Gérard Étienne, La Reine Soleil Levée

Simone Grossman (Bar-Ilan University)

Ed. by Emir Delic, Université Sainte-Anne
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.1.4: Canadian Writing and Culture: Francophone .
Vol. editors: Emir Delic (Université Sainte-Anne), Eftihia Mihelakis (Brandon University), Glen Nichols (Mount Allison University), Wendy Roy (University of Saskatchewan), Denis Salter (McGill University), Karis Shearer (University of British Columbia)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1987

Places

Canada (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

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Gérard Étienne’s novel

La Reine Soleil Levée

[

The Queen Sun Rises

] (1987) takes place in Haiti of the 1960s under the Duvalier régime. Étienne himself had been a victim of the dictatorship, having been tortured and imprisoned by the Tontons Macoutes before being exiled. Like

Le Nègre crucifié

[

Crucified in Haiti

] (1974), an autobiographical novel depicting the tortures endured by a prisoner who is the author’s double, the novel

La Reine Soleil Levée

represents an indictment against injustice and cruelty. The voice of this suffering country is heard through the drama of a poor family. The story unfolds in the district of Saint-Martin, “always so crowded, so filthy that it makes you want to vomit” (Étienne, 1987: 21). Imbued with putrid odors, this morbid zone where “no…

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2324 words

Citation: Grossman, Simone. "La Reine Soleil Levée". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2017 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=35843, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Gérard Étienne, La Reine Soleil Levée

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