“Masters of the Dew” by Jacques Roumain (Haïti)
One of Nicola’s 100 Best Books for Inspiration in the 21st century!
Synopsis
Manuel returns to his native village after working on a sugar plantation in Cuba only to discover that it is stricken by a drought and divided by a family feud. He attacks the resignation endemic among his people by preaching the kind of political awareness and solidarity he has learned in Cuba. He goes on to illustrate his ideas in a tangible way by finding water and bringing it to the fields through the collective labour of the villagers. In this political fable, the author is careful to create an authentic environment and credible characters. Readers will be emotionally moved as well as ideologically persuaded.
Extract
Her cousin, Roselia, did her washing beside her. She talked continually, relating Fonds Rouge stories, those that were true and those she invented. She had a sharp tongue, that Roselia. But Annaise heard her without listening. Her thoughts were with Manuel.
Manuel, dear, she thought, and a warm wave swept over her, a weakness so sweet that she wanted to close her eyes as she had done last night when he kissed her, and she felt herself drifting in a burning current whose every wave was a thrill to her body. He had covered her completely, he had become one with her, and she had left his mouth only long enough to emit that lacerating cry of the blood that gushed from the depths of her flesh and flowered into a happy sigh of deliverance.
I’m his woman, she dreamt, and she smiled. You had to come all the way back from Cuba to find me here. It’s a story that begins like a fairy tale, “Once upon a time.” But it’s a tale that ends happily, “I’m your wife!” Because, oh, God! some are full of death and disaster.
© Jacques Roumain 1944
English translation © the estate of Jacques Roumain 1947