Untwine...loss and connection
Edwidge Danticat tale Untwine had me from the start, although I wanted to flee from the looming heartache that presented itself almost immediately. But just as the fatal accident, that took Isabell was unavoidable, so was the trajectory of this narration. I thought Danticat's thematic choice to use the structure of the Firebird to scaffold this story of grief was interesting, if slightly transparent.
The craft choices that worked well for me were the reoccurring theme of them holding hands and the fact that it took several days for anyone to realize that it was Giselle, not Isabell, who survived the crash because this gave more authenticity to the level of trauma experienced by all involved, including the parents who presumably misidentified the body of their child. Disclaimer #1:My mother is a mirror twin. So I can conceive what degree of injury that her mother would have had to suffer in order to misidentify one of her daughters. Also, the ways that the narrator describes random memories, spotty cognition and fuzzy relationship to reality felt pretty accurate from my understand of how traumatic brain injuries and emotional trauma present themselves in patients.
However, Isabell's relative stoic healing journey felt inauthentic somehow. I cannot honestly imagine a teenage girl losing her twin, her best friend, her boyfriend, her parents separating without having at least one major emotional outburst, particularly in light of the brain trauma that she suffered. Isabell's dream sequences with her sister, although very poignant and beautiful, also felt contrived. As did the donation of Gisell's organs,
"Isabell's body is now a nebula. It's expanded into other spheres, other spaces. Her heart and corneas have been wept over and prayed for, even while they were still in her body. And even though she had been broken that night, shattered, parts of her had landed somewhere safe"(p. 252.)
This section is beautifully written but feels like a cliché, hollow for although this is a factually accurate representation of how most organ donations are received it did not have a certain authenticity to me and made it somehow read formulaic .
Disclaimer #2: I have cornea bilateral corneal transplants and I had the surreal experience my bus being stopped at the scene of the accident that immediately proceeded my second corneal donation. I knew in my heart that without a doubt this young man I had just witnessed the jaws of life extract from his mangled vintage hotrod was not going to make it. My heart exploded with indescribable sadness and grief when I received the call from my doctor at Highland Hospital a few short hours later informing me that they were ready to proceed with the corrective surgery.
Many of us who have lost loved ones equate their transcendent form to stars or butterflies. Perhaps this is due to the sheer majesty, mystery and fragility of these entities. Les filles allergy to the butterflies was a surprising twist but gave a beautiful opportunity to transition to the cathedrals. Thus providing a backdrop for vignette of Isabell giving away Giselle's shoes, which gave richness to both characters. The themes of music, science, art, architecture, medicine, language provide a unifying and cohesive palate to support character development and plot. The lush description of the grandparent's home in Haiti gave much needed respite, although even this seemed disproportional to the typical Haitian experience. I am torn because perhaps I judged the outwardly unemotional response of Giselle from a culturally biased perspective or perhaps it was a temperament style so different from my own. Although, truth be told, I too am very quiet the loss of loved ones, but I certainly act out in other ways.
Perhaps, my dubious response to this narration stems from Danticat trying to make a senseless loss, such as the loss of your closest connection, the person with whom you share your very soul with, whom was killed by someone intentionally striking your vehicle as being somehow understandable,or tolerable because of Janice's intolerable plight is over reaching for me. IT IS ABHORANT TO TRAFFIC CHILDREN! anyone for that matter!! so please don't think I am in anyway accepting of this situation. That being said, tragic losses occur, for no reason and nothing makes it any less painful. Choice of the narrator to construe this tragedy as have some divine purpose of having saved a child from being trafficked and of saving two persons lives left me feeling somewhat emotionally blackmailed. The fact that everything, and everyone, triumphed in the end also felt improbable to my limited understanding of life and profound loss.
So, I look to the target audience for this novel and I concede that perhaps it may be of some help to someone who has loss a sibling. The telling of the empty places that could not be filled, the life and laughter that continues for others no matter how eviscerating the personal loss maybe, the possibly that joy may be found again in some distant future, the beauty of simple moments, the message of the importance of keeping your heart open to those who truly love you no matter how broken it may be are all good suggestions. So although this novel did not read as a first person "lived" experience, it did touch my heart and skillfully expose those wounds still healing none the less. So I will conclude that it was thoughtfully prepared and the details were beautifully illustrated.
lora
The craft choices that worked well for me were the reoccurring theme of them holding hands and the fact that it took several days for anyone to realize that it was Giselle, not Isabell, who survived the crash because this gave more authenticity to the level of trauma experienced by all involved, including the parents who presumably misidentified the body of their child. Disclaimer #1:My mother is a mirror twin. So I can conceive what degree of injury that her mother would have had to suffer in order to misidentify one of her daughters. Also, the ways that the narrator describes random memories, spotty cognition and fuzzy relationship to reality felt pretty accurate from my understand of how traumatic brain injuries and emotional trauma present themselves in patients.
However, Isabell's relative stoic healing journey felt inauthentic somehow. I cannot honestly imagine a teenage girl losing her twin, her best friend, her boyfriend, her parents separating without having at least one major emotional outburst, particularly in light of the brain trauma that she suffered. Isabell's dream sequences with her sister, although very poignant and beautiful, also felt contrived. As did the donation of Gisell's organs,
"Isabell's body is now a nebula. It's expanded into other spheres, other spaces. Her heart and corneas have been wept over and prayed for, even while they were still in her body. And even though she had been broken that night, shattered, parts of her had landed somewhere safe"(p. 252.)
This section is beautifully written but feels like a cliché, hollow for although this is a factually accurate representation of how most organ donations are received it did not have a certain authenticity to me and made it somehow read formulaic .
Disclaimer #2: I have cornea bilateral corneal transplants and I had the surreal experience my bus being stopped at the scene of the accident that immediately proceeded my second corneal donation. I knew in my heart that without a doubt this young man I had just witnessed the jaws of life extract from his mangled vintage hotrod was not going to make it. My heart exploded with indescribable sadness and grief when I received the call from my doctor at Highland Hospital a few short hours later informing me that they were ready to proceed with the corrective surgery.
Many of us who have lost loved ones equate their transcendent form to stars or butterflies. Perhaps this is due to the sheer majesty, mystery and fragility of these entities. Les filles allergy to the butterflies was a surprising twist but gave a beautiful opportunity to transition to the cathedrals. Thus providing a backdrop for vignette of Isabell giving away Giselle's shoes, which gave richness to both characters. The themes of music, science, art, architecture, medicine, language provide a unifying and cohesive palate to support character development and plot. The lush description of the grandparent's home in Haiti gave much needed respite, although even this seemed disproportional to the typical Haitian experience. I am torn because perhaps I judged the outwardly unemotional response of Giselle from a culturally biased perspective or perhaps it was a temperament style so different from my own. Although, truth be told, I too am very quiet the loss of loved ones, but I certainly act out in other ways.
Perhaps, my dubious response to this narration stems from Danticat trying to make a senseless loss, such as the loss of your closest connection, the person with whom you share your very soul with, whom was killed by someone intentionally striking your vehicle as being somehow understandable,or tolerable because of Janice's intolerable plight is over reaching for me. IT IS ABHORANT TO TRAFFIC CHILDREN! anyone for that matter!! so please don't think I am in anyway accepting of this situation. That being said, tragic losses occur, for no reason and nothing makes it any less painful. Choice of the narrator to construe this tragedy as have some divine purpose of having saved a child from being trafficked and of saving two persons lives left me feeling somewhat emotionally blackmailed. The fact that everything, and everyone, triumphed in the end also felt improbable to my limited understanding of life and profound loss.
So, I look to the target audience for this novel and I concede that perhaps it may be of some help to someone who has loss a sibling. The telling of the empty places that could not be filled, the life and laughter that continues for others no matter how eviscerating the personal loss maybe, the possibly that joy may be found again in some distant future, the beauty of simple moments, the message of the importance of keeping your heart open to those who truly love you no matter how broken it may be are all good suggestions. So although this novel did not read as a first person "lived" experience, it did touch my heart and skillfully expose those wounds still healing none the less. So I will conclude that it was thoughtfully prepared and the details were beautifully illustrated.
lora
I never thought of this before reading your piece but I agree that the parent's recovery was static leading Danticat to funnel the trajectory of the novel towards focusing only on Giselle. In reality, the parents would have had a much slower road to recovery. I also did not think the reveal of intentional car crash was satisfying. Great Response!
ReplyDeleteLora,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your response. I really felt like the recovery was a bit contrived, especially the parents. I've heard that the worst thing a person can go through is losing a child. Most healthy marriages that lose a child then dissolve, so it seemed odd to me that a couple that had already announced their separation were growing so close again. Maybe they would lean on each other because the other is the only one who understands, but we are led to believe that the separation will never occur now, and that felt disingenuous. Also, thank you for explaining the significance of Gisabelle being mistaken for Isabelle. I was very confused about that and struggled with that in my reading of the book. I wish that had been made more explicit in the book, rather than needing some level of outside knowledge or experience though. Thank you for such a thoughtful and insightful response.
Anna
I agree with you on many of your points. I also didn't identify much with Giselle, I didn't FEEL her grief or loss. She didn't go through the phases of grief. You're right, she was too stoic. Her grief was too cerebral.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point re the mansion in Haiti. I thought it was a refreshing view of Haiti, going against stereotypes of the poor Haitian, but I see how that perspective also negates the experience of the majority.