Welcome to Litsy!

He read me Arthur Rimbaud's Le Bateau Ivre to awaken my freedom, read me Baudelaire to contain my pain, read me Apollinaire to dilute my distress, read me Leconte de Lisle to rouse in me exaltations he called automatic, read me Saint-John Perse to take stock of the world in the rambling seaspray, he read Faulkner to show me the dark disorders in the head-depths of men...

CHRISTMAS DOWN HERE
The opportunity was during one December when City went up in flames. A disagreement between blackmen and france-whites following a tale of some illegally parked bike. Shots were fired. The white man's shot hit. Other Martinicans drinking by the kiosk nearly stoned the white shooter...

Always amazed how many different perspectives on a book are possible! From "put more in the glossary" to "how had I not come across this novel before?"

The women had to face the rest of life, including the duty of finding food for a swarm of lit- tle ones, and all without a garden. Each mama, you hear me, had to sow in herself a small plot of cunning, and look after the harvest, ill luck or no. Perched by the window, my Esternome would shout, turning to Idoménée, The hills have come down to City, the hills have come down on City, a bloody madness ...

In my defence, book club is early this month...

#martinique #readingtheamericas2023 Remarkable story of an island people and how they came to build a small place of their own, a shantytown named after the fuel tanks. It is the memories, writings and narrated stories as told to an urban planner by a woman of incredible strength. Translated from French but full of Creole dialect. A rambling, messy wonderful book.

I've been pretty good about not buying books these few months... Then I stepped into the remainders bookstore I've probably mentioned here a million times and was bad again 🙈 All of these books are straight out of my TBR so that makes it OK, I think? 😂

Thank you @MicheleinPhilly for enabling us to buy more books and participate in your generous giveaway 😁💜 #SHOWME

Time to take this one off my TBR! I‘ve read other books by Chamoiseau that I loved; looking forward to sinking my teeth into Texaco for June. #buddyread with @BrownGirlReading #booksandcoffee

Such an amazing read and a brilliant commentary on the struggle for liberation post-slavery in Martinique through preserving memory, gaining land, and much more. The prose can be difficult at first and is at the same time so beautiful. Highly recommend.

Chamoiseau is an incredible French author and this is one of my favorites of his. Set in Martinique it explores the history of the island in the lives of different members of a family.📚📚📚📚📚💯