April 1958. When the Brussels World's Fair opens, Robert Dumont, one of the people responsible for the biggest international event since the end of the Second World War, ends up laying down his arms in the face of pressure from the royal palace: there will be a 'Congolese village' in one of the seven pavilions devoted to the settlements. Among the eleven recruits mobilized at the foot of the Atomium to put on a show is the young Tshala, daughter of the intractable king of the Bakuba. The journey of this princess is revealed to us, from her native Kasai to Brussels via Leopoldville, to her forced exhibition at Expo 58, where we lose track of it. Summer 2004. Freshly arrived in Belgium, a niece of the missing princess crosses paths with a man haunted by the ghost of his father. This is Francis Dumont, professor of law at the Free University of Brussels. A succession of events ends up revealing to them the secret carried by the former deputy commissioner of Expo 58 to his tomb. From one century to the next, the novel embraces History with a capital 'H,' to pose the central question of the colonial equation: can the past pass?

Rosa the Alligator (Un alligator nommé Rosa, 2007) is a powerful exploration of the limits of truth, reconciliation, and justice for Haiti. Set in France, it focuses on two child victims of the Duvalier regime as they confront their traumatic history and their torturer, Rosa, a character based on the woman who led Papa Doc’s paramilitary death squads. The novel draws on the harrowing testimony of survivors but derives its force from Agnant’s ethical framework: she asks questions not only about the conflicting goals of justice, truth and reconciliation, but also about how one lives with the knowledge of crimes against humanity. Agnant’s characters face choices with implications far beyond the specifics of Haiti: What defines our humanity? Is justice possible without atonement? What if perpetrators refuse to acknowledge their guilt? Whose voices must be heard? What would you sacrifice in the name of justice?This timely translation makes Agnant’s novel, the first to really seek accountability for the atrocities committed in Duvalier’s name, available in English. By voicing the buried stories of victims of Duvalier’s regime – without indulging the excuses of its supporters – Rosa the Alligator contributes to the on-going memory work of those grappling still with Haiti’s history.Marie-Célie Agnant is an internationally recognized author and poet dedicated to telling the silenced stories of Haiti’s past. Her novels include The Book of Emma (2001) and A Knife in the Sky (2022).

April 1958. When the Brussels World's Fair opens, Robert Dumont, one of the people responsible for the biggest international event since the end of the Second World War, ends up laying down his arms in the face of pressure from the royal palace: there will be a 'Congolese village' in one of the seven pavilions devoted to the settlements. Among the eleven recruits mobilized at the foot of the Atomium to put on a show is the young Tshala, daughter of the intractable king of the Bakuba. The journey of this princess is revealed to us, from her native Kasai to Brussels via Leopoldville, to her forced exhibition at Expo 58, where we lose track of it. Summer 2004. Freshly arrived in Belgium, a niece of the missing princess crosses paths with a man haunted by the ghost of his father. This is Francis Dumont, professor of law at the Free University of Brussels. A succession of events ends up revealing to them the secret carried by the former deputy commissioner of Expo 58 to his tomb. From one century to the next, the novel embraces History with a capital 'H,' to pose the central question of the colonial equation: can the past pass?

Rosa the Alligator (Un alligator nommé Rosa, 2007) is a powerful exploration of the limits of truth, reconciliation, and justice for Haiti. Set in France, it focuses on two child victims of the Duvalier regime as they confront their traumatic history and their torturer, Rosa, a character based on the woman who led Papa Doc’s paramilitary death squads. The novel draws on the harrowing testimony of survivors but derives its force from Agnant’s ethical framework: she asks questions not only about the conflicting goals of justice, truth and reconciliation, but also about how one lives with the knowledge of crimes against humanity. Agnant’s characters face choices with implications far beyond the specifics of Haiti: What defines our humanity? Is justice possible without atonement? What if perpetrators refuse to acknowledge their guilt? Whose voices must be heard? What would you sacrifice in the name of justice?This timely translation makes Agnant’s novel, the first to really seek accountability for the atrocities committed in Duvalier’s name, available in English. By voicing the buried stories of victims of Duvalier’s regime – without indulging the excuses of its supporters – Rosa the Alligator contributes to the on-going memory work of those grappling still with Haiti’s history.Marie-Célie Agnant is an internationally recognized author and poet dedicated to telling the silenced stories of Haiti’s past. Her novels include The Book of Emma (2001) and A Knife in the Sky (2022).