Description
"Dany Laferriere is that very rare writer who can make you laugh out loud and also make your soul ache. His work is smart, edgy, and extremely sexy. Heading South is all of these things and more...This book is not only icing on the cake, but is a crucial, essential read." -- Edwidge Danticat, author of Brother, I'm Dying
A steamy exploration of desire and sexual tourism by the author of How to Make Love to a Negro.
On the sun-drenched island of Haiti in the 1970s, under the shadow of "Baby Doc" Duvalier's notorious regime, locals eke out an existence as servants, bartenders and panderers to the white elite. Fanfan, Charlie, and Legba, aware of the draw of their adolescent, black bodies, seduce rich, middle-aged white tourists looking for respite from their colourless jobs and marriages.
These "relationships" mirror the power struggle inherent in all transactions in Port-au-Prince's seedy back streets. Heading South takes us into the world of artists, rappers, Voodoo priests, hotel owners, uptight Parisian journalists and partner-swapping Haitian lovers, all desperately trying to balance happiness with survival.
Made into an award-winning film starring Charlotte Rampling, Heading South, translated for the first time into English, explores the lines between sexual liberation and exploitation, artistic freedom and appropriation, independence and colonialism.
About the author
Dany Laferriere was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1953. He is the author of fourteen novels, including I am a Japanese Writer, Heading South, and the award-winning How to Make Love to a Negro without Getting Tired. Laferriere is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Prix Carbet des Lyceens and the Prix Medicis in France, and the Governor General's Literary Award in Canada. In 2013, he become the first Quebecer and the first Haitian to be elected to the prestigious Academie francaise as an "immortal," joining the ranks of such literary greats as Victor Hugo and Eugene Ionesco. He lives in Montreal.
