Talc: A Haitian Zombie Story

by Jenna Chrisphonte

Explore the secret world of Haitian zombies, voodoo, folklore and magic.

283 pages, Paperback

Published April 17, 2019

Reviews

[Lisa Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Talc by Jenna Chrisphonte was a decent read, and there were parts of the story that I really enjoyed, particularly everything that took place in Haiti. The setting, history, and mystery surrounding the Duperville family and the zombies immediately pulled me in, and honestly, I could have spent even more time in that part of the story.

Where the book started to lose me was when the story transitioned from Haiti to Samantha in France, then Miami, her new job at Divitiae Pharma, and eventually Chris, the Miami detective who becomes involved with Samantha. Individually, I found these storylines interesting, but the bridge connecting everything never felt as clear or seamless as I wanted it to be.

I understood that the Duperville family and their involvement with the zombies were supposed to connect what happened in Haiti to what was unfolding in Miami, but I felt like I had to do too much of the work myself to put those pieces together. I had a similar issue with Nissar and the bodies being found mauled in Miami. There was a connection between the victims, including the fact that they were strippers, and more was explained toward the end, but again, the connection felt more explained after the fact than developed naturally throughout the story.

There were definitely some good ideas here. I liked the Haitian setting, the cultural elements, the mystery, and the darker supernatural aspects of the story. I just wish the different storylines had been woven together more tightly. A stronger bridge between Haiti, Samantha, Divitiae Pharma, Nissar, Chris, and the murders would have made the payoff much more satisfying for me.

Overall, Talc kept me interested enough to finish and had some genuinely intriguing moments, but the transitions and connections between the major storylines kept it from being a stronger read for me.

[Auntie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to reading a zombie story from a totally different perspective, but the actual writing wasn't very good. Plus, I got confused between the characters. There were at least two women who had similar backstories and the same boss, so I couldn't tell them apart. And they both didn't really matter anyway for the story? Finally, the conclusion was very fast and dumb. It was like the story was just starting, and then the book ended with a character that we'd never heard from before.
Overall, a good premise but a disappointing read.

[Fish Food · Rating 5 out of 5]

honestly one of the coolest books i’ve ever read. I highly reccomend this book. Beautifully blends Haitian culture, folklore, religion, politics, and yes, zombies. I’ve never read a book like this it’s so fucking cool. i was absolutely sucked in from page one.

one critique was i thought the way the text talked about the cop was weird and moralized the police too much for my liking.

overall love this book and FUCK the police.

[Zombie Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written with compelling characters that give non-Haitian readers insight into Haitian culture, international power dynamics, poverty and power struggles amidst a zombie outbreak. I loved it from start to finish!