By 1996 Haitian-born author Edwidge Danticat had been nominated for the National Book Award for her collection Krik? Krak!, had gained national recognition from Oprah's Book Club for her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, and had even been named one of Granta's twenty "Best Young American Novelists." This exceptional recognition was made even more significant by the fact that Krik? Krak! and Breath, Eyes, Memory, were her first collection and novel published – and both before she turned 26. The Farming of Bones, a 1998 New York Times Notable Book, is her homage to tens of thousands of Haitians who were slaughtered by their Dominican neighbors under Trujillo's rule in 1937. Against this historical background, Danticat stages the love story of Amabelle and Sebastien, two workers who are separated during the panicked flight of Haitians from Dominican borders. In the dreamlike manner characteristic of one who is profoundly damaged by tragedy and left to reshape her life, Amabelle relates her story in slow, selective, descriptive pieces. Danticat's sensually compelling and respectful treatment of one of the 20th century's most overlooked atrocities both mourns and honors the burden borne by the Haitian people, leaving behind an indelible memory of loss and endurance. Malia, Powells.com

From the acclaimed author of "Krik? Krak!". 1937: On the Dominican side of the Haiti border, Amabelle, a maid to the young wife of an army colonel falls in love with sugarcane cutter Sebastien. She longs to become his wife and walk into their future. Instead, terror unfolds them. But the story does not end here: it begins.

"Edwidge Danticat's strong and unique voice speaks in the language of hearts. She knows the dreams and hidden thoughts of her characters, and her readers. She takes us traveling down a river of blood. That river sings in our veins." Walter Mosley

"Sensuously atmospheric...perfectly paced...lushly poetic and erotic...and starkly realistic." Publishers Weekly

It is 1937, the Dominican side of the Haitian border. Amabelle, orphaned at the age of eight when her parents drowned, is a maid to the young wife of an army colonel. She has grown up in this household, a faithful servant. Sebastien is a field hand, an itinerant sugarcane cutter. They are Haitians, useful to the Dominicans but not really welcome. There are rumors that in other towns Haitians are being persecuted, even killed. But there are always rumors.

Amabelle loves Sebastien. He is handsome despite the sugarcane scars on his face, his calloused hands. She longs to become his wife and walk into their future. Instead, terror enfolds them. But the story does not end here: it begins.

The Farming of the Bones is about love, fragility, barbarity, dignity, remembrance, and the only triumph possible for the persecuted: to endure.