Village Weavers by Myriam J.A. Chancy
A TIME Best Book of April
Winner of the 2025 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
“Chancy is one of our most brilliant writers and storytellers.”—Edwidge Danticat
“Myriam J. A. Chancy is a masterful writer.”—José Olivarez
From award-winning author Myriam J. A. Chancy comes an extraordinary and enduring story of two families—forever joined by country, and by long-held secrets—and two girls with a bond that refuses to be broken.
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781959030379
- Page Count
- 352
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 5¾ x 8¾
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Myriam J.A. Chancy
A TIME Best Book of April
Winner of the 2025 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
“Chancy is one of our most brilliant writers and storytellers.”—Edwidge Danticat
“Myriam J. A. Chancy is a masterful writer.”—José Olivarez
From award-winning author Myriam J. A. Chancy comes an extraordinary and enduring story of two families—forever joined by country, and by long-held secrets—and two girls with a bond that refuses to be broken.
In 1940s Port-au-Prince, Gertie and Sisi become fast childhood friends, despite being on opposite ends of the social and economic ladder. As young girls, they build their unlikely friendship—until a deathbed revelation ripples through their families and tears them apart. After François Duvalier’s rule turns deadly in the 1950s, Sisi moves to Paris, while Gertie marries into a wealthy Dominican family. Across decades and continents, through personal success and failures, they are parted and reunited, slowly learning the truth of their singular relationship. Finally, six decades later, with both women in the United States, a sudden phone call brings them back together once more to reckon with and—perhaps—forgive the past.
Told with power and frankness, Village Weavers confronts the silences around class, race, and nationality, charts the moments when lives are irrevocably forced apart, and envisions two girls—connected their entire lives—who try to break inherited cycles of mistrust and find ways back into each other’s hearts.
Winner of the 2025 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature
“Chancy is one of our most brilliant writers and storytellers.”—Edwidge Danticat
“Myriam J. A. Chancy is a masterful writer.”—José Olivarez
From award-winning author Myriam J. A. Chancy comes an extraordinary and enduring story of two families—forever joined by country, and by long-held secrets—and two girls with a bond that refuses to be broken.
In 1940s Port-au-Prince, Gertie and Sisi become fast childhood friends, despite being on opposite ends of the social and economic ladder. As young girls, they build their unlikely friendship—until a deathbed revelation ripples through their families and tears them apart. After François Duvalier’s rule turns deadly in the 1950s, Sisi moves to Paris, while Gertie marries into a wealthy Dominican family. Across decades and continents, through personal success and failures, they are parted and reunited, slowly learning the truth of their singular relationship. Finally, six decades later, with both women in the United States, a sudden phone call brings them back together once more to reckon with and—perhaps—forgive the past.
Told with power and frankness, Village Weavers confronts the silences around class, race, and nationality, charts the moments when lives are irrevocably forced apart, and envisions two girls—connected their entire lives—who try to break inherited cycles of mistrust and find ways back into each other’s hearts.
Praise for Village Weavers
-
“For fans of Elena Ferrante: Myriam J. A. Chancy’s Village Weavers is a wistful look at a complicated female friendship that spans decades and continents.”
TIME, a Best Book of April -
“Chancy continues to impress with this character-driven view of Haiti’s turbulent history. . . . Her heartfelt prose lays bare the women’s inner lives, and the story is further enriched by its symbolism.”
Publishers Weekly -
“Moving. . . . with beautifully fleshed out characters and a bone-deep understanding of the inexorable pull of the past. . . . A powerful novel about lifelong female friendships against a backdrop of political upheaval and family secrets.”
Kirkus Reviews
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
