Dec 27, 2009

Breath, Eyes, Memory | Techniques

Breath, Eyes, Memory fits into a long tradition of novels about the protagonist's coming of age. The Bildungsroman, or novel of education and personal development, is an old and widely utilized form. Danticat ties her work to this tradition by tracking Sophie's personal growth from the first stage of puberty to young motherhood. In between, the narrative hinges on significant moments in Sophie's life: her emigration and introduction to her mother in Part One, her discovery of herself as a woman in Part Two, her return to Haiti in an attempt to reconcile her present and past...