Tropical Apocalypse: Haiti and the Caribbean End Times by Martin Munro (review)

This expert study of representations of apocalypse in francophone Caribbean literature is timely, and probes the depths of a centuries-old history. As Martin Munro convincingly argues, the notion of apocalypse has long been part of Haitian and Caribbean reality, beginning with the encounter between Europeans and the Amerindians, continuing with plantation slavery and colonialism, and extending into the recent past with the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Munro defines apocalypse as relating 'to the biblical sense of the final destruction of the world, the end of the present age' (p. 1), arguing that it has at times functioned as a narrative tool, a means of understanding lived reality, or even an ideologically charged concept used to justify Western interventions. In the Introduction, the author presents Slavoj Žižek's Living in the End Times as a theoretical framework, stating that his 'four riders of apocalypse' are applicable to Caribbean history: an ecological crisis resulting from the economic system; slavery; 'the explosive growth of social divisions and exclusions' (p. 5); and the crisis of criminality. Munro then describes the emergence of an 'apocalyptic aesthetic' (p. 9) with Aimé Césaire's Cahier d'un retour au pays natal, before situating his work within the growing field of disaster studies. Chapter 1 considers the terror unleashed in Haiti by the Duvalier regime, which violently repressed any dissent. Chapter 2 analyses how Jean-Bertrand Aristide's presidency and legacy have contributed to 'the sense that Haiti is living in an ongoing apocalypse' (p. 20). Chapter 3 explores the figure of the Haitian anti-hero in history, literature, and film, as well as the history and representation of the Chimères, Aristide's hired militia. Chapter 4 examines the role of religious groups in propagating apocalyptic thinking, arguing that Vodou theology is markedly non-apocalyptic in its emphasis on rebirth and regeneration, in contrast to the increasingly influential Protestant evangelical religions, and on the relationship between Haitian apocalypse and the environment. In the conclusion, Munro situates the apocalyptic narratives in relation to time, in particular a diminished sense of positive historical change, and prophecies. Munro's groundbreaking, highly interdisciplinary study sheds new light on a relatively neglected area of francophone postcolonial studies — Haiti — by presenting fascinating, masterful readings of contemporary films and texts. It will no doubt be of tremendous interest to students and scholars alike, of francophone postcolonial and Caribbean studies.