AN AROMA OF COFFEE

by Dany Laferriere 

Leaving behind the sexually charged cruising scene of late-70s
Montreal -- portrayed in his French and English bestseller, How
To Make Love To A Negro -- Haitian-Canadian writer Dany
Laferriere has taken a spiritual turn on the road to his
riveting third novel, An Aroma Of Coffee.

This time out Laferriere probes deeper into the mysteries of
life, love, greed and death with a narrative driven by the coy
recollections of one Old Bones -- a sharp-eyed, girl-watching 10
year old with a wry, quizzical wit that belies his tender age.

Old Bones, as nicknamed by his coffee-fiend, high-priestess
grandmother Da, must sit idly on her veranda while convalescing
from an unidentified able malady.

Rest is all that is prescribed by the absent-minded and
whimsical Dr. Cayemitte, so there's plenty of time to observe
and question the actions of the steady procession of freaks,
ghouls and other neighbours that passes by.

Da pounds back coffee to assuage the ravages of time and Old
Bones' presence gives her cause to celebrate an elusive moment
of respite. Bones, in turn, must search for meaning in the cryptic, 
weighted words of wisdom Da imparts to him like a soothsayer.

The magic of An Aroma Of Coffee lies in Laferriere's ability to
weave the myriad of bittersweet and paradoxical vignettes that
are Old Bones' reveries into a cohesive and believable read.

The alternately soothing and eerie imagery recreates the bustle
of a one car Haitian town, in itself enough to make readers wake
up and smell the coffee.

Aroma's perfect setting and appealing, if obtuse, cast of
characters make for a fine rural tale that springs directly from
the revered oral traditions of Africa and the Caribbean.

Those with addictive natures will yearn for it to linger a few
moments longer.

-- sigcino moyo 

original publication: NOW