In the Palm of Darkness - by Mayra Montero (Paperback)

About the Book

From a hot new Caribbean writer comes "a resplendent piece of writing" (NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW). The quest for an elusive amphibian in the mountains of Haiti brings together an American herpetologist and his Haitian guide, an unlikely pair whose individual stories intertwine in a mesmerizing tale of love, sex, and rivalry against a backdrop of mysterious forces.

Book Synopsis

Anchored in the mythical and magical world of Haitian spirituality, where the living become the murdered dead, and the dead wander as zombies among the living, "In the Palm of Darkness" is a book with a fresh and particularly fascinating point of view that will appeal to readers seeking something new and unexpected in fiction.

"In the Palm of Darkness" tells the story of American herpetologist Victor Griggs and Haitian guide Thierry Adrien, who are searching for an amphibian known as the blood frog (grenouille du sang) in the mountains of violence-torn Haiti. The rich and tragic tale of Thierry's family, his life and loves and his curious destiny, forms a backdrop for the obsessive search of the two men from different cultures, and opens a window onto another way of understanding the world.

Cuban-born Mayra Montero, who has been compared to Alejo Carpentier, Graham Greene and Julio Cortazar, weaves a darkly suggestive tapestry of Haitian lore and character in a novel of the Caribbean that will intrigue and unsettle."A dazzling, original fugue on love and extinction."

From the Back Cover

The quest for an elusive amphibian in the mountains of violence-torn Haiti brings together an unlikely pair of hunters--American herpetologist Victor Grigg and his Haitian guide, Thierry Adrien--whose individual stories unfold and intertwine in a mesmerizing tale of love, sex, and fraternal rivalry; of the propagation and extinction of species in the natural world; and of the mysterious forces of nature that govern the fate of all living creatures.

In the Palm of Darkness is a compelling tale that reads like a murder mystery but also reveals a highly sophisticated and refined literary voice.

Review Quotes

"A dazzling, original fugue on love and extinction." --The New Yorker"A resplendent piece of writing that brings throbbingly to life ... a world in which the magical and the occult flourish, and the gritty reality of ordinary life can also achieve a glorious sensuality." --The New York Times Book Review"Primal sorcery and modern agony ... A voyage into the heart of darkness .... Montero confronts the modern Western way of knowing with an older more universal kind."--Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times"A work of enormous beauty, violence, and unsentimental grace.... Montero writes with fire and acid." --Boston Globe"Montero nurtures her two characters and their relationship with such close compassion that it blossoms into something rare, original, and moving." --The Women's Review of Books