In my opinion House Hold Saints was a really weird book. In the beginning it was good the story had a little bit mystery, a little humor, and it was interesting but midway into the book it turned boring. It was just not interesting at all there was no scheme no plot. It was like a narrative of some one’s life told in a monotonous tone. I only finished it because I had to but if it was my choice I would not have finished the book. It was a disappointing and depressing book. I would not recommend it to anyone else to read.

when I was a Puerto Rican

The book about Puerto Rico was a very good I haven’t read a book like this for awhile. It was fast paced and engaging. While I was reading about the main character Negi and her fist time in America it reminded me of my first time in America also. I did not know English either so I understood how she felt. People treat you differently when you don’t know how to speak English. Since I related to the character in the book I had a lot of fun reading it. Another thing I liked about this book was that the author did not sugar coat her life. She wrote about her life in a very mature and true manner. She was not embarrassed to write what really happened. Over all I enjoyed this book and I would defiantly recommend it to someone else.

The Dew Breaker

I just want to share my opinion about this book. To be honest in the beginning i wasn't interesting, but by reading every next story this book was taking my attention. I become so exciting about the connections between the characters from different episodes. Until the end of last story The Dew Breaker i couldn't get the main point. Connections in some stories were not as interesting as the Haitian barber's life back home. The first story in the book shows us a little about barber's family, and after author keeps this family aside; like she(author) decided to leave the best piece for desert. I felt myself as a detective who little by little discovers the true about the situation.
I would like to read other books of this author.
I would definetily suggest this book to my friend.

How does it feel to be a problem?

This Moustafa Bayoumi's book had surprised me. Before i've never heard about this situation after September 11 terroristic attacks in the US. This is inappropriate that in the 21st century people are so close-minded, we cant judge a diaspora community according to activities of its minority. Innocent people dont have to be humiliated and offended in order to pay the price for the crime they've never done. Any democracy country required their people to have the same human rights and responsibilities; no humiliation could be done by the race, color,place of birth or religion. We have to be team players to maintain a strong nation.

Otis Payne's quote

In Lone Star, the quote by Otis, “Blood only means what you let it” can hold true for many characters we have read throughout the course. This quote speaks about identity and how we have the choice to create our identity.

In When I Was Puerto Rican, Esmeralda, in the beginning, did not want to be associated with the American culture; instead she held great pride in her “Puertoricanness”. However, as she becomes a part of the American society, she loses this Puertoricanness and adopts an American identity. In Household Saints, Catherine promises to rid the unscientific such as the superstitions embodied in her mother-in-law. Catherine disconnects herself with her Italian identity to move towards an American one because she wanted to raise a child without ignorance and especially without presumed consequences of superstitions. In Joebell and America, Joebell believed “he is seeing too much hell” so he decides America is the right place for him and not Trinidad. He loves and wants what Americans possess: wealth and the freedom to speak their minds. Joebell takes on a false American identity, which at end, reveals that you cannot take what is portrayed in the media accurately. This shows that each character is not chained to their blood but that they are the sole owner for creating their identity.

The Dew Breaker

The Dew Breaker is truly one of the greatest books I've read in a long time. To be honest, I was not fully aware of the Haiti’s governmental corruption before I began reading. Nevertheless, while reading this book, I came to learn about the Haitian Diaspora and how Brooklyn became a link to Haitian identity even though the book did not revolve entirely in Brooklyn. I wanted to point out that the Dew Breaker, Mr. Bienaimé lived and worked in Brooklyn (most likely in an area populated with Haitians).
With this in mind, why then did Mr. Bienaimé choose to stay there? It only occurred to me that maybe his reason was as a way to atone. His fear of someone recognizing may be what he needs in order to pay for his past actions. He probably understands that there will be no real way to atone for the depth of the evil deeds and so, he punishes himself to be in fear for the rest of his life. In living with this fear, Mr. Bienaimé is atoning because there is nothing more frightening than living in fear and having to hid and live a false life.

Subjectivity and Structure

The Dew Breaker is interesting to me, particularly because of the way it exposes the multiple layers of its characters' personalities, relative to the (subjective) opinions of the people around them. Although some of our actions have permanent consequences in our lives and the lives of others, the people we are when we carry these actions out may still be buried or hidden from view as we move away from the past...As such, although Ka has to reconcile the fact that her father did terrible things, remarkably, she was able to live for many years without recognizing even the slightest trace of the violent man he had been prior to living in the US, because his secret was unknown to her. With the structure of her novel, and the slow unpeeling of its layers, Danticat emphasizes this relationship between subjective and objective truths, and how there are various factors which shape and change the way we perceive others. The writing is really great, yes, but there is an extra dimension added simply in the deft way she has structured the story.