Publisher's Synopsis
The Tears of Hispaniola explores the ways in which Haitian and Dominican autobiography and fiction serve as public record - documenting violence, terror, memory, and human rights violations on the island of Hispaniola, home to the two nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The book explores the works of four writers - Jean-Robert Cadet, Junot Diaz, Loida Maritza Perez, and Edwidge Danticat - all of whom were born on and subsequently left the island. The author concludes these writers use an autobiographical format as a means of coming to terms with and bringing attention to the larger injustices still occurring on the island. Stories of their ""torn country"" continue to haunt the people of Hispaniola's diaspora, Suarez writes, and at the same time present them with a path to social action. She argues that as authors and intellectuals articulate traumatic memories of their homeland, their writing transcends violence, and cries out for justice. Interpreting the literary production of the selected authors in light of contemporary events, Suarez explores human rights issues and examines recent history in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. In their images of what they left behind and what exists today, these writers engage in a process Suarez contends can transform unspeakable truths into memoirs of survival, understanding and resistance. She uses their work as a platform to consider questions of ethnic identity and social reform for the large and growing U.S.-Caribbean community, finding that citizens of the diaspora challenge prejudices, and make a distinct impact on the cultural landscape of the United States.
