Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile (recovering from an arm injury; on a short review-writing break)'s Reviews > What Storm, What Thunder

"At least 250,000 people died and only their closest relatives and friends remembered who they might have been; they could not be recovered, not even their names.”

Myriam J. A. Chancy's What Storm, What Thunder is a heartbreaking yet powerful work of fiction that revolves around the 7.0 magnitude 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti and left 250,000-300000 dead and many injured and homeless.
The story is told through ten voices - ten individuals from different walks of life who lives are impacted by the ‘Douz/Douze’ as the locals refer to the earthquake. Eight of these people were in Port-au-Prince when the natural disaster occurred and two have family there but were not living there when the event occurred. The author gives us a glimpse of life before, during and after the quake.

“Douz: when something terrible happens to you, it feels like a dream at first. Not until the pain and the panic settle does it seem real.”

Different settings are used to tell the story - the marketplace in Port-au-Prince , a swanky hotel frequented by the affluent and those they do business with, the IDP camp where those displaced face other hardships and atrocities within the ‘tented city’ and the outskirts where displaced people are being relocated for employment .

We also get a glimpse into the heartache and despair felt by those who did not witness the death and destruction firsthand but whose roots and family remain in Haiti .

“There is no before, no way to think before. There is only the not knowing of how to put the before together with the now. Before is a distant memory. I am still waiting to hear from those I loved, before. Waiting to hear if I can say I love, still, or if everything will remain past tense, what it was: no beyond, no goodbyes: simply after.”

Haiti’s earthquake and its devastating effects on human life is not any easy story to tell, even in fiction. But the author has exercised considerable care and restraint while crafting the stories that make this novel, remaining as true to fact that fiction allows without unnecessary embellishment. While incidents of death, trauma and sexual assault are hard to read it is commendable that the author has not gone overboard in graphic detail .
It is difficult to not be affected when you read What Storm, What Thunder. I had to take my time reading it and took breaks from the book in-between . A beautifully penned novel, Myriam J. A. Chancy's What Storm, What Thunder leaves you with a heavy heart.