with political unrest. Determined he could be so much more than those about him, he struggles everyday, for his entire life, to be better.

But eventually, the strife about him catches up, and he finds out his roots aren't that far from the worst about him.

I couldn't put this book down. I found myself hoping for the best for this young man. Feeling empathy toward him. Wanting him to succeed.

I give this book Five Stars and a big Thumbs Up!

****DISCLOSURE: This book was provided by Amazon Vine in exchange for a non-biased and independent review.
The review copy was an uncorrected proof, and as such may differ from actual sale copies.… (mehr)

As Alexandre explains, the poor people, the slums are on the bottom of the hill, the higher you go the richer they are. Alexandre wants nothing so much as to escape the poverty he was born to, with that in mind he accepts a job from a senator first working as a houseboy and than as the senator's chauffeur. Although this is an unnamed country in the Caribbean, I believe it is Haiti, and the unstable political system with coups and constantly changing dictators have much to do with this novel. Eventually Alexandre leaves the senator to become the manager of a beautiful old Habitat, a wonderful place of green and beauty, amidst all the uncertainty and he is sure he will end his days happily shut away. Alexandre is immensely likable, if somewhat naive, and he quickly learns that sometimes you don't have to seek out trouble, but that sometimes it comes to you. What he does when this happens, is unexpected. He learns that it is harder to escape your past than one thinks and I thought the ending fit perfectly with his character. Another very good book by a first time novelist.… (mehr)