Claire of the Sea Light

By: Edwidge Danticat

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Claire Limyè Lanmè - Claire of the Sea Light - is an enchanting child born into love and tragedy in Ville Rose, Haiti. Claire’s mother died in childbirth, and on each of her birthdays Claire is taken by her father, Nozias, to visit her mother’s grave. Nozias wonders if he should give away his young daughter to a local shopkeeper, who lost a child of her own, so that Claire can have a better life. But on the night of Claire’s seventh birthday, when at last he makes the wrenching decision to do so, she disappears. As Nozias and others look for her, painful secrets, haunting memories, and startling truths are unearthed among the community of men and women whose individual stories connect to Claire, to her parents, and to the town itself.

Told with piercing lyricism and the economy of a fable, Claire of the Sea Light is a tightly woven, breathtaking tapestry that explores what it means to be a parent, child, neighbor, lover, and friend, while revealing the mysterious bonds we share with the natural world and with one another. Embracing the magic and heartbreak of ordinary life, it is Edwidge Danticat’s most spellbinding, astonishing book yet.

©2013 Edwidge Danticat (P)2013 Recorded Books

Claire Shines, Other Characters Not So Much

A young Haitian girl is born on the same day her mother passes and raised by a father who wasn't sure he wanted to be a parent from the start. While he loves her, he grapples with the decision to let the village fabric shop owner keep her as she has lost her own daughter and can provide more opportunities than the poor fisherman.

Beautiful, brief, and honest novel explores the question of what it means to be a parent from mother's, father's, and a friend's (who ran away from fatherhood only to be smacked into reality later) point of view. The beginning was well written, but the middle diverged course with an inconsequential character loosely threaded to the story. The last 1/4 of the book returned to original form with a satisfying ending.

Beautiful but Hampered by Desultory Pacing

Beautifully written and read. This is literature as opposed to a mere book. It tone is poetic. It makes the reader feel like they have visited Haiti.

However, each chapter is a short story revolving around Claire that describes life in a small Haitian town There are enough stories that the main character is village of Ville Rose. It is difficult to emotionally invest yourself in any other character when you know the focus and their story won't last long. There is often a sense of being wrenched out of a enjoyable tale when a new chapter and a new narrative start.

Wonderful!

Robin Miles did great with the narration. The story was very emotional and I found myself tearing up a few times. At the heart of it, "Claire" looks at what it means to be a parent, a child and to sacrifice and who benefits or hurts from that sacrifice the most. Overall, I recommend it but I agree with some of the other reviews on here that the ending was rather anti-climatic. I was waiting for a wrap up or a point to it all but in the end, I was left with just a beautiful story.

An insight into the life in Haiti

I had a hard time getting into this book at first. It's very detailed and descriptive and I found it hard to connect to the characters in the first section. Then as it moved on to the second set of characters, it felt more like a set of short stories before I figured out that each story was interconnected with another story somehow. Then I wanted to know how everyone was connected, and wanted to solve the mysteries that were slowing being told.

I loved all the French/Creole in the book. I love the language and can understand French well, so it was nice to have it weaved into the story. (**Note: The narration by Robin Miles certainly helps to comb through the way these words are spelled or pronounced. My friends who read the kindle or paperback book, especially those without a knowledge in French, had a tough time sounding out the oddly spelled words.)

And while I may not know much about Haiti or the people there, I enjoyed how the author included a wide variety of characters and stories.

I didn't get it

And I wasn't the only one. This was a pick in my book club. The stories were interesting and kept me listening but, in the end, I thought there would be a moral or big picture or larger meaning and there wasn't. It was good for some discussion and it was interesting how each of us perceived parts of the stories differently. None of us hated it just no one would recommend that anyone run out and read it.

Dissatisfaction

This story was several stories without connection that never blended together. I selected the story because Robin Miles was narrator. But the story never drew me to it. I am very disappointed in the ending, I thought the author would try to bring it together but alas NOT!

Sea Light

Moving, rhythmic and totally captivating. Loved the way, the sections intertwined and pulled apart. A wonderfully beautiful story.

what beautiful, rich, authentic characters. a lovely portrait of interconnection and what it's like to share life and struggle through it with those who happen to be your neighbors. And as always, Robin Miles works her magic to deliver a flawless performance