The Roving Tree by Elsie Augustave
The Roving Tree is a
powerful story dealing with intensely important issues such as, racial
tensions, class struggles and poverty. When Americans think about children born
in impoverished countries around the world being adopted by western parents,
the thought usually ends with the belief that the child’s struggles are over. Augustave’s
novel seems to be an attempt to show the struggles that takes place after, what
most people see as, the end of their hardship.
The Roving Tree takes
the reader on a journey of discovery, a journey of finding ones identity that
was taken away by the economic conditions of one’s birth.
I believe that this
book has a lot to offer both in story and in social relevance. The issues that
are dealt with within these pages are the same issues we see on the news and in
the headlines being dealt with around the country and around the world. The
characters are brave and the insight of the author is great.
The book begins with a
powerful scene that has yet to leave my mind. The death of a mother during
childbirth and young girl left alone to face the harsh climate of her home nation
is an image I will not soon forget. This is a brave book by an author who must truly
care about her characters and the issues she is attempting to bring to light.
I would recommend this
book to anyone interested in the history of Haiti or Africa and the plight of
the people in those nations. But I would also suggest this book to anyone who
attempts to deny empathetic reactions for the poor struggling for their lives
in other nations.
