The Dew Breaker

This part is about three Haitian American women who are studying to pass a class that will gain them an English-speaking diploma. They do their homework at the Manhattan Haitian restaurant of one of the women, Rézia. The story is narrated by the youngest of the women, a professional funeral singer from Haiti who often sketches portraits in a notebook.

Studying at the restaurant allows the women the opportunity to bond and socialize. They often drink rum and wine and share stories of the past. Unfortunately, their test scores suffer as a result.

The narrator’s father was a fisherman in Haiti, and she gained experience at sea with him. Before her father was arrested, they worshipped the president (presumably Baby Doc), who was rumored to go around handing out money and food to citizens. Mariselle and Rézia, the other women, also grew up in Haiti. Mariselle’s husband was an artist who once painted a picture of Jackie Kennedy, adding Mariselle in the background. He was shot for drawing a negative portrait of the Haitian president. Rézia was sold into prostitution by her parents. The narrator, meanwhile, had to leave because she refused an invitation to sing at the presidential palace.