3.5 ⭐️
Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for the e-book! The Garden of Broken Things follows Genevieve’s life as she returns to visit Haiti with her American born son, getting time away from the mental attachment to her ex husband, when an earthquake hits. This story covers a lot of ground in the themes of motherhood, class/privilege and generational trauma. While I don’t think I’m the target demographic for this book, I did enjoy reading it and found myself a lot more attached to these characters than initially anticipated.

DNF @ 10%. I liked the opening of this book but I quickly lost steam once I realized what was happening. I enjoyed the writing and I could see myself coming back to this someday, but I've put it down for a few months now because I just can't seem to get in the mood to read something so sad.

Thank you Knopf and Netgalley for letting me read and review this book. I am glad the book was on Kindle since I don't always get the chance to read and review books before they are published. The Garden of Broken Things is a novel about a family dealing with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

Momplaisir is a great author; their writing style brings you into the story. It was an intriguing and emotional read. Genevieve and Miles are strong main characters that I loved learning about. Genevieve and Miles go on a trip to learn about Mile's family roots and to help him come to terms with his father leaving them. Genevieve reconnects with her family and remembers her childhood on this island. The book explores motherhood, the Haitian diaspora, generational trauma, migration, and family.

This is a difficult read. I cried, felt a lot of feelings, and learned a lot.

The Garden of Broken Things is what I would call a "painful, but necessary" read. It relates the story of three generations of Haitian women, a few who have immigrated to the U.S., the majority of whom still live in Haiti.

The novel opens in New York, where Genevieve is terrified for her teenage son Miles, who has been engaging in risk-taking behavior. She knows how much more likely he is to die from a confrontation with law enforcement than are his white peers. Hoping to give Miles's perspective a shake-up, she flies with him to her former home in rural Haiti—in January of 2010. They, like so many others, find themselves injured, desperately seeking help after the 7.0 earthquake.

Half of the book's chapters are narrated in Genevieve's voice; the other half are narrated in omniscient third person and examine the stories of her female relatives. These inside-of and outside-of perspectives work well to explore the tensions among these women, particularly between those who have remained in Haiti and those who immigrated.

Initially the book is fairly straightforward in its story-telling. We share some of Genevieve's thoughts, but events lead the way. In the latter half, the book digs deeply into the minds of its characters, focusing on how they respond to the emergency, the values they come to recognize in this situation, and their attempts to set things right.

Momplaisir's prose is beautiful, and that beautiful languages emphasizes the vastly different experience's of the novel's women. This is a book that will have you torn between wanting to plough through it as quickly as possible to learn its characters' fates and wanting to savor its sentences and paragraphs slowly so you can enjoy their full richness.

I received a free electronic review copy of this book; the opinions are my own.

Grim, and harrowing: two words that may be used in the description of this novel. Trigger warnings for death, abuse, other forms of violence. Some spoilers ahead.

Three generations of Haitian women from two branches of a family, one branch having migrated to the US, interact in disturbing ways. Ties to the homeland remain very strong, but there is an acceptance that the homeland is a difficult place, and the women who remain in Haiti long to leave.

Genevieve, a divorcee living in the US, is struggling to protect her teenaged son. In an attempt to ground him and to show him his privilege, she decides to take him to Haiti. Just after their arrival, a devastating event occurs.

I found many aspects of this book disturbing and quite bleak, and would have stopped reading it (but it was an ARC!). Having finished it, though, I realised how much it moved me. It’s a passionate account of the travails of the people of Haiti, a cry from the heart for justice, mercy, and compassion. Using the women as a vehicle, Momplaisir advances a powerfully feministic viewpoint of migration, child-rearing and inheritance in the midst of national turmoil. This is also a devastating, heartbreaking account of (spoiler) the 2010 earthquake.

So, a hard read, reminiscent to me of Véronique Tadjo’s In The Company of Men. I did not enjoy this book, because of the content, but Momplaisir’s writing is powerful, urgent, and necessary.

Rated: 6/10.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this eARC.

Extra note: The style of the writing—like prose poetry—is not my favourite thing.

Delighted to include this title in the May edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section Zoomer magazine. (see review at link)

I would most certainly buy this book if I was looking for a good read.
This author is new to me and I did not really know if I would like this one, but I am so glad I gave it a try.
I will be looking for more books by this author in the future.
A devastating and poignant novel.
Genevieve, is a character I absolutely admire. And enjoyed her character very much.
Instantly gripping and powerfully effective, with a lasting effect that I haven't felt for a long time.
This is a must read!

Thank you Knopf for this arc!
I will post, tag and edit my review closer to pub day.