Breadfruit: A Novel
by Celestine Vaite
Published by Back Bay Books
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Reviewed by Bernadette Cogswell
Celestine Vaite's Breadfruit is a reviewer's dream. An earthy mix of the literary, the romantic, and the eccentric, Breadfruit follows the love crisis of Materena Mahi.
Materena and the father of her three children, Pito, have lived together on the island of Tahiti for fourteen years, but marriage has been nowhere on the horizon. One night, in a drunken stupor, Pito finally proposes to Materena. Materena is thrilled and wastes no time imagining her perfect wedding: pricing a chocolate cake and a wedding chauffeur and eyeing a luxurious new bed for a wedding gift.
But after fourteen years is Pito what she really wants? And was he even truly proposing? Materena fantasizes about her perfect wedding, all the while wondering if she's just letting her heart overwhelm reality.
Meanwhile, life on the island stops for no woman and daily dramas keep Materena busy. Cousin Giselle gives birth in a Mercedes, Materena's mother insists on talking to her dead grandmother for hours, and there are the free tiles Cousin Lily is giving away--not to mention the kids. Romance runs rampant throughout Vaite's novel, reinforcing what all women know--that love conquers all and family is the toughest job in the world.
Vaite's novel is populated with quirky characters and tales--like the pink peg Materena's daughter wears to give her a more perfectly pointed nose. The short-short chapters that read like flash fiction emphasize the eccentric, free-flowing attitude of the narrative, and the novel's unusual structure, all allow Vaite to work in more fully developed characters and to play with the sense of time, following back stories where appropriate and the side characters' own romantic dilemmas (did I mention that romance runs rampant?).
While Breadfruit's plot is familiar, its Tahitian setting is exotic and full of colorful language, legends and cultural idiosyncrasies that make the novel glow with a South Pacific charm and pragmatism.
Armchair Interviews says: As the follow-up to her novel Frangipani, Vaite's Breadfruit is a laugh-out-loud, feel-good novel that combines heart, wisdom, and an approachable style that will leave readers anxious for the final installment of Materena's trilogy.