Ben Fountain's 6 favorite books about Haiti
The award-winning author recommends works by Marie Vieux-Chauvet, Katherine Dunham and more

We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation.
Ben Fountain’s new novel, "Devil Makes Three," is a political thriller set during Haiti’s 1991 coup d’état. Below, the author of "Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk," winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award, recommends other books about Haiti.
'Love, Anger, Madness' by Marie Vieux-Chauvet (1968)
This incendiary trilogy of novellas brought the wrath of the Duvalier regime down on its author, who was forced to flee to New York after the book’s publication. Vieux-Chauvet is unsparing in her depiction of Haiti, presenting characters who are pushed to the limits of sanity by the racism, economic duress and state terrorism that constrain their lives. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Moonbath' by Yanick Lahens (2014)
Winner of both the Prix Femina and French Voices Award, Lahens' incantatory novel cuts across four generations of a rural Haitian family. Their intergenerational traumas play out in an increasingly chaotic country in which Vodou is the common people’s surest source of strength and sustenance. Buy it here.
'Island Possessed' by Katherine Dunham (1969)
The famous American dancer, choreographer and Vodou priestess first visited Haiti in 1936, and this extraordinary memoir recounts her adventurous early years in the country. Dunham writes vividly about the politics, culture and religion of the island nation that quickly "possessed" her. Especially moving is her affair with the charismatic young parliamentarian who would later become Haiti’s president. Buy it here.
'The Rainy Season' by Amy Wilentz (1989)
Wilentz first arrived in Haiti in 1986, as the Duvalier regime was collapsing, and spent the next three years unraveling Haiti’s complexities. Wilentz’s blend of reportage, history and highly evocative memoir is still relevant — perhaps more than ever — 30 years after its publication. Buy it here.
'Kanaval' by Leah Gordon (2010)
One of several mind-bending books produced by the brilliant artist, curator and founder of the "Ghetto Biennale," held every two years in Port-au-Prince. Gordon’s surreal images will haunt you, the blunt truths of the text no less. Every endeavor of this artist rewards the closest attention. Buy it here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
'Haiti, History, and the Gods' by Joan Dayan (1995)
Advanced Haitianology. Dayan bypasses, blows through and tunnels beneath accepted sources and narratives to get at the truer, more troubling histories found not only in overlooked or suppressed texts and documents, but in Vodou rituals, folk beliefs, songs, and art. The wisdom and insight of this book are inexhaustible. Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
Is Israel annexing Gaza?
Today's Big Question Israeli army prepares a major ground offensive and is said to have plans to 'fully occupy the territory'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Twitter: Breaking the Bird – a 'riveting' documentary
The Week Recommends BBC2's 'fascinating' film charts the social media platform's fall from grace
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
Detentions and hostile treatment: is it safe to visit the US?
The Explainer Spate of interrogations and deportations at US border sparking decline in overseas visitors
By The Week UK Published
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
Following the Tea Horse Road in China
The Week Recommends This network of roads and trails served as vital trading routes
By The Week UK Published
-
Roast lamb shoulder with ginger and fresh turmeric recipe
The Week Recommends Succulent and tender and falls off the bone with ease
By The Week UK Published
-
Adolescence and the toxic online world: what's the solution?
Talking Point The hit Netflix show is a window into the manosphere, red pills and incels
By The Week UK Published
-
Snow White: Disney's 'earnest effort to meet an impossible brief'
Talking Point Live-action remake of Disney classic is not the disaster it could have been – but where's the personality?
By The Week UK Published
-
Don McCullin picks his favourite books
The Week Recommends The photojournalist shares works by Daniel Defoe, Lesley Blanch and Roland Philipps
By The Week UK Published
-
6 breathtaking homes in capital cities
Feature Featuring a glass conservatory in Atlanta and a loft library in Boston
By The Week US Published
-
Playhouse Creatures: 'dream-like' play is 'lively, funny and sharp-witted'
Anna Chancellor offers a 'glinting performance' alongside a 'strong' supporting cast
By The Week UK Published