Memory at Bay

the long version

"Memory at Bay is a novel structured in monologues that alternate between the bedridden widow of a notorious dictator (in effect, a portrait of Papa Doc Duvalier) and the young émigré who attends to her needs and whose mother was a victim of the dictator's atrocities. Neither one can read the other's thoughts, but their flashbacks and reminiscences provide radically contrasting accounts of the Duvalier regime. Far more than a recap of recent Haitian history, the novel is also a subtle exploration of the power of memory" --