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How to Escape from a Leper Colony
How to Escape from a Leper Colony: A Novella and Stories | Tiphanie Yanique
6 posts | 5 read | 52 to read
An enthralling debut collection from a singular Caribbean voice For a leper, many things are impossible, and many other things are easily done. Babalao Chuck said he could fly to the other side of the island and peek at the nuns bathing. And when a man with no hands claims that he can fly, you listen. The inhabitants of an island walk into the sea. A man passes a jail cell's window, shouldering a wooden cross. And in the international shop of coffins, a story repeats itself, pointing toward an inevitable tragedy. If the facts of these stories are sometimes fantastical, the situations they describe are complex and all too real. Lyrical, lush, and haunting, the prose shimmers in this nuanced debut, set mostly in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Part oral history, part postcolonial narrative, How to Escape from a Leper Colony is ultimately a loving portrait of a wholly unique place. Like Gabriel Garca Mrquez, Edwidge Danticat, and Maryse Cond before her, Tiphanie Yanique has crafted a book that is heartbreaking, hilarious, magical, and mesmerizing. An unforgettable collection.
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BookishFeminist
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Brilliant collection of short stories set in the Caribbean. Each story is unique—focusing on everything from lepers to coffin sellers—& covers a wide range of themes. Yanique's writing is haunting, dark, & lush while confronting the stereotypes outsiders & colonists have of the US Virgin Islands, incl. conflict between its habitants. Her writing slowly simmers & builds as she unpacks colonialism, racism, colorism, death, violence, & family. 🏝🌊

TheNextBook I have a feeling this will be perfect for next year's theme. Yes, I'm already planning ahead. 😂 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook 😂 of course you are. What is next year's theme? 8y
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TheNextBook I'm calling it "Keeping it short." I've realized since joining Litsy that I don't read many short stories. That and I haven't read all of Stephen King's short stories either so next year for each book I read, I will read one short story. It gives me the freedom to still read a lot of novels but also read a nice amount of short stories. 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook Ooh I like that! I've considered doing something like that myself, especially because I find short story collections hard to devour at once. I like to break them up but then wind up setting them aside for too long. You're right, this would be perfect for that. 👍🏼 Also I am not surprised this is so you can read more Stephen King short stories. 😂😂 I need to read more of those too. 8y
TheNextBook @BookishFeminist Yes! I can not read large short story collections at once! I've tried and sometimes I'm successful but usually I end up bailing so yeah this theme should help. And of course part of the reason (the entire reason) was because I wanted to read all of Stephen King's short stories and I needed to push myself to do it! 😂 #keepingitshort 8y
RebeccaH I'm so glad you liked this! I wrote a review of it back in 2011 here: http://www.necessaryfiction.com/reviews/HowtoEscapefromaLeperColonybyTiphanieYan... 8y
Seashore Love the cover! 8y
Lola @BookishFeminist @TheNextBook YES re not reading large short story collections at once! I read (am still reading) A Manuel for Cleaning Women for a book club and purposefully did not finish in time. 400 pages of short stories are not meant to be consumed like a novel, IMO. I think the collection suffers for it and my opinion if the work does, too. Best read in small bites. 8y
TheNextBook @Lola small bites! Exactly! 8y
Zelma That sounds fantastic! Like everyone else, I want to enjoy short stories more, but I have trouble with pacing. If I enjoy the collection, I keep reading quickly and they suffer as a result. 8y
BookishFeminist @Seashore Ditto! It's colorful. 😊 8y
BookishFeminist @RebeccaH Thanks for the link! I love all of Yanique's writing at this point, so excited to see what she does next. 8y
BookishFeminist @Lola @TheNextBook Yes! They're short stories for a reason. I can see why you did that too, Lola. I got halfway through Lucia Berlin's book before setting it aside for a while. Her stories are often similar in theme and tone too so it feels repetitive if consumed all at once, but she's awesome and don't want over-consuming her work to sully my opinion and reflection of it. 8y
BookishFeminist @Zelma It really is good! I think you'd like this- these stories are all very different from one another and have a lot of depth. 8y
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BookishFeminist
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Monday night relaxing in bed trying to get rid of this migraine. Thankfully I have snuggles and a book to help. 🐻🐾

#thebookishferrets #petsoflitsy

DeeLew It must be going around! I've had a migraine all day. 😬 I planned on a day of reading but I can't focus. I hope you feel better soon! 💜 8y
Bookzombie Hope you feel better! Also, your buddy is so cute! 8y
melbeautyandbooks Migraines are awful. Sorry for you. 8y
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Bibliogeekery Ugh. Migraine solidarity! I have a bad one today too 😞. Hope you get some relief soon! 8y
Coleen_Nieto Feel better! I love your buddy!!! 8y
Bette Feel better 💕🍵🐺 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @DeeLew @melbeautyandbooks @Bibliogeekery @BookishFeminist WHAT? All of you and me too with migraines? This is all kinds of wrong. Hope tomorrow is a better day, friends. ❤️📚 8y
Bibliogeekery @DeeLew @BarbaraTheBibliophage @BookishFeminist - I often think when many people around me have migraines at the same time that it must be the barometric pressure but we all live in different places so. . . .BOO migraines!! Hope we all feel better soon! 💕 8y
DebinHawaii Hope you feel better soon! 🤕❤️ 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Bibliogeekery I agree. The barometer is certainly a factor. I have an app called Migraine Buddy that will actually tell you if other people in your area are also tracking migraines. 8y
Shortstack Are you trying to kill us all with cuteness?!? Also, I hope you feel better soon. I think I might be getting the flu. Hopefully a night in bed reading with pets will cure us both! 8y
Bibliogeekery @BarbaraTheBibliophage - thanks for the tip, I'll have to check it out! Mine are chronic, so barometric pressure is just one of my factors, but it doesn't help. 8y
CherylDeFranceschi 😢Feel better! 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @Bibliogeekery Mine are chronic too. The app has helped me understand them better. 8y
Bibliogeekery @BarbaraTheBibliophage a pox on chronic migraines 🤦 8y
Texreader I hope you all feel better soon!! 8y
JSW Sorry to all my migraine-having Litsians. ❤️ 8y
Lizpixie I havenevermet so many migraine sufferers in one place before, there has to be a correlation between an abundance of reading and migraines don't you think?🤕 8y
LeahBergen Feel better soon please ( but just LOOK at that precious little face! ) 8y
TaylorMay Been plagued with bad migraines for the last week. Going to Dr tomorrow to see if we can do anything else. Sending healing thoughts to all the other sufferers out there @BarbaraTheBibliophage thanks for the app heads up. 8y
Simona @Lizpixie I'm wondering about that too⁉️ 8y
LauraBeth Awwww - hope you're feeling better today 8y
marie3blue I love your ferret 💜 So adorable! 8y
marie3blue Hope you're feeling better, too. 8y
BookishFeminist @DeeLew @Bookzombie @melbeautyandbooks @Bibliogeekery @Coleen_Nieto @Bette @BarbaraTheBibliophage @DebinHawaii @Shortstack @CherylDeFranceschi @Texreader @JSW @Lizpixie @LeahBergen @TaylorMay @Simona @LauraBeth @marie3blue Thank you all for the love. 💕💕 I felt much much better today after last night's cuddles & rest. Sherlock also says thank you. 🐻🐾 I hope my fellow migraine sufferers are also feeling better! 🤕❤️ 8y
BookishFeminist @BarbaraTheBibliophage Thank you for the app tip! I downloaded it last night and immediately fell in love with it. I've been trying to find a great migraine tracking app so I don't have to do it all manually for all the factors I like to track, and this is perfect and so easy! 8y
BookishFeminist @TaylorMay Sending positive thoughts & hope your doctors appt goes well. 💕 8y
BookishFeminist @Shortstack I really hope you're not getting the flu! That would be awful. I hope you're feeling better today. And no I'm not trying to kill you with cute but sorry if it does. :P 8y
BookishFeminist @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Bibliogeekery @Lizpixie @Simona ☹️😣 chronic migraines are the worst- I definitely agree that barometric pressure is a factor for me too & very well could have been yesterday since it was rainy & humid all day. I get chronic migraines too so it's just one of the things I try to be aware of. I think @Lizpixie is onto something about readers & migraines! Though perhaps it's also another side effect of being a woman. 8y
Shortstack @BookishFeminist Definitely have the flu. Hope your migraine is gone though!! 8y
BookishFeminist @Shortstack Migraine gone! 🚀 I kicked it to the curb sometime early this morning finally after bad insomnia. 💪🏼👊🏼 Feel better soon! I see lots of books and tea in your future. ❤️ 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage @BookishFeminist So happy you like the app. And that your migraine is gone! 8y
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BookishFeminist
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😱😱😱

I think I just went through the five stages of grief seeing these two words strung together.

Bookishness saves lives!

katedensen 😂😂😂 8y
Megld4 That's not even an exaggeration. It seems to be a common thread among many of us litizens that mental illness or at least difficulties in life affect us, allowing books to become our saving graces in times of hardships. 8y
angrylilasian How can anyone be overly bookish? That's like when my husband says we have too many books. Not possible!! 8y
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Notafraidofwords 🙌🏼 8y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Overly bookish? Is that like overly smart or overly attractive? 😉 8y
britt_brooke 🙊 8y
BarbaraTheBibliophage I might have to bail on a book like that! 😡😡 8y
TheCanuckReader Overly bookish is a gift! Quick question, as a newby, is there somewhere in Litsy where you can see your "to read" stack? 8y
TheNextBook There is no such thing as overly bookish! Blasphemy! 8y
BookishFeminist @BarbaraTheBibliophage Nah not bailing! It's just a character's viewpoint but it's not the author's AT ALL. Just found the phrasing horrifying 😂 8y
Marchpane I want to know more about the tart who reads science fiction and is friends with the oily faced girls. She sounds interesting. 8y
BookishMarginalia @TheCanuckReader Go to your profile and click on the book icon under following. 8y
SoniaC That's not a thing! 😡 8y
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BookishFeminist
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Tonight's plans! Still loving these stories! Perfect way to end a busy day. 📙🍧

The weather's beautiful so we got ice cream. It's pandan snocream (Taiwanese hybrid of ice cream & shaved ice) w/egg pudding & strawberry mochi. ☺️ Also known as: Sarah's having salad for dinner. 🙃

I forget who commented last time & thought this looks like it's a KFC bucket-size container of ice cream. But here's the proof it's not. 😂😂 I can't unsee it, though.

Dragon That looks so good. 8y
TheNextBook You are going to have to tell me all of the food spots!!!! 8y
Hooked_on_books Oh that was me (the KFC bucket). And yes, this looks very normal in size! 🍨 Though the other made me laugh more. 😂 8y
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rachelm That looks amaaaaazing 8y
MCYmermaid "Sarah's having salad for dinner." ?? 8y
BookishFeminist @Dragon @rachelm It's so yummy! This is my first time trying pandan and I think it just became a favorite. 😀 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook Absolutely! This one's really close by! A little further for you, but it's a food truck in the Kmart parking lot on Little River Tpk right on the Fairfax border. We'll go sometime. 😊 8y
BookishFeminist @Hooked_on_books Yep! Still not healthy sized but much better than a giant bucket of frozen milk and custard 😂 I might have to keep taking pictures in the dark to see who else I can fool lol 8y
BookishFeminist @MCYmermaid 😂 if I'm being honest after eating this much ice cream it should really be salad for the next several meals lol 8y
DreesReads That looks so yummy!!! 8y
BookishFeminist @AudreyMorris It is! I have to keep reminding myself that it's essentially all fat so I don't eat it all the time 😂 8y
TheNextBook @BookishFeminist yes!!! I'll message you this weekend about the festival. 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook Yep ditto! I saw your last message and let it slip since it's been a busy week 🙄 I can't wait! 8y
Lizpixie That looks really interesting. I've had pandan flavoured gelato before and liked it, I've never had Taiwanese snocream though. 8y
BookishFeminist @Lizpixie It's so yummy! The texture of this isn't rich or super creamy like gelato, but it's really flavorful and light. It's kind of like if someone were to turn ice cream into soft silk ribbons. This is my first time trying pandan & I think it's a new favorite now! 8y
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BookishFeminist
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Predawn tea and reading in bed. 🌄📖☕️

Continuing #diverseathon with this short story collection that I started last week. These stories are great so far—very lush, atmospheric, & haunting like her novel.

JPeterson Pretty tea cup! 8y
WordWaller I have this from Graywolf and I need to read it!! 8y
BookishFeminist @WordWaller I think you'd really like this one! 8y
BookishFeminist @JPeterson Thank you! 😊 8y
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BookishFeminist
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New month, new book! Basking in the end of summer & fending off the reintroduction of pumpkin spice lattes in Starbucks with some iced espresso and Caribbean lit.

I loved Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique so thought I would give her backlist short story collection a try. These stories, like her novel, are set in the US Virgin Islands—her prose is magical and haunting as she unpacks postcolonial Caribbean issues. 🏝☀️✨

DreesReads I enjoyed her novel too--will have to look for this! 8y
Yamich49 Gurlll you know unpacking post colonial issues is my weakness. 😍😉 8y
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Baileeandme I loved her novel. I will definitely be reading this. 8y
Notafraidofwords Her novel was food but after half of the book, I was ready for it to be over. I struggle with magical realism if the book is long. 8y
BookishFeminist @AudreyMorris Yes, it's holding up so far! Such great writing 8y
BookishFeminist @Yamich49 Hahaha right? I could probably say a random book unpacks postcolonial issues and you'd stack it- and there is also the argument that most any book written unpacks postcolonial issues because Europeans 😑 8y
BookishFeminist @Baileeandme Yes, it was great! This is definitely standing up to it so far. 8y
BookishFeminist @Notafraidofwords LOL, the pickiest of readers. :P I agree the second half of her novel wasn't as strong as the first half but I love magical realism so had no problems with it 8y
Spiderfelt I've wanted to read Yanique for several years. I can still picture where I was driving when I heard her interviewed on the radio. 8y
Notafraidofwords @BookishFeminist oh I know. It's bad. But you have totally helped me step out of my comfort zone more! 8y
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