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Masters of the Dew
This outstanding Haitian novel tells of Manuel's struggle to keep his little community from starvation during drought.
The genre of the peasant novel in Haiti reaches back to the nineteenth century and this is one of the outstanding examples. Manuel returns to his native village after working on a sugar plantation in Cuba only to discover that it is stricken by a drought and divided by a family feud. He attacks the resignation endemic among his people by preaching the kind of political awareness and solidarity he has learned in Cuba. He goes on to illustrate his ideas in a tangible way by finding water and bringing it to the fields through the collective labor of the villagers. In this political fable, Roumain is careful to create an authentic environment and credible characters. Readers will be emotionally moved as well as ideologically persuaded.
The genre of the peasant novel in Haiti reaches back to the nineteenth century and this is one of the outstanding examples. Manuel returns to his native village after working on a sugar plantation in Cuba only to discover that it is stricken by a drought and divided by a family feud. He attacks the resignation endemic among his people by preaching the kind of political awareness and solidarity he has learned in Cuba. He goes on to illustrate his ideas in a tangible way by finding water and bringing it to the fields through the collective labor of the villagers. In this political fable, Roumain is careful to create an authentic environment and credible characters. Readers will be emotionally moved as well as ideologically persuaded.
190 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1944
68 people are currently reading
1613 people want to read
About the author
Jacques Roumain
29 books22 followersRoumain est né le 4 juin 1907, à Port-au-Prince, dans une famille aisée. Son grand-père, Tancrède Auguste, fut président d'Haïti de 1912 à 1913. Il fréquenta des écoles catholiques à Port-au-Prince et, plus tard, étudia en Belgique, en Suisse, en France et en Allemagne. À vingt ans, il revint en Haïti et fut co-créateur de "La Revue Indigène" avec Émile Roumer, Philippe Thoby-Marcelin, Carl Brouard et Antonio Vieux, dans laquelle ils publièrent des poèmes et des nouvelles.
Il fut très actif dans la lutte contre l'occupation américaine d'Haïti (1915-1934). il est le fondateur du mouvement ouvrier et communiste haïtien.
En 1934, il fonda le Parti communiste haïtien. En raison de ses activités politiques, de sa participation au mouvement de résistance contre la présence américaine, et, surtout, de la création de sa part du Parti communiste haitien, il fut souvent arrêté et finalement contraint à l'exil par le président de l'époque Sténio Vincent.
Pendant ses années d'exil, Roumain travailla et se lia d'amitié avec de nombreux écrivains et poètes de son époque, comme Langston Hughes. Il fréquenta également l'université Columbia à New York. Après le changement de gouvernement en Haitï, il fut autorisé à revenir dans son pays natal. Une fois revenu il fonda le Bureau National d'Ethnologie.
En 1942, le Président Elie Lescot l'investit d'une charge de diplomate à Mexico. Il compléta à la même époque deux de ses livres les plus influents : le recueil de poésie Bois D'Ebène et le roman Gouverneurs de la Rosée, qui se vendit pourtant à moins d'un millier de copies la première année suivant sa publication.
La majorité du travail de Roumain exprime la frustration et la rage d'un peuple qui a été piétiné durant des siècles. Il incluait tous les Haitiens dans ses écrits, et appelait les pauvres à s'unir contre la misère.
Il fut très actif dans la lutte contre l'occupation américaine d'Haïti (1915-1934). il est le fondateur du mouvement ouvrier et communiste haïtien.
En 1934, il fonda le Parti communiste haïtien. En raison de ses activités politiques, de sa participation au mouvement de résistance contre la présence américaine, et, surtout, de la création de sa part du Parti communiste haitien, il fut souvent arrêté et finalement contraint à l'exil par le président de l'époque Sténio Vincent.
Pendant ses années d'exil, Roumain travailla et se lia d'amitié avec de nombreux écrivains et poètes de son époque, comme Langston Hughes. Il fréquenta également l'université Columbia à New York. Après le changement de gouvernement en Haitï, il fut autorisé à revenir dans son pays natal. Une fois revenu il fonda le Bureau National d'Ethnologie.
En 1942, le Président Elie Lescot l'investit d'une charge de diplomate à Mexico. Il compléta à la même époque deux de ses livres les plus influents : le recueil de poésie Bois D'Ebène et le roman Gouverneurs de la Rosée, qui se vendit pourtant à moins d'un millier de copies la première année suivant sa publication.
La majorité du travail de Roumain exprime la frustration et la rage d'un peuple qui a été piétiné durant des siècles. Il incluait tous les Haitiens dans ses écrits, et appelait les pauvres à s'unir contre la misère.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 111 reviews
March 7, 2023
Je sais pas si c’est parce que la prémisse du livre m’a fait penser au personnage de francis sancher dans traversée de la mangrove mais dans tous les cas j’ai lu les deux livres de façon trop rapprochée et honnêtement j’en ai préféré l’un à l’autre🥲
Le rythme était lent et bien que c’était très bien écrit j’avais de la difficulté encore après 130p. de savoir où est ce que l’histoire s’en allait. J’ai donc fait une lecture rapide par la suite, un roman dont j’évalue certes d’une bonne qualité mais seulement peu coloré et ficelé sans trop de tension à mon avis. Passable quoi
Le rythme était lent et bien que c’était très bien écrit j’avais de la difficulté encore après 130p. de savoir où est ce que l’histoire s’en allait. J’ai donc fait une lecture rapide par la suite, un roman dont j’évalue certes d’une bonne qualité mais seulement peu coloré et ficelé sans trop de tension à mon avis. Passable quoi
January 15, 2017
Il y a quelque chose du grand classique français (je pense comme ça à Zola, Mérimée...) et de la tragédie grecque, mais à la sauce haïtienne, avec un langage et des dialogues exotiques et colorés, c'est assez savoureux et dépaysant.
July 6, 2009
When I opened the package and saw the cover, I thought for a moment that the bookseller had cocked up and sent me a romance novel by mistake. But they hadn’t; Masters of the Dew is that slightly curious thing, a peasant novel. Curious because, generally speaking, peasants don’t write novels — the hero of this story is illiterate, in fact — so these books are written by outsiders, for whatever reasons of their own.
Jacques Roumain was from a wealthy Haitian family, educated in Europe, a politician, ethnologist and at the time of writing this book in 1944, a diplomat. He was part of the nationalist resistance against American occupation, founded the Haitian communist party, and later founded the Bureau d’Ethnologie. I imagine that the ethnology itself was originally political, as is so often the case: a wish to celebrate an authentic local identity creates an interest in traditional peasant culture. But certainly you can see how the nationalism, the communism and the ethnology would all feed into a peasant novel.
And given that background, it’s not a complete surprise that this is a novel about a strong, handsome peasant, uneducated but thoughtful and eloquent, sincere and full of integrity, who returns from working in Cuba, where he has been politically awakened by the experience of sugar-cane workers striking for better pay, and teaches the other villagers that only by working together, and putting aside their feuding, can they save their village — in this case by creating a new irrigation system.
However, the fact that the political messaging is a bit unsubtle — there’s also a corrupt local police chief and when one of the characters dies, they can’t have a church funeral because they can’t afford the fees — doesn’t make this a bad book. The descriptive passages are particularly strong and the dialogue is effective too, although apparently we are missing a certain amount in translation. In the original, Roumain apparently struck a compromise between using Haitian creole — which would have been authentic but difficult for his French-speaking readers — and putting pure French into the mouths of his peasant characters; songs and proverbs are quoted in creole and the dialogue is sprinkled with creole words. The translators, Langston Hughes and Mercer Cook, rather than trying to find suitable English equivalents or having the characters speak some kind of rural American dialect as a substitute, has them speaking standard English. I think that’s probably a solid decision, but there’s a whole layer of local flavour which is lost.
She sat next to him, leaning against the trunk of a macaw tree, her dress spread around her, and she clasped her hands around her knees.
The plain unfolded before them, surrounded by the hills. from here they could see the mingling of acacia trees, huts dispersed in the clearings, fields abandoned to the ravages of drought, and in the glare of the savanna, scattered cattle moving. Above this desolation crows on the wing hovered. Over and over they made the same circuit, perched on the cactus, and, frightened for some reason, flayed the silence with their harsh cawing.
Jacques Roumain was from a wealthy Haitian family, educated in Europe, a politician, ethnologist and at the time of writing this book in 1944, a diplomat. He was part of the nationalist resistance against American occupation, founded the Haitian communist party, and later founded the Bureau d’Ethnologie. I imagine that the ethnology itself was originally political, as is so often the case: a wish to celebrate an authentic local identity creates an interest in traditional peasant culture. But certainly you can see how the nationalism, the communism and the ethnology would all feed into a peasant novel.
And given that background, it’s not a complete surprise that this is a novel about a strong, handsome peasant, uneducated but thoughtful and eloquent, sincere and full of integrity, who returns from working in Cuba, where he has been politically awakened by the experience of sugar-cane workers striking for better pay, and teaches the other villagers that only by working together, and putting aside their feuding, can they save their village — in this case by creating a new irrigation system.
However, the fact that the political messaging is a bit unsubtle — there’s also a corrupt local police chief and when one of the characters dies, they can’t have a church funeral because they can’t afford the fees — doesn’t make this a bad book. The descriptive passages are particularly strong and the dialogue is effective too, although apparently we are missing a certain amount in translation. In the original, Roumain apparently struck a compromise between using Haitian creole — which would have been authentic but difficult for his French-speaking readers — and putting pure French into the mouths of his peasant characters; songs and proverbs are quoted in creole and the dialogue is sprinkled with creole words. The translators, Langston Hughes and Mercer Cook, rather than trying to find suitable English equivalents or having the characters speak some kind of rural American dialect as a substitute, has them speaking standard English. I think that’s probably a solid decision, but there’s a whole layer of local flavour which is lost.
She sat next to him, leaning against the trunk of a macaw tree, her dress spread around her, and she clasped her hands around her knees.
The plain unfolded before them, surrounded by the hills. from here they could see the mingling of acacia trees, huts dispersed in the clearings, fields abandoned to the ravages of drought, and in the glare of the savanna, scattered cattle moving. Above this desolation crows on the wing hovered. Over and over they made the same circuit, perched on the cactus, and, frightened for some reason, flayed the silence with their harsh cawing.
February 20, 2016
3 stars
The writing was choppy and I felt like it jumped a lot or it stayed within the same scene for quite some time.
That being said, it was a wonderful story on a dream and how one strives for himself and for his people. Manuel believed that the village will have water and worked hard to get it.
I really enjoyed the ending!
The writing was choppy and I felt like it jumped a lot or it stayed within the same scene for quite some time.
That being said, it was a wonderful story on a dream and how one strives for himself and for his people. Manuel believed that the village will have water and worked hard to get it.
I really enjoyed the ending!
March 26, 2014
A masterpiece!!!! A must read when it comes to Haitian literature and culture. Universal themes (race, class, inter generation conflict, love, loyalty, etc) are explored and it's amazing how it reveals how relevant this book is today for present day Haiti.
May 18, 2020
4.5 stars. I need to read more books by Jacques Roumain. I loved how certain images were woven through Gouverneurs de la rosée.
March 6, 2021
Gente do céu, que livraço!
"Senhores do orvalho" inicia devagar. A realidade crua do meio rural haitiano chega simples, mas em uma prosa romanceada e poética, sem excessos (que tanto me incomodam quando parecem esconder uma falta de conteúdo narrativo). Jacques Roumain nos conta a história de Manuel, que retorna à seu pais natal, o Haiti, depois de anos vivendo e trabalhando em Cuba, onde teve contato com o socialismo e o movimento sindical. Retorna à sua família e comunidade encontrando desavenças e uma seca que representa praticamente o fim do campesinato - sem água, não há vida, e sem a possibilidade de viver, o que resta é a miséria ou a migração forçosa. E é ao redor da água, desse jogo entre morte e vida que a história dessa pessoa, dessa família e dessa comunidade se desenvolve. Roumain nos transporta pra dentro da narrativa e com muita facilidade nos conectamos com as personagens, por mais distinta que seja sua realidade. É um grande pequeno livro, bonito do começo ao fim, pra ser degustado aos poucos, sem pressa.
A edição excepcional da editora Carambaia torna a leitura ainda mais deliciosa, por seu projeto gráfico e também formatação interna. O posfácio de Eurídice Figueiredo é um ótimo complemento, explorando algumas temáticas subjacentes ao livro, como a relação do marxismo com a religião (que me parece tão necessária em um debate latinoamericano) e o indigenismo do autor, semente do movimento da negritude.
Jacques Roumain é haitiano, foi fundador do Partido Comunista do país e Aimé Césaire o considera um de seus predecessores. Morreu "misteriosamente" após um encontro do PC em Cuba, onde supõe-se que tenha sido envenenado, em 1944. O contexto histórico da intelectualidade e militância haitiana me parece ser digna de nota, pois vejo relação bastante direta entre tantos autores que nasceram no país ou por lá se inspiraram em algum momento: CLR James, Césaire, Senghor e Carpentier são reflexos de sua época e dos movimentos importantes que os precederam - o único país do mundo a concretizar uma revolta de escravizados seguiu, apesar dos constantes ataques, a produzir um pensamento único e potente.
Leitura super recomendada!
"Senhores do orvalho" inicia devagar. A realidade crua do meio rural haitiano chega simples, mas em uma prosa romanceada e poética, sem excessos (que tanto me incomodam quando parecem esconder uma falta de conteúdo narrativo). Jacques Roumain nos conta a história de Manuel, que retorna à seu pais natal, o Haiti, depois de anos vivendo e trabalhando em Cuba, onde teve contato com o socialismo e o movimento sindical. Retorna à sua família e comunidade encontrando desavenças e uma seca que representa praticamente o fim do campesinato - sem água, não há vida, e sem a possibilidade de viver, o que resta é a miséria ou a migração forçosa. E é ao redor da água, desse jogo entre morte e vida que a história dessa pessoa, dessa família e dessa comunidade se desenvolve. Roumain nos transporta pra dentro da narrativa e com muita facilidade nos conectamos com as personagens, por mais distinta que seja sua realidade. É um grande pequeno livro, bonito do começo ao fim, pra ser degustado aos poucos, sem pressa.
A edição excepcional da editora Carambaia torna a leitura ainda mais deliciosa, por seu projeto gráfico e também formatação interna. O posfácio de Eurídice Figueiredo é um ótimo complemento, explorando algumas temáticas subjacentes ao livro, como a relação do marxismo com a religião (que me parece tão necessária em um debate latinoamericano) e o indigenismo do autor, semente do movimento da negritude.
Jacques Roumain é haitiano, foi fundador do Partido Comunista do país e Aimé Césaire o considera um de seus predecessores. Morreu "misteriosamente" após um encontro do PC em Cuba, onde supõe-se que tenha sido envenenado, em 1944. O contexto histórico da intelectualidade e militância haitiana me parece ser digna de nota, pois vejo relação bastante direta entre tantos autores que nasceram no país ou por lá se inspiraram em algum momento: CLR James, Césaire, Senghor e Carpentier são reflexos de sua época e dos movimentos importantes que os precederam - o único país do mundo a concretizar uma revolta de escravizados seguiu, apesar dos constantes ataques, a produzir um pensamento único e potente.
Leitura super recomendada!
December 3, 2020
Catching up on the history and literature of Haiti🇭🇹, I discovered yet another masterpiece. Manuel comes back in his native village in Haiti after spending several years in Cuba where he toiled in the cane fields. He reunites with his family and finds a countryside ravaged by long periods of drought and his own family torn apart by old feuds. Manuel reminded me of Etienne Lantier in Zola's "Germinal" -- as a natural-born hero of humble origins who fights for the common good. Roumain's Communist leanings clearly transpire all through this powerful narrative.
August 6, 2023
Texte traitant de la lutte du peuple contre les nantis, du combat pour assurer sa subsistance dans un monde injuste et impitoyable. Le sujet est sombre mais le récit est porteur d'espoir et la langue ornée de Roumain met efficacement en scène de beaux préceptes.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce roman.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié ce roman.
February 13, 2024
read this for my french class about caribbean literature. it was really interesting to learn about the "coumbite" which is a system of farming where everyone works while rhythmically moving together and singing to keep motivation high, and i felt like i learned a lot of cool haitian créole words that i didn't know before. the ending was happy and sad at the same time, and i felt like manuel's character was like jesus in that he was a martyr killed by other people for the "good news" that he was spreading, and in this case, the news was that there was a source water somewhere after a several-year-long drought. i really liked the personification of the wind, the sun, etc. and the way that with the heating up of the earth and the air, the tempers of all the townspeople became hotter and hotter too. the reason why i'm giving it 3 stars is because it was pretty short, so we really didn't get to see annaise and manuel's relationship develop at all. they just kinda crossed paths and were like, well- lets be in love now! it was very romeo and juliet-esque because they are from families who hate each other. also i would not describe it as a page-turner.
April 9, 2019
Fonds-Rouge, à Haïti : les villageois se lamentent de la sécheresse récalcitrante, la terre est désespérément aride et chacun tente d’oublier son infortune, jour après jour. Les voilà devenus « gouverneurs de la rosée », la seule humidité qui daigne toucher leur plantation…
Manuel ne reconnait plus le village de son enfance, jadis luxuriant, désormais saccagé par la misère. Revenu de Cuba, où il y a passé quinze années, il est le seul à garder une étincelle d’espoir et à fustiger le renoncement général. Lui va trouver l’Eau. Et réconcilier les deux clans ennemis de Fonds-Rouge, par la même occasion.
Gouverneurs de la rosée est un chef d’oeuvre de la littérature haïtienne, la forme comme le fond est maîtrisé parfaitement :
L’écriture de Jacques Roumain est incroyable, faite de métaphores tortueuses et oniriques, parsemé de créole haïtien et de dialogues savoureux. On rit, on sourit, on s’émeut et on pleure, j’ai tourné les pages ébahie par la poésie de la prose et happée par l’intensité dramatique de l’histoire. On ressent aussi subtilement les idéaux politiques de l’auteur, fondateur du parti communiste haïtien, dans un roman qui exalte le rassemblement des forces vives pour le bien commun.
Si jusqu’au 2/3 du roman, les aventures de ce village haut en couleurs tiennent en haleine, les derniers chapitres dévoilent toute la puissance évocatrice d’une fable, et le roman se transforme en parabole somptueuse sur l’amour et l’amitié.
Manuel ne reconnait plus le village de son enfance, jadis luxuriant, désormais saccagé par la misère. Revenu de Cuba, où il y a passé quinze années, il est le seul à garder une étincelle d’espoir et à fustiger le renoncement général. Lui va trouver l’Eau. Et réconcilier les deux clans ennemis de Fonds-Rouge, par la même occasion.
Gouverneurs de la rosée est un chef d’oeuvre de la littérature haïtienne, la forme comme le fond est maîtrisé parfaitement :
L’écriture de Jacques Roumain est incroyable, faite de métaphores tortueuses et oniriques, parsemé de créole haïtien et de dialogues savoureux. On rit, on sourit, on s’émeut et on pleure, j’ai tourné les pages ébahie par la poésie de la prose et happée par l’intensité dramatique de l’histoire. On ressent aussi subtilement les idéaux politiques de l’auteur, fondateur du parti communiste haïtien, dans un roman qui exalte le rassemblement des forces vives pour le bien commun.
Si jusqu’au 2/3 du roman, les aventures de ce village haut en couleurs tiennent en haleine, les derniers chapitres dévoilent toute la puissance évocatrice d’une fable, et le roman se transforme en parabole somptueuse sur l’amour et l’amitié.
October 19, 2020
A masterful example of the Caribbean literature staple, the peasant novel, Roumain's Masters of the Dew is a beautiful story of triumph over poverty and harmony with nature. Roumain's Marxist ideology permeates the undercurrent of the novel, however the narrative is generally free of any overt political expression. Langston Hughes translation is masterful and conveys the story extremely well. For any reader, this book couldn't come with a higher recommendation.
May 14, 2023
Um dos melhores livros que já li. Não faço uma resenha porque ainda estou emocionado, mas quero só externar um sentimento: há tempos uma história não era tão viva a ponto de me fazer atravessar madrugada e, chegando perto do fim, ter medo de terminar. Ter saudade de terminar.
Terminei, enfim. Belíssimo livro.
Terminei, enfim. Belíssimo livro.
October 30, 2025
« Vous êtes ma maison, vous êtes mon pays. Plantes, je dis: lianes de mes bois, je suis planté dans cette terre, je suis lié à cette terre. Plantes, ô mes plantes, je vous dis: honneur; répondez-moi: respect, pour que je puisse passer. »
December 3, 2020
A frase que abre o livro forma um arco perfeito com aquela que fecha. Entre uma e outra a história é contada com afeto por Roumain.
June 27, 2023
Je viens de finir le roman, et la fin m'a ému. Cela me console de la difficulté que j'ai eue à plonger dans le livre : l'intrigue un peu schématique est lente à se déployer, l'évocation poétique de la nature haïtienne, sublime, finit par lasser, les personnages, au service de la thèse de l'auteur (l'union fait la force ! ), manquent selon moi un peu de profondeur. C'est que Gouverneurs de la rosée demeure une célébration de la parole ; les envolées oratoires des personnages cantonnent l'intrigue à l'arrière-plan. En somme, pour les seules qualités plastiques de l'écriture de Roumain, la lecture vaut la peine.
November 4, 2025
Ô mon introduction au roman haïtien ! Merci Roumain pour ce que vous avez écrit, pour une œuvre si pleine d'amour pour la vision de ce qui pourrait être une nation avant que le néolibéralisme ne domine encore. Quelle manière d'écrire la terre de sa terre.
Le dernier chapitre, je ne sais pas comment le traiter. Fallait-il ? Que faire aujourd'hui, comme lecteurs.trices, devant la réalisation d'une vision utopique ? Ne serait-il pas mieux d'arrêter devant l'effet magnanime que produit le XIVe chapitre ?
Quelle manière d'écrire un récit. Quels abus de la voix narrative, quelle lecture splendide...
Le dernier chapitre, je ne sais pas comment le traiter. Fallait-il ? Que faire aujourd'hui, comme lecteurs.trices, devant la réalisation d'une vision utopique ? Ne serait-il pas mieux d'arrêter devant l'effet magnanime que produit le XIVe chapitre ?
Quelle manière d'écrire un récit. Quels abus de la voix narrative, quelle lecture splendide...
January 30, 2020
Gouverneur de la rosée, de Jacques Roumain, est basé sur l'amour, le sacrifice et l'union. Le principal personnage, Manuel, est dévoué, motivé et courageux. L'histoire se tient à Fonds-Rouges, Haïti. Le message le plus important est de ne jamais baisser les bras même si tout te semble impossible. J'aime ce Livre parce que ça nous montre combien il est important d'aimer sa terre natale. Se sacrifier pour elle. C'est que Manuel à fait, il a préféré se taire, ne pas dévoiler le visage de son assassin pour faire renaître l'union à Fonds-Rouges. Alors qu'il n'y avait aucun espoir, il a pu ,lui et Anaïse, la femme qu'elle aime, retrouver la source. Après sa mort elle et tout les habitants ont ramené l'eau au village.
August 7, 2021
If book is on Edwidge Danticat’s top 10 list…time to read it!
Gouverneurs de la rosée by Haitian writer Jacques Roumain.
They say it’s a masterpiece!
...also available in English "Masters of the Dew" (pg 210)
My Thoughts
Gouverneurs de la rosée by Haitian writer Jacques Roumain.
They say it’s a masterpiece!
...also available in English "Masters of the Dew" (pg 210)
My Thoughts
September 23, 2021
Quel livre magnifique sur la réconciliation; une écriture de l'environnement, aussi, dans une langue d'un pouvoir d'évocation incroyable.
«Tes paroles ressemblent à la vérité et la vérité est peut-être un péché», dit Délira à son fils Manuel. Roumain écrit vrai. Nul doute.
«Tes paroles ressemblent à la vérité et la vérité est peut-être un péché», dit Délira à son fils Manuel. Roumain écrit vrai. Nul doute.
January 18, 2018
Magnifique,
April 26, 2023
i’ve read it three times now and the story never ceases to make me cry it’s so good
July 27, 2024
lido para o clube de literatura latina de julho.
muito bonito e educativo. me permitiu conhecer mais sobre a história e a cultura do haiti.
muito bonito e educativo. me permitiu conhecer mais sobre a história e a cultura do haiti.
July 22, 2025
Un CHEF-D'ŒUVRE.
December 12, 2024
Il y a des défauts dans la redondance du schéma narratif et dans la lassitude qui s’installe à mesure de lire les proses poétiques et les métaphores, aussi sublimes puissent-elles être.
Mais il y a une qualité indéniable dans la puissance émotionnelle et la sincérité ressentie à travers tous les chapitres, surtout grâce au personnage de Délira, qui a été pendant la lecture une figure inattendue et très importante. Une histoire semblable à celle de Jesus mais dans un contexte Haïtien qui, pendant une grande partie du livre, est ressentie du point de vue d’une mère et de tout l’amour et la foi qu’elle porte en elle, c’est absolument bouleversant.
Mais il y a une qualité indéniable dans la puissance émotionnelle et la sincérité ressentie à travers tous les chapitres, surtout grâce au personnage de Délira, qui a été pendant la lecture une figure inattendue et très importante. Une histoire semblable à celle de Jesus mais dans un contexte Haïtien qui, pendant une grande partie du livre, est ressentie du point de vue d’une mère et de tout l’amour et la foi qu’elle porte en elle, c’est absolument bouleversant.
March 28, 2025
1.75⭐️
not the worst french book i’ve read but still very bad. this could have been 20 pages bc nothing happened… anyways onto the next one KMS there’s no way im gonna be able to stay awake
not the worst french book i’ve read but still very bad. this could have been 20 pages bc nothing happened… anyways onto the next one KMS there’s no way im gonna be able to stay awake
January 14, 2023
Um livro que me fez largar tudo e me dedicar somente a ele. Que escrita maravilhosa essa de Jacques Roumain - uma mistura de Vidas Secas com Romeu e Julieta e uma pitadinha de pimenta de Jorge Amado, que, aliás, foi o organizador da primeira edição da obra no Brasil. Leiam esse livro!!! 😍🇭🇹📚
October 24, 2024
À la fin on se fatigue même du chagrin. (…) et même la mort n’est qu’un autre nom pour la vie.
April 5, 2010
"Masters of the Dew" written by Haitian author Jacques Roumain and orignally published in 1944 was a very interesting and entertaining read. Although i would not designate this novel as one of the best works from Haiti that i have read it is decent in its own respects. If i had to categorize "Masters of the Dew" i would place it in the genre of the 'peasant novel experience' so common to the caribbean and Latin America. The novel follows the struggles and efforts of villagers to overcome division and hardships in the rural Haitian town of Fonds Rouge. The story begins with the return of Manuel, essentially a 'prodigal son', to a town that is divided by a family fued and ruined by drought. Manuel goes about saving Fonds Rouge by preaching the political/social awarness that he learned while in 'exile' in Cuba. (Roumain himself was exiled to Cuba) Ultimately Manuel succeeds in uniting the villagers of Fonds Rouge and restoring peace and prosperity to the town. Overall I found "Masters of the Dew" to be a rather straightforward and uninvolving novel, however it did differ from other LatA/Car. novels i have read. Where most novels simply recount the struggles of Hatians (Krik? Krak! & The Kingdom of this World) in "Masters of the Dew" Roumain offers a solution to the Haitian problems of poverty and oppression. He advocates that Haitians reduce their reliance on Voodoo religion, that they take matters into their own hands instead of waiting/enduring for change to occur, and basically adopt communism to do so. It is with the proclamation of this solution that i lost much respect for the novel in a literary sense. From almost the first chapter the reader is bombarded by thinly veiled communist/socialist ideology. Every character in the novel comes to embody a communist ideal; and believe me this quickly becomes very annoying. All things considered i think that Roumain took the political aspects of his novel a step to far; and by doing so seriously detracted from the work. However, I cant disagree with the entertaining aspects of the novel and Roumains literary skill certainly saved "Masters of the Dew" in my mind. Roumain evokes numerous extremely provocative and emotional images that will remain in my memory for years to come. All things considered, i would recommend "Masters of the Dew" to anyone interested in Haitian culture and society. However, i must warn you of the obvious/unrelenting politcal undertones and that to fully enjoy the novel it should be read with a 'grain of salt'.
August 1, 2018
This short novel reads like a fable and could be described as a mixture between a Haitian-style 'Romeo and Juliet' and a Marxist novel. Written in 1944 just months before Jacques Roumain's untimely death, in a lyrical French interspersed with Haitian Creole, it captures Haitian culture and traditions whilst communicating the author's clear message about the need for people to rise above their divisions in order to unite against corruption and poverty. The author - an advocate of Marxism who struggled against the American occupation of Haiti - came from a wealthy background and did not experience the misery described in his novel. However, the novel clearly establishes his loyalty to his Haitian heritage, and is a powerful expression of the rage, frustration and destitution of a people downtrodden for centuries. I was much more interested in the fascinating cultural aspects of the novel than in the ideology behind it. I felt I could relate to the characters, especially Delira, and savoured the language and imagery, which I found, quite frankly, exquisite. The novel also spoke to me on another level, probably not intended by the author, that of the devastation of our planet by the human species, and of the need for people and nations to look beyond their differences to make positive changes.
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