Haiti, plagued with poverty, corrupt, lawless, and brutal police, politicians and military, international interference in its government - mostly by the US - and natural disasters is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. In Devil Makes Three, Ben Fountain gives us
…more the story of the period in Haitian history when a US sponsored coup removed Aristide, the first democratically elected president, from office. While there is a large and complex cast of characters, the voices in the story are mainly Alix, a Haitian business man, his sister Misha who is completing her PHD at Brown when the book begins, and Matt, an American who comes to Haiti as Alix's business partner in a dive shop. We also follow Shelly/Audrey, a CIA operative posing as a political attache who is convinced that since the US is the best country in the world the end justifies the means, no matter what chaos those means create - because, of course, it is always for the greater good. An important part of the story centers around the conviction that there are gold treasures in sunken ships and everyone wants a piece of them. We see the lack of control that people have when the government - or the gangs - simply walk in and take your business; when there is no reliable medical care; when an international embargo shuts down supplies and leaves people to starve. Fountain looks at the impact of voodoo in the Haitian culture and, because he is a superb writer, he makes you care about what happens to these people. This is a complicated story but it is well told and well worth your time to read. And if there is not a totally happy ending - well, it's Haiti. (less)
