Austin Gilkeson, writer of “middle-grade witch fiction,” almost cried on the bus because of:
Ayiti Add this to your list of literary feats: Roxane Gay’s book Ayiti will break your heart with a single ledger listing for a $13.95 purchase at CVS. That’s a recommendation and a warning—this slim book of fiction and nonfiction about Haiti and the Haitian diaspora will get to you. I started reading it on the bus during my commute and the first story, “Motherfuckers,” made me laugh out loud, drawing dirty looks from my fellow passengers. A few blocks later, that ledger listing had me doubled over, my heart ragged, trying not to cry on public transportation. Gay impressively genre-hops from humor to horror, realism to erotica, showing a mastery of each with her sharp, evocative prose. Taken as a whole, Ayiti is as vivid and haunting as the country its characters can never seem to fully escape or embrace.
