THE SINGING TURTLE and Other Tales from Haiti

by Philippe & Pierre Marcelin Thoby-Marcelin ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 7, 1971

Old tales sporting new twists plus some brisk, unpredictable fable-like numbers -- eighteen in all, rendered with economy, dispatch, and becoming matter-of-factness. It's hard to maintain your distance -- the very first sentence of the first story commands attention: ""Two brothers who were twins and hunchbacks lived together, but in order to avoid the jeers of the gapers, they never went out together and they were so cautious that they hid during the day""; they're the victims of what happens ""When the Devils Amuse Themselves"" in a frisky, three-page amorality play. From the goat Momplaisir to the young girl My Beauty the cast is as good-humored as the tellings -- which indeed do, per the Authors' Note, make up for what's lost in the transcriptions from the oral versions, expressing gesture and intonation in writing.

Pub Date: May 7, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION