Haitians may be among the poorest people in the world, but they are rich in an imaginative spirit that has helped them endure centuries of poverty, political corruption, and natural disasters. "Haitian creativity has always been one of the country's most identifiable survival traits," writes novelist Danticat (The Dew Breaker) in her introduction to the latest entry (with Copenhagen Noir, see above) in Akashic's acclaimed noir series. Reflected in the country's vibrant visual arts and music, this creative genius also finds full expression in the 18 stories contributed by writers in Haiti and in the Haitian diaspora as well as two "blan" (white) Haitiphile authors (Madison Smartt Bell; Mark Kurlansky). A few of the tales are noir in the traditional crime fiction sense—Josaphat-Robert Large's "Rosanna" is a chilling tale of a kidnapping gone very, very wrong: tensions between an émigré sister and her stay-at-home sibling come to a deadly head after their mother's funeral in Katia D. Ulysse's sardonic "The Last Department." Others experiment with stretching the genre's boundaries. Gary Victor's "The Finger" branches into hallucinatory horror, while Kettly Mars's "Paradise Inn" is a study in existential surrealism (shades of Sartre's No Exit). VERDICT This anthology will give American readers a complex and nuanced portrait of the real Haiti not seen on the evening news and introduce them to some original and wonderful writers. [A portion of the profits will be donated to the Lambi Fund of Haiti; see Q&A with Danticat on p. 92.—Ed.]—Wilda Williams, Library Journal

A wide-ranging collection from the beloved but besieged Caribbean island.

The 18 new stories, most by native Haitians, are introduced by Haitian-born National Book Award finalist Danticat. The editor/introducer does triple duty with "Claire of the Sea Light," which focuses on the sensuality of the island seen through a young girl's eyes. Each remaining tale has a different geographical setting. The opening and closing stories, Patrick Sylvain's "Odette" and Rodney Saint-Éloi's "The Blue Hill," deal with the recent earthquake. The former follows a grandmother's movements shortly after the disaster; the latter gives the quake a more metaphoric dimension. Other highlights: "Paradise Inn," by Kettly Mars, begins with the hero, Gokal's new police chief, arriving at his new post on a dark, humid night. In Josaphat-Robert Large's "Rosanna," the heroine's excitement over an outing with her beloved aunt soon turns to fear. Izzy Goldstein, the hero of Mark Kurlansky's wry "The Leopard of Ti Morne," knows that inside his Jewish exterior is a Haitian soul and decides to live accordingly. "The Harem," by Ibi Aanu Zoboi, probes the MO of Jean-Robert, an incorrigible seducer known to his conquests as Robby.

The 36th entry in Akashic's Noir series (which ranges from Bronx to Delhi to Twin Cities) is beautifully edited, with a spectrum of voices, stories grouped under three headings, maps that pinpoint story settings and pictures accopmanying the thumbnail author bios.