Dark Odyssey

About the Book

[Spoiler alert! Significant plot points are revealed in the following summary.] The novel begins in New York City in November 1929, just after the stock market crash. The story quickly moves to Haiti, where a revolution is brewing, unbeknownst to the young married couple Carolyn and Jon Martin. He accepts a job offer from her father, Dr. Alexander Duclos, who had abandoned her when her mother died and Carolyn was eleven. Despite Dr. Duclos’ micromanaging, Jon enjoys his position as instructor to a group of eager, talented Haitian students at the Service Technique. Carolyn—seven months pregnant—delights in the exotic country but is oppressed by the climate and appalled by the stultifying social life of the American community. She much prefers the company of mysterious Madame Dauphine and an adventurous young American, Kate Harper, who teaches Carolyn to pilot her Lockheed Vega. A missionary friend of Dr. Duclos, Gabrielle Charité, introduces Carolyn to Professor Lacroix , who agrees to continue the operatic training she began in New York City. Lacroix is in Port-au-Prince at the invitation of the government, to compose a Haitian opera. Meanwhile Jon is questioned by the Garde d’Haiti (police) concerning secret meetings of the Cacos (native revolutionists) at his school, the Service Technique. The insurrection explodes. Carolyn is rescued from the stampeding crowd by her servant, Hervé. In a hail of bullets, he drives her to the hospital where she gives birth to a daughter, Nicole. The baby does much to improve the situation between Carolyn and her father. Two days later, Dr. Duclos receives a message: he and his family must leave Haiti immediately. In the chaos of Americans fighting to board the ship, Duclos disappears. Jon, who was supposed to be on deck, is not. Carolyn accepts Hervé’s offer to drive her and Nicole to his ancestral village in the inner reaches of the island. There she finds Jon wounded, not by Cacos but by the Garde d’Haiti. The Service Technique has been the headquarters of the Caco revolutionaries, and it turns out that their leader is her father, Alexander Duclos. As Jon recovers, he and Carolyn try to educate the village children and to find their place in the life of the village. When they learn that the Garde d’Haiti is invading every village in search of Jon, they decide that Carolyn must return to the family compound in Port-au-Prince, where she will say that Jon died in her arms, wounded by a stray bullet. With Gabrielle Charité’s help, Carolyn struggles to play the part of a young widow and to readjust to the civilities of Port-au-Prince. Amanda Prescott, an older woman who has been as derisive to Carolyn as her husband has been kind, reveals the source of her jealousy: Carolyn’s youth, healthy baby, and loving husband. By evening the two have become friends. So much needs to be done. Carolyn wants to spend her time with baby Nicole and resume her voice lessons but feels obligated to restore her father’s ruined chateau and gardens, and find a way to improve the life of the villagers who befriended her and are hiding Jon. Above all, she must play the part of the grieving widow, even in her letters to the aunt who raised her. Realizing that Carolyn is wearing herself out, Kate invites Carolyn to fly with her for a couple of days in Havana. Kate has friends who will host them and give Carolyn ideas for helping her villagers. Carolyn thrills to Cuban family life, the Havana night-club scene, and especially to her host, Domingo. All pleasure vanishes, however, when she learns that Kate has told her Cuban friends that Carolyn has come for an abortion. In fact it is Kate, who suffers at the hands of a less-than-skillful doctor. Back in Haiti, Carolyn quickly arranges a dinner for the Prescotts and their American army sergeant friend, Faustin Wirkus, who has developed a thriving agricultural community near Port-au-Prince. The Prescotts leave early. Kate’s unexpected arrival

About the Author

Ruth Françoise Juillerat Harrison was many things: teacher, wife and mother, person of faith, intellectual, and a lover of music, fine arts, modern dance, travel, and French culture. But most of all she was a writer. She wrote always and about everything, from poems for friends’ birthdays to several book-length manuscripts. Her articles, poems, and essays were published in books, magazines, and newspapers, and her work was singled out for praise at writers’ workshops. In this, her final book, readers will feel her passion for music and the glories of other cultures, and her endless fascination with the human condition.