"Dance on the Volcano" by Marie Vieux-Chauvet is a novel set in Haiti during the early 20th century, just before the rise of the Duvalier regime. The story is set against the backdrop of political unrest and social change in Haiti. It follows the lives of three sisters—Nérina, a beautiful and ambitious woman; Rose, who is deeply religious; and the youngest, who is still a child.

The novel explores themes of social class, gender roles, and political corruption, offering a vivid portrayal of Haitian society. Vieux-Chauvet's writing captures the complexities of her characters' lives and the tension between personal desires and societal expectations. The novel is celebrated for its rich, evocative language and its unflinching examination of the interplay between personal and political turmoil.

I think this might be one of the bleakest, grimmest reads I've read this year. The tension and atmosphere is palpable and that is a tough, tense atmosphere to have linger. It has lingered in a way that tells of the skill in the writing. I'm not sure whether the plot is one that seems to "go somewhere" but the book stays with you.

Sometimes the intrinsic interest of a book outweighs its literary merit and I felt this was very much the case with this Haitian novel from 1957. The author is a key figure of Haitian literature and using a real historical event as her springboard shows us a society and a time that is, to my knowledge, rarely reflected in fiction. Set in Haiti in the late 18th century it’s the tale of a local mixed-race girl who through the beauty of her voice is catapulted to stardom and manages to cross racial and societal boundaries. The book gives a vivid portrait of life on the island and the social conditions there, featuring as it does whites, blacks, slaves, freedmen, maroons and mixed race characters. The title comes from the original French, in which “danser sur un volcan” is an expression which means to be blind to imminent danger, and that eloquently sums up the tone of the novel, which takes place just before the Haitian Revolution. What I very much appreciated about the novel is the fact that it opened up to me a time and a place about which I knew virtually nothing. What I didn’t enjoy was the over-blown language and often clichéd writing. Sentences such as “The wings of her deliciously indented nose trembled with the slightest emotion”. All rather Mills & Boon. Not helped by the rather clumsy translation. Far too many “gottens” for a British ear, and which in any case are rather anachronistic. Not to mention “Anyway, I could care less.” Not in Haiti in the 1770s, I don’t think. And even such clumsy translation as “A sort of unhealthy obsession kept her on a sort of leash”. Without reading the original French I can’t really judge whether the fault always lies with the translator but certainly a bit of editing wouldn’t have come amiss. Nevertheless, it’s still a book worth reading in my opinion – just steel yourself for some linguistic and stylistic infelicities.