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Dancing in the Baron's Shadow: A Novel
Haiti, 1965. Francois Duvalier, known as Papa Doc, is the impoverished island nation's brutal dictator. Relentless curfews, and Papa Doc's terrifying Tonton Macoutes militia, have made life in Port-au-Prince increasingly difficult for struggling taxi driver Raymond L'Eveillé. But it is Raymond's brother, Nicolas, a wealthy professor at the local university, who is stirring up trouble. A secret manifesto penned by Nicolas is rallying opposition to Papa Doc. After a tip-off from a disgruntled student, Nicolas' home is raided and the manifesto discovered, landing him in Fort Dimanche, a notorious, disease-ridden prison many enter but few ever leave. Meanwhile, Raymond's wife leaves him, taking their children and escaping the island. With his family gone, Raymond gets himself arrested as part of a death-defying plan to break his brother out of jail.
Fabienne Josaphat's electric prose brings to life a horrifying and not so distant time in Haiti's past while exploring the best and worst of humanity. The novel examines power's tendency to corrupt, the impulse of nationalistic pride, and, above all, the human desire to survive, while describing in rigorous detail the shocking realities of life in the Baron's shadow.
Fabienne Josaphat's electric prose brings to life a horrifying and not so distant time in Haiti's past while exploring the best and worst of humanity. The novel examines power's tendency to corrupt, the impulse of nationalistic pride, and, above all, the human desire to survive, while describing in rigorous detail the shocking realities of life in the Baron's shadow.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 9, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 30, 2020
"How much had actually changed when Duvalier was the disease eating away at Haiti from the inside?"
From DANCING IN THE BARON'S SHADOW by Fabienne Josaphat, 2016 @unnamedpress
#ReadtheWorld21 📍Haiti
Buckle up! This historical thriller is set in 1960s Port-au-Prince, in the dark days of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier's dictatorship. His brutal militia men, the Tonton Macoutes, roam the streets, and people are 'disappeared' everyday. We meet two brothers - one, a taxi driver, and the other, a law professor - and their families in this turmoil and terror.
When younger brother Nicolas is charged with treason for his writings against the government, he is sent to a notoriously horrible prison. Raymond, the older brother, makes it his mission to break him out, no matter what.
It's a page-turner, even in the parts that are hard to read (CW: torture and extreme violence). The love between the brothers remains central to the story, as well as resistance against the authoritarian government. Haiti and its varied landscapes also are featured prominently. Many scenes take place in the slums of Cité Simone, but also the southern coastal areas near Jacmel, and the borders near the Dominican Republic.
This novel, a debut from Haitian-American writer Fabienne Josaphat is full of suspense, but also history, both her own and that of her birth country. She mentioned in an interview that the brothers are based on her own father and uncle, also a taxi driver and attorney. The historical details about the militias, the disappearances, and the prisons are all true based on her research and oral histories.
I couldn't put this one down. Read the 250+ pages in one day! While this has been out since 2016, there's only a handful of reviews and ratings out there. I hope more people pick this up, and I hope Josaphat keeps writing!
From DANCING IN THE BARON'S SHADOW by Fabienne Josaphat, 2016 @unnamedpress
#ReadtheWorld21 📍Haiti
Buckle up! This historical thriller is set in 1960s Port-au-Prince, in the dark days of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier's dictatorship. His brutal militia men, the Tonton Macoutes, roam the streets, and people are 'disappeared' everyday. We meet two brothers - one, a taxi driver, and the other, a law professor - and their families in this turmoil and terror.
When younger brother Nicolas is charged with treason for his writings against the government, he is sent to a notoriously horrible prison. Raymond, the older brother, makes it his mission to break him out, no matter what.
It's a page-turner, even in the parts that are hard to read (CW: torture and extreme violence). The love between the brothers remains central to the story, as well as resistance against the authoritarian government. Haiti and its varied landscapes also are featured prominently. Many scenes take place in the slums of Cité Simone, but also the southern coastal areas near Jacmel, and the borders near the Dominican Republic.
This novel, a debut from Haitian-American writer Fabienne Josaphat is full of suspense, but also history, both her own and that of her birth country. She mentioned in an interview that the brothers are based on her own father and uncle, also a taxi driver and attorney. The historical details about the militias, the disappearances, and the prisons are all true based on her research and oral histories.
I couldn't put this one down. Read the 250+ pages in one day! While this has been out since 2016, there's only a handful of reviews and ratings out there. I hope more people pick this up, and I hope Josaphat keeps writing!
May 18, 2019
OMG!!! It’s thriller, it’s historical! Elevated my heart rate!
March 15, 2016
Any time anyone writes a novel about Haiti during the 1960s and the reign of Francois Duvalier, aka "Papa Doc," I am going to read it. It was such an horrific time in Haiti's history, where anyone at any time could be accused of anything and sent to prison on trumped-up charges; some of these people were never again to see the light of day. The intelligentsia had it especially bad, but everyone was at risk.
I was so excited to find and to start reading this book, since it's set in Haiti during the reign of Francois Duvalier, aka Papa Doc. As I started to read, I realized that the true focus here is on two brothers who took very different paths in life, their broken relationship and the crises that ultimately bring them together again. They are two men, who, each in his own way, are looking for justice after a series of events tears their families apart and takes them away from the lives they'd built in Port-au-Prince. I got the feel of the period here through the author's descriptions of repression, fear and the presence of Duvalier's Tonton Macoutes -- his personal goon squad who did the dirty work -- out on the streets, as well as the poverty that a large part of the population suffered, and overall, it is a good story that I think ought to be read. What was happening in Haiti is a story that needs to be told as well -- and here we get a tiny slice of what it must have been like to live under a brutal and repressive regime.
On the other hand, for me the story moves way too quickly and things feel very rushed here. I felt that things happened so very fast in this book that the story as a whole just didn't the depth it could have had , and the character development sort of loses a lot of steam as the narrative quickly becomes focused on plot. It's as if the author knew where she wanted to go with this story, but in the hurry to finish, the book ends up falling back too much on plot rather than the characters under study here. And then there are things plotwise that don't necessarily ring true in the telling. I can't really give an example (so as not to spoil), but there were times when I just went "huh?"
It is, however, the author's first novel, and I do think she has a lot of talent so I'll look forward to reading more from her in the future. Slowing down, fleshing out both setting and characters to a much stronger degree, and not relying so much on a whirlwind plot would have made this book much better for me. However, I am very much applauding her choice of topic because I don't think a lot of people are very familiar with this horrific time in Haiti's history, and any novels that bring out even the slightest bit of that time are well worth writing and even more worth reading.
I was so excited to find and to start reading this book, since it's set in Haiti during the reign of Francois Duvalier, aka Papa Doc. As I started to read, I realized that the true focus here is on two brothers who took very different paths in life, their broken relationship and the crises that ultimately bring them together again. They are two men, who, each in his own way, are looking for justice after a series of events tears their families apart and takes them away from the lives they'd built in Port-au-Prince. I got the feel of the period here through the author's descriptions of repression, fear and the presence of Duvalier's Tonton Macoutes -- his personal goon squad who did the dirty work -- out on the streets, as well as the poverty that a large part of the population suffered, and overall, it is a good story that I think ought to be read. What was happening in Haiti is a story that needs to be told as well -- and here we get a tiny slice of what it must have been like to live under a brutal and repressive regime.
On the other hand, for me the story moves way too quickly and things feel very rushed here. I felt that things happened so very fast in this book that the story as a whole just didn't the depth it could have had , and the character development sort of loses a lot of steam as the narrative quickly becomes focused on plot. It's as if the author knew where she wanted to go with this story, but in the hurry to finish, the book ends up falling back too much on plot rather than the characters under study here. And then there are things plotwise that don't necessarily ring true in the telling. I can't really give an example (so as not to spoil), but there were times when I just went "huh?"
It is, however, the author's first novel, and I do think she has a lot of talent so I'll look forward to reading more from her in the future. Slowing down, fleshing out both setting and characters to a much stronger degree, and not relying so much on a whirlwind plot would have made this book much better for me. However, I am very much applauding her choice of topic because I don't think a lot of people are very familiar with this horrific time in Haiti's history, and any novels that bring out even the slightest bit of that time are well worth writing and even more worth reading.
April 7, 2016
Nevermind my three star rating. I gave the book such a rating because it felt rushed. But that being said you get a good look at the political repression in Haiti during the 1960s under the dictatorship of Duvalier. The sibling rivalry between the two protagonists give us a microscopic look at the incredible class divide that permeated the country in 1965 and continues until today. A joy to read. I can't wait for Ms. Josaphat's next novel.
August 20, 2026
À l’ombre du Baron
Fabienne Josaphat
Ma première lecture de cette auteure d’origine haïtienne… et quelle lecture!
Une histoire prenante, dure, bouleversante, mais surtout une histoire qui demande à être racontée pour tenter de comprendre les raisons qui poussent certains à tout abandonner derrière eux : les motifs de l’exil, la peur, la violence et cette quête désespérée de liberté.
Nous sommes en Haïti, sous le règne de la peur. Raymond L’Éveillé, chauffeur de taxi, met sa vie et celle de sa famille en danger lorsqu’il décide de venir en aide à un journaliste traqué par les Tontons Macoutes. Mais son geste de solidarité aura des conséquences qui le dépasseront.
Peu de temps après, Raymond apprend que son petit frère Nicholas, professeur de droit, a été arrêté pour trahison et incarcéré à Fort Dimanche, cette prison devenue le symbole de la répression et de la terreur du régime.
Alors que sa femme et ses enfants ont quitté le pays, Raymond doit mettre sa propre souffrance de côté. Il décide de tout faire pour sauver son frère, avec l’aide de Sauveur, le journaliste qu’il avait lui-même aidé à fuir.
À l’ombre du Baron, c’est un récit où chaque coup est ressenti, où chaque silence pèse lourd et où la peur devient presque un personnage à part entière.
C’est aussi une histoire de résistance. Une histoire où l’envie de mourir côtoie constamment l’instinct de survivre. Où l’espoir, même lorsqu’il semble complètement déraisonnable, demeure la seule chose à laquelle s’accrocher.
Fabienne Josaphat nous plonge dans une Haïti sombre et meurtrie, mais elle nous rappelle aussi que derrière chaque exil se cache une histoire. Des vies bouleversées. Des familles séparées. Des choix faits dans l’urgence. Et parfois, simplement, le désir de vivre.
Une lecture difficile, mais nécessaire. Parce que certaines histoires ne doivent jamais être oubliées.
Genre // Auto Fiction
Pages // 280p
Parution// 2016
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Fabienne Josaphat
Ma première lecture de cette auteure d’origine haïtienne… et quelle lecture!
Une histoire prenante, dure, bouleversante, mais surtout une histoire qui demande à être racontée pour tenter de comprendre les raisons qui poussent certains à tout abandonner derrière eux : les motifs de l’exil, la peur, la violence et cette quête désespérée de liberté.
Nous sommes en Haïti, sous le règne de la peur. Raymond L’Éveillé, chauffeur de taxi, met sa vie et celle de sa famille en danger lorsqu’il décide de venir en aide à un journaliste traqué par les Tontons Macoutes. Mais son geste de solidarité aura des conséquences qui le dépasseront.
Peu de temps après, Raymond apprend que son petit frère Nicholas, professeur de droit, a été arrêté pour trahison et incarcéré à Fort Dimanche, cette prison devenue le symbole de la répression et de la terreur du régime.
Alors que sa femme et ses enfants ont quitté le pays, Raymond doit mettre sa propre souffrance de côté. Il décide de tout faire pour sauver son frère, avec l’aide de Sauveur, le journaliste qu’il avait lui-même aidé à fuir.
À l’ombre du Baron, c’est un récit où chaque coup est ressenti, où chaque silence pèse lourd et où la peur devient presque un personnage à part entière.
C’est aussi une histoire de résistance. Une histoire où l’envie de mourir côtoie constamment l’instinct de survivre. Où l’espoir, même lorsqu’il semble complètement déraisonnable, demeure la seule chose à laquelle s’accrocher.
Fabienne Josaphat nous plonge dans une Haïti sombre et meurtrie, mais elle nous rappelle aussi que derrière chaque exil se cache une histoire. Des vies bouleversées. Des familles séparées. Des choix faits dans l’urgence. Et parfois, simplement, le désir de vivre.
Une lecture difficile, mais nécessaire. Parce que certaines histoires ne doivent jamais être oubliées.
Genre // Auto Fiction
Pages // 280p
Parution// 2016
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
July 25, 2017
Fabienne Josaphat vous propose un voyage vers Haïti… Mais loin de l’image d’île paradisiaque que nous pourrions en avoir, c’est l’île qui sombre dans la pauvreté et qui vit dans l’angoisse sous le règne tyrannique du Baron samedi qu’elle nous met en lumière. Je n’avais quasi aucune connaissance de l’histoire de cette petite île des Caraïbes et je dois avouer que le récit, ne serait-ce que pour les circonstances historiques, est ultra enrichissant. Par le biais d’une intrigue palpitante, c’est tout un pan de la société haïtienne qui nous est dépeint dans une fresque à la fois large mais qui sait rester à échelle humaine. Des banlieues plus aisées aux bas-fonds pauvres du bidonville de Cité Simone, de la campagne à la prison de Fort Dimanche dont personne ne ressort vivant, l’ambiance est parfaitement retranscrite. On ressent pleinement les envies de vie meilleure et les désillusions de ces gens qui ont tout quitté dans l’espoir de réussir en ville, l’envie de révolte et en même temps l’inévitable soumission. Et surtout, [...]
Pour lire la suite de cette critique, rendez-vous sur yuyine.be !
Pour lire la suite de cette critique, rendez-vous sur yuyine.be !
August 7, 2017
Josaphat's novel. The story is set in Haiti. It's 1965 and Francois Duvalier, AKA Papa Doc, is ruling the country with brutality. I knew very little about this country or about this dictator's unrelenting violence to control the impoverished island nation.
This book centers around two brothers, Raymond and Nicolas L'Eveille, caught in the country's misery and changing times. They are as different as two men can be, in their intellect, goals, desires and dreams. In spite of their vast differences, Raymond is compelled to help his younger brother who has been arrested by the Haitian secret police and thrown into a hellish prison.
I connected with both men and their struggles, but what kept me reading was their deep, unending love of family.
This book centers around two brothers, Raymond and Nicolas L'Eveille, caught in the country's misery and changing times. They are as different as two men can be, in their intellect, goals, desires and dreams. In spite of their vast differences, Raymond is compelled to help his younger brother who has been arrested by the Haitian secret police and thrown into a hellish prison.
I connected with both men and their struggles, but what kept me reading was their deep, unending love of family.
July 22, 2023
Dictatorships often cause shifting family dynamics, thriving on fear. In this book, we follow two brothers with an already peculiar relationship as they try their best to navigate their circumstances. But what happens when one of the brothers is considered a traitor? They come to realize that their bond is stronger than any oppressive regime.
As a Dominican, I was interested in Haitian literature, and now I will definitely keep looking for more because the pace of this book was incredible. We could truly feel for the characters, and I loved it!
As a Dominican, I was interested in Haitian literature, and now I will definitely keep looking for more because the pace of this book was incredible. We could truly feel for the characters, and I loved it!
October 7, 2025
Wonderful story! This book will have you at the edge of your seat.
April 1, 2016
The last third of this book felt a bit rushed, but the story was compelling and Josaphat writes beautifully. Overall, a good debut novel about a dark time in Haiti's history.
January 2, 2020
The plot of this novel is gripping. It's a work of serious literary fiction and is extremely well-researched, but it is also fast-paced and doesn't let up. I finished it in one night.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews