"In the neighborhood, when people ask you how you are doing, one of the ways to answer is to say, map gade. I'm watching. It means that you are waiting, looking out, observing to understand a situation before acting. Sometimes, nothing changes as you watch on, but you have your eyes open."

Wow, this book is INCREDIBLE. And one that's completely deserving of a full 5 stars as it completely pulled me in, engaged me, and educated me in a way I didn't know I needed.

Of course, we all heard about the horrible earthquake Haiti experienced in 2010. I'm sure we even all heard about the number of people who died in it. However, after reading What Storm, What Thunder, I now realize how far removed from the catastrophe I was and how little I actually thought of it. An estimated 200,000+ people perished... A terrifyingly huge number, making it the worst natural disaster in what was already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

This novel tells the fictional stories of multiple people in Haiti and Haitian expats and how the earthquake effected them. All of the stories are loosely connected and characters are woven in and out of each story. We follow a child who was on his way home from the market when the earthquake hit, an expat who was back in Haiti for a business meeting, a man who is in a hotel elevator, a mother who loses so much, an expat living in Boston who hears about the earthquake on the news, and more.

We all obviously know how devastating earthquakes can be and don't necessarily need a work of fiction to tell us... But this book really hit home and made me understand that the devastation lasts long after the dust settles. Especially in a country where most people already had so little.

Haiti sadly suffered another earthquake just this year, albeit a much smaller one when compared to 2010. But I can't even imagine how much more this set the country back. Thank you to Myriam J.A. Chancy for writing this beautiful book. It's one that will stick with me for a long, long time and will greatly alter the way I react to the terrible atrocities in other countries.

This synopsis had me absolutely SOLD, but unfortunately because of my neurodivergence, I struggle with reading books with more than 1-3 main characters. Eight is simply out of the question for me as I cannot keep track of that many people. This book is also extremely character based as opposed to plot based which is not my preference, but I still encourage y’all to pick it up!

While reading this book, my thoughts began to become "twisted," or maybe more accurately, conflicted, over whether or not I should continue. There is no difference between the depiction of the physical destruction caused by the earthquake and the depiction of the emotional toll taken on the Haitian people by Ms. Chancy. Whether the earthquake happened or not, I would not be able to completely understand the hopelessness felt by the residents of this terribly poor nation. The author takes you on a moving journey through the lives of a select few, yet their stories will stay with you long after you finish the book.

What Storm, What Thunder was a fantastic book to read, though challenging to listen to.
The story follows 8 different characters in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Plot and characterization were exceptional. While the narrator in general does a rather fine job, the audio version would have really benefitted from using different narrators reading the different POVs, especially as the chapters are rather long which made it challenging to orient yourself, if you happened to stop mid-chapter.
In conclusion, read the book if you can, rather than listen to it.

What a great novel! What Storm What Thunder tells the story of the famous Haitian earthquake told from multiple POVs. It touches on issues related to ethnicity, gender, privilege, and more. I thought the writing was very strong and the characters were compelling. At times this read more like a collection of short stories due to the various POVs that were included, which made this book unique. This book felt well researched and seemed to respect the events that took place.

The audiobook was great. I enjoyed the narrator. Thank you for the ARC!

A moving story that I wish was a bit longer and delved deeper into the varied perspectives it offers. I have not read any other historical fictions with this setting, so I am glad I read this.

The writing in this book was lyrical. I loved reading about the different cultural and the beliefs that they had. I know why this book is rated so hopefully high in Goodreads

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* This was a really powerful, important read. Would definitely reread this in the future.

Thank you Netgalley and Orange Sky Media for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book. I would have settled for even liking this book, but I couldn't finish it. I listened to about 30% before I had to quit. I felt like the story was going nowhere. It was more of a character study than it was a story of surviving one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. I was bummed. I'm sure I would have gotten more of the survival stories if I continued on, but it was just tedious to read. If you like character development with little plot, you may enjoy this book. However, it was one of the top reading disappointments so far this year. The audio was less than average. It needed multiple narrators for all of the viewpoints. One of my biggest audiobook pet peeves is a female voice narrating a first person viewpoint of a CIS man.

I will not be reviewing this on Goodreads or anywhere else.

This book creates a narrative around the magnitude 7.0 earthquake of January 12th 2010 that rocked Haiti. It's a beautifully written book that captures human emotions so well.

Using the experiences and voices of ten fictional characters whose lives are interconnected, the author crafts a raw and emotional book building a story about their lives before, during and after the earthquake.

I really enjoyed reading this book although it took a few tries to get into it. I think listening to it as an audio book and reading at the same time made the experience more enjoyable.

I struggled with this story as it went back and forth, and between characters. It was worth listening to (and reading the ebook along with) but it requires your full attention. This is not a subject where you can multi-task. I would like t9 relisten during a long drive as that might give me a different perspective and increase my rating.

An earthquake in 2010 killed hundreds of thousands of Haitians. This book describes the impact of the earthquake from the points of view of 10 people, some of whom were in Haiti at the time and some were not. The lives of the characters were interwoven and the non-linear story jumped around among them. At times it was very moving and disturbing - the enormous number of deaths, the struggle to survive in tent cities where there was lawlessness, overwhelming feelings of helplessness.

Although Ella Turenne did an excellent job narrating the audiobook, there were too many characters for me to keep track of. Maybe if I had been able to see their names I would have had an easier time. I am also not a huge fan of non linear structures. Despite the fact that I wasn’t crazy about the way the material was organized, I thought the book was very good and I would read this author again.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Tbh I'm quite sad that I didn't like this book more. The overall story and the themes are important and it's quite interesting to dive into the different ways the earthquake affects people, whether they're on Haiti when it happens or not. Unfortunately the structure of the book did not really work for me.

I usually don't mind multiple POV but this is the kind of multiple POV that I like the least, each narrator only gets one chapter. Granted they're pretty long chapters but I still had trouble feeling emotionally connected to the characters, especially when I had to stop reading in the middle of a chapter and pick it back up later. Basically the length of each POV was not enough for some characters and too long for others.

I'd still recommend this book if you know the structure is not going to bother you.

What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy tells the story of an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude that shakes the capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince. This beautiful written novel follows the lives of the characters affected by the disaster—both before and the day of the earthquake. A heartbreaking and heartwarming read that is dedicated to the thousands who lost their lives in this natural disaster and all those who survived to clean up and face a new reality that is affecting the country as a whole today.

My only complaint is that I wish there were more than one narrator. I sometimes could not connect with the character because there was only one narrator. Ella Turenne does do a wonderful job and her Haitian Creole is beautiful and only adds to the novel.

A must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Publishing for this audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

I attempted to read this book several times. While it seemed like a topic I would be interested in learning more about, it was difficult on audiobook for me because of the foreign language and the single narrator. The writing was beautiful and I think I would have been better suited to read this book in print form. Overall, it was an emotional and stunning story.

What Storm, What Thunder tells the story of an aftermath of an earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. In the aftermath, the lives of those affected are highlighted and delved into, all through the perspective of Ma Lou, an old woman who sells produce at the market. She sees everything, and tells the reader how all the lives that come to the market are intertwined.

This book is magical, and using flowery language and passages, the life of the Haitians comes to life. We watch through Ma Lou's eyes as people come and go, and then what happens to them after the earthquake hits. If you like literary fiction and flowery passages that seem to take on a life of their own, this is the story for you.

The narrator was excellent, seemingly speaking the Haitian dialect of French well, and really making you feel like you were in the market in Port-au-Prince. The people come to life, through Ma Lou's eyes, and make you ache for their tragedy.

Thank you to the author, publisher, narrator and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review..

What Storm, What Thunder focuses on nine characters and their lives following a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010. This was definitely not an easy read. I was so submerged and invested in this story, I found myself in the center of each and every characters’ s pain and struggle. Sara really had my heart in a vice grip, I just don’t know what I would’ve done with myself, if I was in her shoes. I kept finding a little piece of me in Sonia for some reason and Ma Lou is definitely my favorite character, she reminds me so much of my grandmother.

I recommend anyone to pick up the physical and the e-book. I honestly didn’t care to much for the audiobook because I just couldn’t get past when the narrator try to speak Creole it kind of threw me off.

Overall Myriam JA Chancy crafted this novel so beautifully heavy and masterfully highlighted the Haitian culture. What Storm, What Thunder is Haiti.

Format: audiobook
Author: Myriam J. A. Chancy ~ Title: What Storm, What Thunder ~ Narrator: Ella Turenne
Content: 4.5 stars ~ Narration: 4 stars

This novel is beautifully written and so, so sad.

What Storm, What Thunder tells a story of an earthquake in Haiti that took place in January 2010 and how it affected various people. Each chapter is a story of a different person and her (or his) experience with the earthquake. These people are interconnected, and some of them know each other. So we get to know the story of the earthquake from quite a few different points of view.

The narrator is very good, and I liked her narration. But I think it would be better if there was a male narrator for male characters.

Thanks to OrangeSky Audio for the ARC and the opportunity to listen to this! All opinions are my own.

5 Stars

I am grateful to OrangeSky Audio for sending me an advanced copy of this audiobook for review.

I truly enjoyed this book and found it to be a refreshing West Indian story. The setting was wonderful and fully developed, and this enhanced the story being told. I loved that it wasn't just based on landmarks and food, but built atmosphere with relationships, language, and true emotion. I also loved that Chancy gave us characters from a cross section of Haitian society to paint a full picture.

I am tired of Caribbean stories that only focus on trauma. This one managed to tackle traumatic topics but maintain the humanity of the characters. There was a perfect balance of exploring hardships while, still maintaining the authentic feel of the culture. This story featured some very complex relationship dynamics, from familial relationships to how these characters feel about society as a whole. It was all written in a way that was engaging and authentic, and centered around one pivotal incident (an Earthquake) that touched the lives of all the characters.

This story jumps around through time seamlessly. I think the author handled telling background stories as well as parallel plot lines very well, and the story was compelling from beginning to end. This storytelling approach was perfect for this story, because it allowed us to delve into the minds of the characters and really dissect some serious social topics. One of those topics that stood out to me was the great commentary on the complex relationship Haitian people (and many Caribbean people) have with their country/identity and with other countries like the US. This was explored through multiple perspectives of character in different locations and from different backgrounds.

I recommend this story to anyone who enjoys cultural stories, especially people who have an interest in the Caribbean or Haiti specifically.

Thank you to @netgalley @orangeskyaudio @spiegelandgrau the ALC in return for my honest review.

My thoughts…
Devastating. This book was based on the 2010 Haiti earthquake. There were a few characters here but well-developed, taking us through their experiences. The narration was a bit confusing with just one narrator, but the book was poignant and it humanized the earthquake and the devastation it brought to a country already in turmoil. These characters intertwined that showed unbelievable strength of spirit and resilience of humans.