“Behind the mountains are more mountains”
Can you imagine bombs and gunshots going off by where you live? Just because of Presidential elections? That’s the situation in “Behind The Mountains”, a fantastic historical fiction book by Edwidge Danticat. It’s about a girl named Celiane Esperance (Cece) who lives in Beau Jour, Haiti. She is going through difficult times at her home in Haiti where there are bombs going off because it’s the first election in thirty years. In addition to real historical facts, the author uses great description and similes. For example, “…it’s like finding stars on the ground…” (p. 3)
The reason why I think that “Behind the Mountains” is a really good example of historical fiction is Danticat uses facts such as President Arstide was elected for the first time in 1990. She uses accurate dates and gives you a real idea of what it would be like so the facts stick in your head. Danticat also uses lots of literary devices that gives great descriptions that I think are really good. It also is a good work of historical fiction because she actually lived there so she knew all about Haiti and knows true facts. In the end, I think it’s a great example of historical fiction and is really interesting.