Reflections of Loko Miwa

Reflections of Loko Miwa is th first novel for Lilas Desquiron, one of few Haitian women writers to gain international recognition. The country's complex social and political situation is the setting for the story of two women ordained by the spirits of Vodou to be marasa (twins) in spite of their birth into unrelated families of different classes. Desquiron's intricate narrative shifts among characters, bringing diverse perspectives to bear on the dramas of class prejudice. The novel is a very personal account of a young woman's adherence to folk beliefs and resistance to prejudices of her class. Although a number of Haitian novels evoke scenes of Vodou, Desquiron is the first writer to have inscribed a story so completely within popular religious and cultural beliefs.