In Darkness

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Reviewed By Toni Whitmont, Booktopia Buzz Editor
In Darkness tells the story of Shorty, a boy trapped in a collapsed building in Port au Prince in Haiti. Enveloped in darkness, Shorty relives the brief life that brought him at the age of 14 to be in the hospital with a gunshot wound. Woven with his story is that of Toussaint L'Ouverture, the revolutionary black leader of Haiti in the 1790's who led the slave revolt. Despite being centuries apart, their two lives will become irrevocably entwined.

The book is as appealing to me as adult as it would be to anyone over the age of 14. From a letter to booksellers by the author:

Like everyone, I was horrified by the recent Haitian earthquake - and fascinated to by the stories of those dug out from the rubble hours and even days later. What would it be like to be trapped in the darkness like that for so long, uncertain of salvation? Even more awful was that the earthquake was only the most recent horror in Haiti's history...The more I though about these things - being trapped in the darkness, living in the slums, rising up to throw off the yoke of slavery - the more I felt like there was something that linked them. I felt compelled to write about Toussaint, but also about a present-day boy from the slums, lying under the rubble after the earthquake, uncertain of being saved, dreaming that he is a slave from two hundred years ago.

If you read this book, you will find that there is actually little in it that is made up, either present or past. That is the worst thing about it. But we have all been in darkness, so we all know the other side of it - that sometimes, afterwards, there is light.

In The Press
‘Nick Lake weaves Haiti’s dark past with its painful present into a story that is gripping, moving and uplifting. This novel dances with extraordinary confidence from one era to another, mixing the contemporary with the historical to create a rich and fascinating dialogue across the centuries. In Darkness is stunningly original and hard-hitting.’ William Sutcliffe
‘A tale of two Haitis — one modern, one historic — deftly intertwine in a novel for teens and adults . . . His [Nick Lake’s] minimalist, poetic style reveals respect for vodou culture, as well as startling truths . . . While the images of slavery and slum brutality are not for the faint-hearted, and Shorty’s view of humanitarian workers may stir debate, readers will be inspired to learn more about Haiti’s complex history. Timed for the second anniversary of the Haitian earthquake, this double-helix-of-a-story explores the nature of freedom, humanity, survival and hope. A dark journey well worth taking — engrossing, disturbing, illuminating.’ Kirkus Reviews
‘Shorty, 15, is trapped in the rubble of a hospital following the 2010 earthquake that left Haiti in ruins. As time wears on without rescue, he relives the journey that brought him to the hospital with a bullet wound, recounting his life running drugs and gunning down enemies for one of Site Solèy’s most notorious gangs. In a startling but successful feat of literary imagination, Lake (the Blood Ninja series) pairs Shorty’s story with that of Toussaint l’Ouverture, the 18th-century slave who led the revolt that forced out the island’s French colonizers. The narrative is as disturbing (people are hacked to death, an encephalitic baby is found alive in a trash pile) as it is challenging; the book moves back and forth in time from Shorty’s fictional first-person account, shot through with street slang and Creole, to Toussaint’s story, told in third-person. But the portrait it reveals of a country relegated throughout history to brutality and neglect is powerful and moving, as readers come to understand that Shorty is held captive by more than just the ceiling that fell on him.’ Publishers Weekly

‘Remarkable... Lake's elegant, restrained prose and distinct characters will reward adults and older teenagers able to brave a story with strong language, harrowing scenes of brutality and an almost painful stab of joy at the end.’ Wall Street Journal