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Saisons Sauvages
«Je suis la femme de Daniel Leroy et la maøtresse d'un secrétaire d'ø‰tat macoute. C'est vrai je suis lø¢che, j'aurais pu me battre, refuser, crier au scandale. Mais j'aurais été seule, tout ø fait seule. Seule face ø la peur. J'aurais pu disparaøtre, me faire torturer et violer, comme il y a quelques années, au tout début de la dictature, cette journaliste, mø¨re de cinq enfants. Maintenant la peur couche dans mon lit, je la baise, lui donne du plaisir, je profite de ses largesses. En me soumettant au secrétaire d'ø‰tat je garde Daniel en vie. Pour le reste, pour demain, je ne sais rien.» Port-au-Prince, années 1960 : Duvalier et ses tontons macoutes éliminent systématiquement les opposants au régime. Daniel Leroy, rédacteur en chef du principal journal d'opposition, vient d'øªtre enlevé. Pour obtenir de ses nouvelles, son épouse Nirvah se rend chez le secrétaire d'ø‰tat ø la Sécurité publique, Raoul Vinc
336 pages, Pocket Book
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Kettly Mars
30 books29 followersKettly Mars is a Haitian poet and novelist. She writes in French, and her books have been translated in English, Italian, Dutch, Danish, and Japanese.
Mars was born on September 3, 1958, in Port-au-Prince. She studied classical languages and worked the first twenty five years of her career as an office worker.
Since she was young she has been fascinated by poetry and around her age of thirty five years she began to write poems herself. Initially she wrote on the importance of love, the human body and sexuality in everyday life.
Her novels are situated in Haiti, although her themes are rather universal. She makes combinations between for instance gender, human race, social class, spirituality, power and violence. In 2003 her first novel appeared, called Kasalé; since then more novels followed. Her work is characterized by a vivid realistic reflection of the society.
Since about 2010 she works on an anthology on literature that was written in the 18th, 19th and 20th century by Haitian women.
(from Wikipedia)
Mars was born on September 3, 1958, in Port-au-Prince. She studied classical languages and worked the first twenty five years of her career as an office worker.
Since she was young she has been fascinated by poetry and around her age of thirty five years she began to write poems herself. Initially she wrote on the importance of love, the human body and sexuality in everyday life.
Her novels are situated in Haiti, although her themes are rather universal. She makes combinations between for instance gender, human race, social class, spirituality, power and violence. In 2003 her first novel appeared, called Kasalé; since then more novels followed. Her work is characterized by a vivid realistic reflection of the society.
Since about 2010 she works on an anthology on literature that was written in the 18th, 19th and 20th century by Haitian women.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 16, 2010
Kettly Mars is one of my favorite authors, so I was really looking forward to this book. The writing is beautiful as always and the story is compelling. But as it progressed, the story became less and less believable. And I liked the characters less and less. I read one review that described the main character as strong. Um, I saw no sign of that. She just seemed to let the situation sweep her along and the same was true of the other major characters. I also found the scenes narrated from the daughter's point of view unnecessary and distracting. And I didn't appreciate the signature open-ended Mars ending this time. I would still recommend this book because of the writing and the setting. The references to the Duvalier dictatorship were detailed and chilling.
June 20, 2019
It’s hard to pick between 4 & 5 stars. The subject matter is so hard to stomach, but I have no doubt it captured the reality for many Haitian families. It was hard to contemplate the impossible choice Nirvah made, but also to see the parallels to the current political bullshit happening under Trump in the US. He is moving us incrementally closer to a dictatorship too. Those who begin in his favor eventually fall from grace. It’s like world leaders are drinking the same koolaid recipe Duvalier, Mussolini, Hitler and others use.
Much of the writing was powerful and evocative. Mars used some beautiful imagery and subtle foreshadowing. She captured pain & anguish really well. I liked how Nirvah was the primary narrator but Raoul’s perspective was integral and her kids also had small but momentous moments to weigh in too. Mars also painted a clear picture of life under Duvalier and the role vodou plays in Haiti and played under his rule. I may return to that theme later and work up an article on the topic.
There was a lot to like so why not 5? Maybe because the ending was open-ended but likely tragic? That’s so typical of the fatalist, spiralist theme in much of Haitian lit so it’s not fair of me to penalize the book just for that. I’m not sure why, but 5 just feels too high.
Much of the writing was powerful and evocative. Mars used some beautiful imagery and subtle foreshadowing. She captured pain & anguish really well. I liked how Nirvah was the primary narrator but Raoul’s perspective was integral and her kids also had small but momentous moments to weigh in too. Mars also painted a clear picture of life under Duvalier and the role vodou plays in Haiti and played under his rule. I may return to that theme later and work up an article on the topic.
There was a lot to like so why not 5? Maybe because the ending was open-ended but likely tragic? That’s so typical of the fatalist, spiralist theme in much of Haitian lit so it’s not fair of me to penalize the book just for that. I’m not sure why, but 5 just feels too high.
February 23, 2020
“Saisons Sauvages” nous entraîne dans une histoire d’amour impossible entre une victime indirecte de la dictature et un des principaux chefs macoutes notoires dans l’espoir peu probable que ce dernier lui permette de retrouver un jour son mari vivant. La plume de Kettly Mars est aussi belle qu’implacable et le lecteur lui-même a du mal à en échapper.
October 29, 2021
Cette phrase vous convaincra de lire ce roman : « La dictature est une maîtresse exigeante et cruelle ».
Wow ce livre m’a fait voyager en Haïti dans les années 1960. Pour les Occidentaux, le régime dictatorial de Duvalier était une période sombre puisque tous personnes contre ce régime se retournent en prison et meurent. Les intellectuels, la bourgeoisie et les personnalités politiques ont dù fuir leur pays pour se réfugier dans un pays d’accueil. Par contre pour les Haïtien, c’était les temps modernes (beaux temps) sans violence, insécurité comme on vivait bien durant ce régime. Ce roman m’a rendu émotive parce que j’aurai voulu connu ces temps modernes de mon pays d’origine (haiti was secured and safe for everyone 🖤🥺). J’espère avoir cette chance de le visiter un jour de mon vivant. L’écriture de Mars te transporte au pays et les émotions sont omniprésentes.
Si je n’étais pas en mi-session, j’aurai fini ce roman dans la fin de semaine, hélas on doit sacrifier la lecture pour les études. (FIN de DEC arrive)
Wow ce livre m’a fait voyager en Haïti dans les années 1960. Pour les Occidentaux, le régime dictatorial de Duvalier était une période sombre puisque tous personnes contre ce régime se retournent en prison et meurent. Les intellectuels, la bourgeoisie et les personnalités politiques ont dù fuir leur pays pour se réfugier dans un pays d’accueil. Par contre pour les Haïtien, c’était les temps modernes (beaux temps) sans violence, insécurité comme on vivait bien durant ce régime. Ce roman m’a rendu émotive parce que j’aurai voulu connu ces temps modernes de mon pays d’origine (haiti was secured and safe for everyone 🖤🥺). J’espère avoir cette chance de le visiter un jour de mon vivant. L’écriture de Mars te transporte au pays et les émotions sont omniprésentes.
Si je n’étais pas en mi-session, j’aurai fini ce roman dans la fin de semaine, hélas on doit sacrifier la lecture pour les études. (FIN de DEC arrive)
August 1, 2016
Françios (Papa Doc) Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971, as a physician by profession, earning him the nickname, he “took” the title of “President for Life” in 1964 and remained in power until his death, his son “Baby Doc” took political control until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. Whilst there are numerous references to “Baby Doc” living a lavish lifestyle, whilst thousands of Haitians were tortured and killed, the US Administration allowed the atrocities to continue given the strong anti-communist stance of the Duvaliers.
During their rule writers obviously feared reprisals and censorship and therefore their works were restrained in their criticism of the regime.
Late last year I reviewed “The Colour of Dawn” by Yanick Lahens (translated by Alison Layland), a work told in two voices, sisters, who are looking for their missing brother in Port-Au-Prince, a work which exposes the poverty and despair of Haitians. but if I thought that was a brutal work I only had to wait ten months to be absolutely floored by Kettly Mars’ Savage Seasons”.
Our work opens with our narrator Nirvah, sitting in the Secretary of State’s offices awaiting a meeting. She is there pondering the fate of her husband, Daniel Leroy, an editor in chief of the opposition newspaper, who has recently been jailed and most likely tortured and possibly killed, or maybe he’s been released, nobody knows, her stories are gleaned from the rumour mill, which says he’s still in prison but she only knows that from paying “in cash or insomnia”.
We then switch to the third person narration, thoughts of the Secretary of State himself, Raoul Vincent, and then to the recently discovered journal of Daniel as read by Nirvah. As our story unfolds the distinct voices of three key players are heard from different angles, we are connected to Nirvah and her desperation, we learn more of the husband’s larger schemes outside of working in the newspaper, and we learn of the Secretary of State’s extreme power, the hold he has over almost everybody in Haiti. Nirvah wants to find out about her husband’s fate, keep him alive so he can return to her and their teenage children, Raoul Vincent wants to possess Nirvah in both body and mid, sexual favours only part of his grander scheme to infiltrate her life.
For my full review go to http://messybooker.blogspot.com.au/20...
During their rule writers obviously feared reprisals and censorship and therefore their works were restrained in their criticism of the regime.
Late last year I reviewed “The Colour of Dawn” by Yanick Lahens (translated by Alison Layland), a work told in two voices, sisters, who are looking for their missing brother in Port-Au-Prince, a work which exposes the poverty and despair of Haitians. but if I thought that was a brutal work I only had to wait ten months to be absolutely floored by Kettly Mars’ Savage Seasons”.
Our work opens with our narrator Nirvah, sitting in the Secretary of State’s offices awaiting a meeting. She is there pondering the fate of her husband, Daniel Leroy, an editor in chief of the opposition newspaper, who has recently been jailed and most likely tortured and possibly killed, or maybe he’s been released, nobody knows, her stories are gleaned from the rumour mill, which says he’s still in prison but she only knows that from paying “in cash or insomnia”.
We then switch to the third person narration, thoughts of the Secretary of State himself, Raoul Vincent, and then to the recently discovered journal of Daniel as read by Nirvah. As our story unfolds the distinct voices of three key players are heard from different angles, we are connected to Nirvah and her desperation, we learn more of the husband’s larger schemes outside of working in the newspaper, and we learn of the Secretary of State’s extreme power, the hold he has over almost everybody in Haiti. Nirvah wants to find out about her husband’s fate, keep him alive so he can return to her and their teenage children, Raoul Vincent wants to possess Nirvah in both body and mid, sexual favours only part of his grander scheme to infiltrate her life.
For my full review go to http://messybooker.blogspot.com.au/20...
Want to Read
August 24, 2015Reviewed by The Complete Review
July 26, 2018
Wrede seizoenen schetst een deel van het levensverhaal van Nirvah Leroy tijdens de dictatuur van François Duvalier. Haar man Daniel is gevangen genomen vanwege staatsgevaarlijke activiteiten. Sindsdien heeft Nirvah niet van én over hem gehoord.
Omdat ze meer over het lot van Daniel wil weten, wendt ze zich tot de machtige staatssecretaris Raoul Vincent. In de hoop dat hij haar meer kan vertellen. Dat doet hij niet. Wel dringt hij zich steeds meer op aan Nirvah. Vastbesloten een relatie met haar te beginnen. Dat lukt, want Nirvah denkt daardoor haar man Daniel vrij te kunnen krijgen. Maar de gevolgen die dit met zich meebrengt kan ze op dat moment nog niet overzien.
In Wrede seizoenen krijgt de lezer een globale indruk van wat zich afspeelde tijdens schrikbewind van Duvalier. De angst die onder de mensen leefde, het wantrouwen dat heerste en de corruptie van het regime. Maar meer dan dit is het toch het relaas van een vrouw die er alles voor over heeft om haar man weer uit gevangenschap te krijgen of op zijn minst een levensteken van hem te krijgen.
Het boek is prettig leesbaar, hoewel het soms wel wat verwarrend is. Want sommige hoofdstukken worden, zonder dat het direct duidelijk is, verteld door de ogen van een ander personage. Dat is aanvankelijk dus even wennen.
Verder komen de gruwelijkheden die zich destijds in Haïti hebben voorgedaan slechts oppervlakkig aan bod. Daar had meer mee gedaan kunnen worden waardoor het boek een stuk aangrijpender zou worden. Dit gemis hoeft echter geen reden te zijn om het boek niet te gaan lezen.
Omdat ze meer over het lot van Daniel wil weten, wendt ze zich tot de machtige staatssecretaris Raoul Vincent. In de hoop dat hij haar meer kan vertellen. Dat doet hij niet. Wel dringt hij zich steeds meer op aan Nirvah. Vastbesloten een relatie met haar te beginnen. Dat lukt, want Nirvah denkt daardoor haar man Daniel vrij te kunnen krijgen. Maar de gevolgen die dit met zich meebrengt kan ze op dat moment nog niet overzien.
In Wrede seizoenen krijgt de lezer een globale indruk van wat zich afspeelde tijdens schrikbewind van Duvalier. De angst die onder de mensen leefde, het wantrouwen dat heerste en de corruptie van het regime. Maar meer dan dit is het toch het relaas van een vrouw die er alles voor over heeft om haar man weer uit gevangenschap te krijgen of op zijn minst een levensteken van hem te krijgen.
Het boek is prettig leesbaar, hoewel het soms wel wat verwarrend is. Want sommige hoofdstukken worden, zonder dat het direct duidelijk is, verteld door de ogen van een ander personage. Dat is aanvankelijk dus even wennen.
Verder komen de gruwelijkheden die zich destijds in Haïti hebben voorgedaan slechts oppervlakkig aan bod. Daar had meer mee gedaan kunnen worden waardoor het boek een stuk aangrijpender zou worden. Dit gemis hoeft echter geen reden te zijn om het boek niet te gaan lezen.
September 7, 2024
This book is a must for any French reader who loves gorgeously written prose, a good story and a capture of the highs and lows of life. Yes, it is a book about a pivotal moment in Haiti, and it captures this honestly, without apology or fear. But you don't have to know or care about Haiti to love it.
You know that sad feeling when you finish a book? For weeks, Saisons Sauvages and the characters in it have been my best friends and today I woke up a little lonely because I had no more pages read.
The story follows Nirvah, the main character, through her vulnerabilities and with her we come fully to life with our pain, foibles, urges and naïveté. Mars will make you root for Nirvah, curse her, dare her to open her eyes and want her to stay blind all at the same time. You will read and reread a passage just to see it a different way each time and let the sound of the language linger aloud, comme une dernière gorgée du vin. You will fall in love with French again because Mars writes so beautifully in how she crafts the language, passion without pretense. She can give us a whole world in two little pages. Gorgeous, taut and tender.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good book. If it exists in English, I'm sure it will be just as delicious.
You know that sad feeling when you finish a book? For weeks, Saisons Sauvages and the characters in it have been my best friends and today I woke up a little lonely because I had no more pages read.
The story follows Nirvah, the main character, through her vulnerabilities and with her we come fully to life with our pain, foibles, urges and naïveté. Mars will make you root for Nirvah, curse her, dare her to open her eyes and want her to stay blind all at the same time. You will read and reread a passage just to see it a different way each time and let the sound of the language linger aloud, comme une dernière gorgée du vin. You will fall in love with French again because Mars writes so beautifully in how she crafts the language, passion without pretense. She can give us a whole world in two little pages. Gorgeous, taut and tender.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves a good book. If it exists in English, I'm sure it will be just as delicious.
May 31, 2026
Mars captures the ways in which women are forced to navigate a society in the clutches of dictatorship, at the mercy of jealous and covetous men in positions of power, vulnerable to advances that cannot be denied without repercussions, and having to think of children and spouses in the grips of incarceration for having opposing ideas to the governing body.
I was fully engaged in this story that was raw and unflinching in how it conveyed the cruelty, fear, coming-of-age, innocence, envy, and precociousness of her characters. She handled her characters with nuance as each of them was given layers of human complexity and were allowed to exist on page with all the flaws and misgivings that come with being a person. As the reader, you are able to question each action and reaction and begin a discussion as it pertains to how you would handle such a situation if this was ever to happen to your family. What would you do to survive, to ensure that you could still take care of your children, provide a home and security, education and extra-curricular activities?
It makes one come to these stories with empathy and understanding, giving g compassion and grace to the MC even as you disagree with her choices and blame her for what befalls her and her children.
I was fully engaged in this story that was raw and unflinching in how it conveyed the cruelty, fear, coming-of-age, innocence, envy, and precociousness of her characters. She handled her characters with nuance as each of them was given layers of human complexity and were allowed to exist on page with all the flaws and misgivings that come with being a person. As the reader, you are able to question each action and reaction and begin a discussion as it pertains to how you would handle such a situation if this was ever to happen to your family. What would you do to survive, to ensure that you could still take care of your children, provide a home and security, education and extra-curricular activities?
It makes one come to these stories with empathy and understanding, giving g compassion and grace to the MC even as you disagree with her choices and blame her for what befalls her and her children.
Read
April 6, 2025 A desperate mother in 60's Port-au-Prince makes a deal with the devil, selling herself to one of Duvalier's henchman in exchange for protection for her and her family. Masterful. This is some hot-hot-heat. Even anticipating the conclusion it is a thrilling and disturbing ride, as well as a profound exploration of the corrupting effects of dictatorship on society. Excellent. Really glad I stumbled across it.
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August 8, 2011Esta novela está llena de símbolos y de recuerdos de cosas viejas, supuestamente olvidadas, pero que vuelven hoy con la fuerza terrible del desprecio. Una mujer, en el Haití de Duvalier, debe sufrir la triple represión por la posición política de su marido, por su condición de mujer hermosa y desvalida, por su condición de madre desesperada.
Hoy, en Haití Duvalier se pavonea por la calles y los restaurantes finos, pisoteando de nuevo a su pueblo, convocando un pasado que no ha terminado de salir.
Hoy, en Haití Duvalier se pavonea por la calles y los restaurantes finos, pisoteando de nuevo a su pueblo, convocando un pasado que no ha terminado de salir.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews