Sans Souci and Other Stories - Hardcover

Brand, Dionne

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0932379710 ISBN 13: 9780932379719

Publisher: Firebrand Books, 1989

Synopsis

Eleven stories deal with rape, humiliation, Caribbean life, childhood, teachers, American football, and war

About this title

About the Author:

Dionne Brand is a poet and writer living in Toronto. She has published six books of poetry: 'Fore Day Morning, Earth Magic (children's poetry), Winter Epigrams and Epigrams to Ernesto Cardenal in Defense of Claudia, Primitive Offensive, Chronicles of the Hostile Sun, and No Language Is Neutral, nominated for the Canadian Governor General's Award, 1990. She is co-author of the non-fiction work Rivers Have Sources, Trees Have Roots: Speaking of Racism. Her non-fiction book No Burden to Carry: Narratives of Black Working Women in Ontario 1920s to 1950s is a collection of oral histories. Her book A Map to the Door of No Return explores the importance of identity belonging in a culturally diverse and changing world. It has met with rave reviews. Brand also works in documentary film with the Women's StudioStudio Dof the National Film Board of Canada. She was associate director and writer of Older, Stronger, Wiser, a portrait film about older Black women in Canada, and co-director of Sisters in the Struggle, about contemporary Black activists in Canada. Long Time Comin', released in 1993, looks at two African Canadian artists, Grace Channer and Faith Nolan.

Review:

Dionne Brand was born and raised in Trinidad, then moved to Canada where she has spent most of her adult life. Many of the characters in this collection of stories set in the Caribbean and Canada deal with issues pervasive in both cultures, including alienation, sexism, and racism. Often the stories lend themselves to being read aloud as Dionne Brand creates stories within stories: "But truthfully, what makes a good story if not for the indiscretions we reveal, the admissions of being human. In this way, I will tell you some of my life; though I must admit that some of it is fiction, not much mind you, but what is a lie, I do not live through with any less tragedy." She explores the two worlds, with their physical variations - one having the "snow, icy through the gray air," the other where "there wasn't one good reason why flowers should be so red and leaves so green" - through characters who struggle with injustices, showing the skills they develop in order to survive and the cost to each. Dionne Brand puts out a plate of thoughts for the reader; some leave a bitter taste in your mouth, for the conditions of these lives not easy to digest. But while the sweet desserts are few, they all offer food for thought. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

About this edition

• Publisher: Firebrand Books
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0932379710
• ISBN 13: 9780932379719
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 150