Edwidge Danticat, author of ‘Claire of the Sea Light’, is back with her first novel in over ten years. Dèy is about Magnolia, a Haitian American who works in real estate and has built a life with her husband and young daughter in Miami. She is caught in a shooting at a local mall, and although uninjured she leaves with trauma, which prompts questions about where her home is and who she is. She decides to keep the shooting to herself, which proves difficult when her family travels to Miami to escape from escalating violence in Haiti. Although there isn’t much action, Danticat’s writing is meditative and delves into belonging, motherhood and identity in the face of danger. It’s also brilliantly sectioned into parts which mimic the advice given by the US government when in an active shooter situation: Run, Hide, Fight and finally, Danticat adds Dèy, a Haitian Creole word for mourning. IM

Published by Knopf