By Edwidge Danticat
This novel grabs you right from the beginning. The story of twins who were connected right from birth, emerging into the world holding hands. They have not been separated since…until a tragedy rips them apart.
As the red van comes hurtling towards the family car, identical twin Giselle slows the action in her mind, trying to prevent the inevitable from happening. Told through Giselle’s thoughts as she recovers, we slowly learn, along with Giselle, what has happened to the rest of her family in the accident,.However, when Giselle is out of the hospital, we find out that the accident may not have been an accident after all. This builds some mystery, but the investigation does not really have much to do with the main story, and is somewhat anticlimactic when we reach the conclusion, but it does serve as a way for Giselle to reconnect with her friends, post accident.Giselle’s recovery requires her to revisit the past, so she can move into the future. Everything is different now and she uses the past to remember things from a different perspective, almost like she is replaying the incidents as an objective observer. This helps her to gain strength from her friends, her family and from within herself. Because of her renewed vision, she can move forward in her own life.This was a good read, a tragic tale told well that keeps you interested. Here are some other books by Edwidge Danticat that might keep you interested too! Breath, Eyes, Memory; Krik? Krak!; and The Farming of Bones.