In the Palm of Darkness: A Literary Thriller of Love and Rivalry in Violence-Torn Haiti

To read In the Palm of Darkness is to hike through a Haitian landscape dense with spirits, loas, mystery, poverty, disintegrating environmental and social structures, and an elusive, near-extinct species of amphibian. Victor, a herpetologist from the U.S., comes to Haiti to find the blood-red Eleutherodactylus sanguineus, but cannot escape the emotional alienation he's left behind at home. For Victor's Haitian guide Thierry, the search is a trip into the heart of the heart of his country, family, and himself. Montero also subtly weaves a larger message of worldwide ecological collapse that may be signaled by the (actual) sudden sharp drops in frog populations. This intelligent and intense novel is the first work by the Cuban-born Montero (currently residing in Puerto Rico) to be translated into English. It should not be the last.