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Celebrated novelist Shani Mootoo, author of the award-winning Cereus Blooms at Night, turns her hand to poetry in a nuanced and lively exploration of desire, identity and personal exile. In haunting and astonishing language, shot through with the speech and rhythms of her native Trinidad, Mootoo walks a breathtaking tightrope - between cultures and identities, between geographical locations, between memory and desire. In a series of bittersweet love poems, she tenderly exposes the contradictions in loving another woman; in a series of exhilarating riffs on language and the effects of colonization, she marries English words to Trinidadian intonation. Here are poems equally lush and philosophical, sensual and startling, spilling forth meaning from experience like blood-red seeds from a pomegranate. ... Read more

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Even though the last half of the book seems too suddenly freighted towards themagical and improbable, and the happy ending is a trifle too contrived,Cereus Blooms at Night showcases Shani Mootoo's impressive masteryof language. And in Mala Ramchandin, she has created a tough and tenderheroine who commands the reader's interest and sympathy from first page tolast. --Alix Wilber ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Great book!
This is a wonderful book that combines nation (its set on an imaginary Caribbean island) that considers a S. Asian diaspora community from a really fresh angle, blending sexualities, history, family, migration, incest and nostalgia in unique combinations. A fast, fascinating read.

a book with memorable images
My English professor assigned this novel for class during my freshman year of college. Although I started it grudgingly, I eventually fell in love with the world Shani Mootoo created for this novel. I'm sorry to say that I've forgotten much of the plot and a few of the characters too, but the sights and smells of that beautiful place stick with me even today. Even as I sat at my desk reading this book, I felt as if I'd lived a lifetime on that island. 'Cereus Blooms at Night' is a great story and well worth picking up.

And for any anime fans reading this- I'll never forget watching "Wolf's Rain" and immediately identifying the lunar flowers as night-blooming cereus--something I knew only because I'd read this novel a year before I watched the series.

unputdownable - though a little unreal in parts
Cereus Blooms was fascinating in how it brought alive life in a little Caribbean town. The portrayals of Chandin , Mala and Lavinia were so real I feel I know them in person.
The anguish a young child would feel at being abandoned by her mother - as she eloped with her FEMALE lover - can bring tears to the eyes.
I would strongly recommend this book.
I just though on the negative side - that all possible sexual orientations come to life around one little girl. Its a bit much to digest that the mother is a lesbian and so is the father's first love - and the two elope. The father is an incestuous demon, the nurse is gay and transvestite, the boyfriend's son is also gay. Hmm.......not too many normal people in this book.
But no sweat - it adds to the colour and pace !

A magical and evocative book
I think I must have read this book about 3 times and each time it weaves a magical web in my mind that takes days to clear. Ms Mootoo manages to take the minutae oflife in a time gone by and make them real. Perhaps the book resonates with my own past a bit or perhaps it is just one hell of a well written book. I suspect it both.

Books are, obviously, a matter of personal taste and I know people ( who I bought copies for) who hate this book. I take issue with the reviewer who compares it to The Color Purple though. As far as I know the human condition is sadly limited to a few experiences. One might as well say that any book that writes about falling in and out of love is plagiarizing another. I suspect the only problem withCereus is that it is such an intimate book..written from such a particular perspective about a particular place that it may not resound with all readers.

One of my friends in Trinidad who grew up in great poverty says that the book takes him back to his childhood and the little comfort corner in his mother's shed - I couldn;t put it better.

I woul also suggest getting her book of poetry..well worth it.

As anIrish born, half-Trinidadian Canadian I love this book....I hope that one day I will have the pleasure of meeting the author.

beautiful
This is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful books I have read. The plot is original (although it did remind me a bit of the film Nell) and rich. I smelt and saw and felt everything Shani Mootoo described in this book. It is a magical book.
The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because some of the plot is a bit confusing at times. Eventually I got used to it and knew what to expect. So if you experience this keep reading and everything will clear itself up.

I recommend this book to everyone who wants to experience beauty and magic and love. I know I'll re-read this book many times! ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

How pleased I am to have found this wonderful novel
A reviewer at The Millions blog had a terrific piece on the idea of disappearance and vanishing and she included some book suggestions.He Drown She was one of the Canadian recommendations and my library had only one copy--at my branch.Meant to be!Really loved this book.Unlike any other which is certainly high praise.The action moves back and forth between Harry the adult man living in Vancouver, BC, and Harry (always called "the boy" in the island section) living his Caribbean life on a fictional island called Guanagaspar.

It is an epic in that the novel takes place over the course of generations.But to its credit and my delight, it didn't feel like an epic.I don't like epics.I don't like the arc of epics and He Drown She never lost its smallness in the fascinating and essential minutiae of daily life and the characters' desires--for autonomy, for freedom, for respect.We have characters whose ancestors were from India, characters whose ancestors were African slaves.Strong central characters, especially Dolly, Harry's mother.White people are unknown until they come to fortify the island at the beginning of WW2.Of course the island changes over time, but how the people change, the ones we come to know with great fondness--that is the core of the book.

The language is in dialect but it is not difficult.It's not a creole language, just their way of English.I heard the lilt as the words were spoken on the page.

I have a bunch of people in my life who like my taste in books and are eager for my recommendations.I have sent an email around telling them of this wonderfully original novel.

Well worth reading
Read for Books In The Woods -- a northern Minnesota excursion.The first chapter's language is worth working through.As you become more comfortable, it adds a wonderful layer to a story that is both compelling and delightful.High recommendations from me and the group in northern MN.

Simply Beautiful
This novel is sweet and captivating.The story is well written with prose that is almost lyrical.The portrayal of the fictional Guanagaspar gives a vivid and well researched picture of Trinidad in the early twentieth century.This is truly West Indian literature at its best.

Voted Best New Author 2005
I can't believe there are no reviews for this novel. This was a moving story and was very well crafted. The story keeps you and holds you. I'm looking forward to reading more from this outstanding author. Check it out. You will like this novel.

Reviewed by
Dawnny
Mahogany Media Review
Albany, N.Y. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

India, Trindidad, Canada, Feminist, Lesbian short vignettes
First read Shani Mootoo's novel, Cereus Blooms at Night. Then, come back to these short stories to learn more about her. Find phrases like: "She so fem, she redundant". Shani is not that. And you will not find men painted in a pretty light. Very similar to The Bean Tree in that respect.

I rate this book highly, however, for her account of the inner thoughts of a couple in an abusive relationship. Deep in a tangle of anguished, angry, selfish thoghts, we find the dead seeds of a passionate desire to be possesed, to be the possessor.
Get this book to have that story. ... Read more

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Word count: 1152. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal, published by Canadian Ethnic Studies Association on March 22, 2007. The length of the article is 995 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Shani Mootoo. He Drown She in the Sea.
Author: Hyacinth M. Simpson
Publication: Canadian Ethnic Studies Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 2007
Publisher: Canadian Ethnic Studies Association
Volume: 39Issue: 1-2Page: 246(3)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more