The Delicate Beast

DEBUT This first novel by Celestin, a Haiti-born scholar of French and comparative literature (emeritus, Univ. of Connecticut), follows an unnamed main character through his childhood, starting in the 1950s in a Caribbean nation referred to only as “the Tropical Republic.” In intricate if sometimes florid prose, Celestin introduces a large cast of characters who live in the republic. His descriptions of the paradise are particularly lovely. The boy’s life is full of privilege and he lacks for nothing, until a character called “the Mortician” (seemingly inspired by the Haitian dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier) ruins the Tropical Republic. As the Mortician disrupts the nation’s status quo, the boy, his brother, and their parents flee to the United States to save themselves. In the States, the main character feels out of place and must discover who he is away from his homeland. The narrative style is difficult to follow at times, making it hard to sympathize with the characters or comprehend their motivations. The many characters known by titles instead of real names can also be confusing.