Leaning into their cultural backgrounds, Haitian American authors Maritza and Maika Moulite create a grimly hilarious story following protagonist Brielle Petitfour, a zombie who spends her time cooking for—and eating—the rich. Touching on existing societal issues such as classism and economic disparities, the Moulite sisters use horror and humor to examine the foundations that have perpetuated these issues. Performed by a multicast of talented narrators, is an unforgettable listening experience.
Nicole Ransome: The Summer I Ate the Rich is a darkly comedic story about financially struggling protagonist Brielle working as a cook for wealthy clients while simultaneously feeding them human flesh. How did you come up with such an intriguing plot?
Maika and Maritza Moulite: Well, our mother was having a similar health issue to Brielle's mom in the book. She uses a pump to manage her pain, and due to a convoluted insurance issue, she was unable to refill the medication that offers her some relief. Instead, the pump beeped every hour to remind her that it was empty, as if she could not feel that this was the case! We upped the beeping to every 10 minutes in The Summer I Ate The Rich to really underscore our frustrations and then started building around this.
The Summer I Ate the Rich features elements of Haitian folklore about the walking dead. Can you expand upon the folklore background? How important is it for you both as Haitian authors and women to utilize Haitian culture for your stories?
When we decided to make Brielle a zombie who literally eats the rich, we were so excited to incorporate another aspect to our culture. Many people don't know that zombies actually arise from Haitian mythology, specifically the fear that the enslaved people would be forced to continue to work even after death. The idea spread and evolved (or mutated) in the United States after the country's occupation in Haiti in the early 20th century, when soldiers and journalists came back talking about these zombies. Because Brielle is Haitian American, we knew she would be a zonbi and a zombie, a combination of the hardy yet dazed undead person who happens to crave human flesh.
This story can shine a light on many inequalities and issues of classism that exist in current society. Without giving any spoilers, what did you want listeners to take away from this story in regards to those themes?
Sometimes these systemic issues seem too big to tackle or someone might even wonder, "Well, what's the big deal with someone having a billion dollars?" And the issue is that money doesn't come from a vacuum; it's from people like Brielle and her mom having extraordinarily low wages for their labor, and the wealthy not paying enough in taxes, being in power, or having easy access to political leaders to create policies that continue to benefit the rich. We tried to incorporate these in a fun revenge fantasy. Our favorite thing to do is brainstorm together because we are throwing out ideas and working diligently to build something we ourselves would love to read. During the editing process, one of our favorite things to do is send screenshots of our favorite lines to each other because you have to be your own biggest fans! A pain point in the creation process is definitely staying on track and not getting distracted by our own shenanigans.
Writing duo Maika and Maritza Moulite bring laughs and tradition in their new multicast zombie comedy
"The Summer I Ate the Rich" is a zombie tale told through the lens of Haitian culture and ever-present societal inequities.
