I have been craving more nuanced, modern depictions of the history and politics between Haiti and the Dominican Republic and this delivered, full-throttle. Village Weavers is a tale of friendship, family, and identity, but I learned so much about the history of Haiti and the DR! While various moments in this story were sad, and I did wish to see more character development, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of this story.

Thank you to Tin House and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

Village Weavers by Myriam J.A. Chancy 📚

Thanks to @tin_house and #netgalley for this eARC.

Dare I admit this was my first book by Chancy? Even though I own What Storm, What Thunder? I need to remedy that quickly! This was an amazing novel.

This was a fascinating deep dive into friendship, family, the history and politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, US imperialism, and more. The story is intimate and about two women from Haiti and their lifelong connection to each other. But through this intimate story, the author unfurls information about the other topics as well, in a seamless way that feels very natural. And by the end you realize you were just taught a huge amount about Haiti and DR and their relationship with each other as well.

It's a sad story but also beautiful. The theme of sisterhood runs through it with the exploration of all its complications. I read this book quickly as I couldn't look away from the characters and the spiraling timelines throughout 60 years of their lives. Yep, definitely on my way to read more books by her!

It pains me to say this but I was so very disappointed in this novel. This author's previous book, WHAT STORM WHAT THUNDER, is an all time favorite of mine. It was hauntingly beautiful and so powerful. This one did not have that same spark for me. It lacked character development, the two main characters had no connection, and the timelines were unorganized and disjointed. I'll continue to read her books in the hopes that I will get that same spark back another time :)

Rich in culture, language, and character. I am so confused at some of the reviews I read about this book but I am so glad I didn't listen to them!
This novel weaves the story of a complicated relationship of two childhood friends with a deeper connection than either of the girls could have imagined. I really enjoyed the integrated history of DR/Haiti as well as the equal perspectives of both main characters. There were some really relevant and real-life questions posed about who we consider family, how we live with the choices we make, and whether or not it is ever really too late to act on regrets.

Idk why this doesn’t have higher ratings. This really touched me especially the ending. Is someone cutting onions? I especially loved how this author incorporated “magical realism” or Haitian folklore into this story. I originally was going to give this 4 stars but that ending aw man

Thank you to NetGalley, Tin House, and Myriam J. A. Chancy for the opportunity to read, Village Weavers: A Novel. I hadn't read or been taught much about Haiti or the Dominican Republic. I was both surprised and shocked to learn about the horrible struggles the people of those two countries have had to endure throughout history.

The author, Myriam J. A. Chancy, did an amazing job of presenting sensitive subject matter in a kind and loving manner. It was often extremely difficult to imagine what the characters (especially as children) were going through, but she explained it with such ease and empathy.

The two main characters, Sisi and Gertie, were childhood friends who were brought up in two different classes and different families. As different as they appeared to be, it was evident they were also kindred spirits. They had to fight against family bigotry their entire life. There was also an important secret that tied them together forever. This secret would attempt to destroy the amazing bond the two girls shared.

Throughout the book the two girls became friends and then were separated for years due to their families' issues. They eventually built separate lives in America. They were both married and they each had one daughter. I believe it was the love of their daughters that in the end brought them back together again.

This was a wonderful story about unconditional love, family ties, class systems, racism, and bigotry. It would also be an excellent book to read during Black History Month in my opinion. #VillageWeavers #NetGalley

This book wasn’t my favorite. I found it hard to follow and felt like it lost steam 1/3 in.
I’m sure for historical fiction fans this might be an easier read, but I am a newby and just really struggled to get into the story and characters.

I really wanted to love this book. The cover is beautiful and the story sounded like it was going to be good. I’m not sure what was worse how slow of a burn it was or the fact that it was very confusing. I think I’ll go with confusing. Things are not explained well and seem to jump around a lot. The best thing about the book is the cover.

This is the story of two Haitian girls from grade school until 2002.
As the girls, Gertie and Sisi start grade school, they quickly become best friends until a deathbed realization tears them apart.
Gertie grew up in a wealthy family, while Sisi lives with her mother and grandmother in a poor part of Port-Au-Prince.
The book follows their lives through Port-Au-Prince as young girls, to teenagers, and beyond.
In the 1950s, the girls individually travel to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Paris.
The next decade brings DuValier and the uprisings in Haiti where innocents disappear and corpses rot in the streets, making it necessary for the girls to leave the island and everything behind.
In the 1970s, they marry and have children (1 each) although they hear about each other there is very little direct communication.
This book highlights the differences that influence their lives including social class, racism (different colors of black from amber to ebony), lesbianism, grief and rejection. There is a lot of emphasis on Haitian folklore, birds, and foods and the impact these have on their lives.
I don't know why this book was hard for me to get into but I think it might have been the multiple time and location changes.
I believe that a linear telling would have served this book well as I found it very difficult to keep the storyline going with the above changes as they broke up the cohesiveness of the story. I was surprised to learn that Village Weavers were not people but birds that are native to the Caribbean - and I'm not sure what the tie in was to the book.
I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving my opinions voluntarily.

If I can convince you of one thing in this review, it is do not give up! Village Weavers takes a moment to orient yourself, but it is oh so worth it. This was achingly beautiful and worth the “work”. Chancy is quickly becoming a favorite author.

A thoughtful look at enduring friendship between two Haitian women-Gertie and Sisi - from different socio-economic strata. It moves around in time (mostly forward) from the 1950s. There's positive LGBTQ representation but also a lot of grief and pain. Know that there is patois. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Interesting read.

“ Their friendship might outlast their distance, that the invisible threads that bind them might just bring them back into each others orbit.” Village Weaver is the tale of two sisters across the span of time and space. This book proved that blood is thicker than water. When two girls meet at a young age , nothing prepared them for the road ahead. Through hardships in childhood and political turmoil both women carve a path for themselves living the American Dream.

A story written about two young girls growing up in Haiti in the 1940s. Gertie and Sisi are the best of friends until a startling revelation forces them apart. They grow up and are never quite able to reconcile. Both women have their own unique set of struggles and eventually try to come back to one another.

This book just kind of fell flat for me. I do not know much about Haitian or Dominican culture so I was looking forward to learning more about them. I wish the author would have spent more time describing the relationship between Haitians and Dominicans instead of leaving the reader to infer on their own. I also wish the author would have explained more about Haitian history.
This book jumps between different time periods and the different perspectives of the two women. I found this narration difficult to follow. More time spent developing and showing the readers a deeper relationship between the girls when they were younger as well as the different romantic relationships portrayed throughout the book would have been nice to see.

I enjoyed the descriptions of Haiti and the fauna in the book are beautiful. I could picture exactly what the writer was describing. The book was kind of a slow read and it just didn't hold my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Family History in Haiti
Village Weavers by Myrian JA Chancey

Thank you to Tin House Books and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

This engrossing and lyrical book traces the interlocking lives of two women from Haiti, Sisi and Gertie, from the age of 7 to close to 70.
Both born in 1934, and fast friends when they start school in 1941, their intense relationship is brief. Sisi is working class and Gertie comes from the island’s elite. There also is a family connection, but because of it and the class differences, Gertie’s status-conscious older sisters determine to keep them apart. It is hard to believe the absolute lack of affection or even interest Gertie’s sisters have for her, or their implacable, life-long animosity toward Sisi. In contrast to these selfish, mean women, Sisi’s older sister, Margie, is a model for both girls.

From 1941 through 2003, the book moves back and forth between the two girls/women, each with one daughter, highlighting certain years and places, for example: 1950’s, Paris and Santo Domingo; Ohio and Florida in 1970’s; Phoenix and Miami in the 2000’s. Throughout, women’s and minorities’ lack of power and agency is a theme.


Between 1942 and 2002 they meet only one time. However, in their minds they both return again and again to the deep connection they had as children, and the puzzle of why it matters so much to each.

The lore of the Simbi, powerful figures of fate in traditional Haitian belief, winds through the story, as do beautiful images of birds and the sea, the first associated with Sisi, the second with Gertie. A brief review cannot capture the richness of these visions, or their deep meaning for the women.

Two caveats to the strength of this story: First, the book can seem slow, with the many shifts in time and place, the overly detailed descriptions of food, and the inclusion of native languages (Haitian Creole, French) before the English counterpart. Also the book’s title, Village Weavers, is somewhat obscure. I thought it had to do with women working together in a village. In fact, village weavers are bright yellow birds native to the Caribbean islands, known for the beautiful nests the males weave. The nests hang like globes from trees, and each male may make many in a season. As one reads this sweet and sad story, the image becomes increasingly meaningful.

I decided on Village Weavers as my February Read the World challenge since it’s Black History Month and the story is set in Haiti. Haiti was the first nation to permanently banish slavery in 1804 and had to pay reparations to France for loss of property. I know, insane!

Port-au-Prince, 1940s. Gertie and Sisi become fast friends in primary school, much to the ire of Gertie’s family, who only mingles with the upper class and is all about appearances and social standing. But Sisi’s working class family is not the only reason they don’t want Gertie associating with her. The girls have more in common than they realize, and when the secret is out, their worlds are torn apart. When Duvalier’s rule turns deadly in the 1950s, Sisi and her family flee Europe, and Gertie marries an older man from a wealthy Dominican family. Over the next few decades, Gertie and Sisi reunite a few times only to be pulled apart every time until they reunite for a final time in the U.S.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. This was an emotional read for me because I know what it’s like to leave behind a home and everything you know to start a new life elsewhere. It’s especially tough when you lose people close to you for reasons that are out of your control. Chancy paints a scary picture of Haiti under Duvalier’s rule. People go missing, bodies lie in the streets.

Gertie’s family is protected by their privilege under Duvalier. Social class and colorism are major themes in this story. Chancy also touches on the complex relationship between Haitians and Dominicans and the racism Haitians have to deal with.

Sisi’s family doesn’t have the things Gertie’s has, yet Gertie envies how close Sisi’s family is compared to hers, who treat her like an inconvenience because of her darker complexion. Gertie, who’s much younger than her siblings, struggles to stand up to them for herself and for Sisi whenever they reunite, further widening the chasm between them.

Will they be able to break this cycle of distrust and choose to love each other before its too late? Find out when this novel drops April 2nd.

The pace of this book is fairly slow. I found the book to be a powerful exploration of the ways in which our past experiences shape us. The characters' journeys towards forgiveness and healing were deeply moving, and I appreciated the author's attention to detail and rich descriptions of Haitian culture.

Set In Port-au-Prince the story of two girls from different backgrounds become fast friends.
One wants what the other has, and they keep their friendship together even as they grow up and leave the island.

I had a difficult time reading this book. I kept getting loss in the continuous used of patois. It kept getting me so off the story that I would get lost. I just didn’t find it compelling and hope that other readers relate better to the story then I did. I did DNF this book 50% in.

Thank you NetGalley and Myriam Chancy for giving me a chance to read this arc!

To be completely upfront, I DNF the book after 60% - so the information below may not be wholly accurate…. I don’t DNF books. I was just struggling to pick it up.

I was drawn to this book expecting a historical fiction novel set in 1940s Haiti, which is something I know absolutely about and was excited to learn about. It fell short. Not because it is a bad book, or poorly written or even due to the subject matter… it’s none of those things! Quite the opposite. The language is beautiful. It’s easy to understand. Even the transition between timelines and pov’s is simple to follow. If you love contemporary family dramas you may very well love this book. I feel really bad about this review. I wanted to like it. I tried to like it.

Unfortunately, this is not what I personally read so I am not a good judge for this genre. Therefore, take my opinions with a grain of salt. Although the character timelines jump around between 1940s and fairly present day, you will learn nothing about the world and events of 1940s Haïti, 1970s Ohio or early 2000s. The closest it comes is a sprinkling of Haitian religion/folklore/food. It is strictly relationship developments and individual introspection. Upon reading the updated synopsis I would have known this!!!

I can generally read a book within a few days time. This book took me over a month to read and to be honest it was a challenge to pick it up. It’s heavy, dealing with themes of grief and rejection on top of being EXTREMELY slow as it describes everything in minute detail. The rating is obviously Only on the portion I read, which I don’t actually think it’s fair for me to rate it at all.

I will absolutely try another one of Mariam J. A. Chancy works. Because again there is nothing actually wrong with the book, it’s just not my cup of tea!

Need to Know / Triggers
1. Slaughtering Animals
2. Lots of death, grief
3. Animal cruelty

I struggled with this book. I thought I would enjoy the book when I read the description, but it’s not for me. I didn’t make it far, so maybe it gets better. I’m really sorry I didn’t read the entire book. Maybe others will like it, but it was not my type.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Tin House Book Publishing for my ARC ♥️

Synopsis:
"Village Weavers" is a heartwarming story about two friends, Gertie and Sisi, who grow up together in Haiti. They come from different backgrounds - Gertie is rich and Sisi is poor - but their friendship is strong. They share happy moments and secrets, but a big secret from the past tears them apart. The book follows their lives as they grow up, face challenges, and struggle with their own problems. It shows how hard it is to forgive and move on from the past. Even though they're apart for many years, they never forget each other. Through trials and tribulations, they find their way back to each other.

I found the book to be a powerful exploration of the ways in which our past experiences shape us. The characters' journeys towards forgiveness and healing were deeply moving, and I appreciated the author's attention to detail and rich descriptions of Haitian culture.♥️