Restavec: From Haitian Slave Child to Middle-Class American

by Jean-Robert Cadet

Book Overview

African slaves in Haiti emancipated themselves from French rule in 1804 and created the first independent black republic in the Western Hemisphere. But they reinstituted slavery for the most vulnerable members of Haitian society--the children of the poor--by using them as unpaid servants to the wealthy. These children were--and still are--restavecs, a French term whose literal meaning of "staying with" disguises the unremitting labor, abuse,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0292712030
• ISBN13: 9780292712034
• Release Date: March 1998
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Jean - Robert Cadet's ability to touch the human soul.

It all started when a friend at work and I were talking about spiritual things and He shared a story with me about his childhood. He told me of a boy that he met when he was a young boy himself living in Haiti, that boy turned out to be Jean -Robert Cadet and he was "Oliver" in the book "Restavec". I was so touched by his story that I wanted to know more, it just so happens that there was a book about the experience that his friend went through. He let me borrow the book and I was so inspired that I could not put the book down or stop talking about it, I wanted to share it with any one who would listen. The book stirred many emotions in me. Even though I am a white person and was never a child of slavery, I felt my inner child cry out and feel once again all the abuse that I felt as a child. Jean's story of survival and overcomming great adversity was awe inspiring. I am praying that this book gets the well deserved attention it should receive. As I read the book the vivid sceens came into view. It would make a great movie. I have since shared the book with many who have felt the same emotional response that I have. We all feel that this book is an important message for all to read.

A Recounting of Childhood to Compare With Angela's Ashes

In "Restavec", Jean-Robert Cadet recounts to us in disturbingly matter-of-fact language the outrage that was his childhood in Haiti.The illegitimate son of a wealthy man,he was given into slavery as a gift to his father's former mistress. The brutality of this woman, whom he came to think of as his mother, is recounted in excruciating detail. The facination of this book is in watching this brutalized child realize an escape from this degraded life. The parallels between Jean-Robert Cadet escape from slavery and Frank McCort's escape from abject poverty are very striking. The role of education in their own countries, and their fulfillment as teachers in the U.S. are just two similarities in their stories. "Restavec" is an intense read, not relieved by humor. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in a tale of human potential and quiet heroism.

Another link has been broken

For all those interested in the ways Haitian society operates, RESTAVEC is a must read and will occupy your mind a long time after you've put it down. But you will not be able to put the subject of this book to rest. As a child growing up in Haiti, You witness a lot of things that you do not consider abnormal. As far as I knew I belonged to my parents, and I considered other kids to be so. I knew Mr. Cadet, I played with him, I saw him everyday for at least four years, and only thaught of his adoptive mother as a strict disciplinarian. A lot of what my young eyes saw did not prepare me for what I read in this book. As they say in HAITI, nothing is what they seem. RESTAVEC has broken another link in this vicious chain of poverty and child abuse. BOB -as I used to call him - has overcome.

Restavec is a powerful story of one man's determination to j

Jean Cadet is a friend and teaching colleague of mine and I am continuously amazed that this thoughtful, caring person had such a miserable childhood. His story moved me to tears of pity, anger and joy. His life is a testimony to the human spirit. He is driven to change a society which has remained unchanged for decades. Anyone who travels the journey with Jean-Robert Cadet will be forever moved.

Shades of Pearl Buck and of Vladimir Nabokov...!

Jean-Robert Cadet has written a captivating, soul-wrenching,mind-boggling autobiography. I was unable to put down till I had read it in one sitting! When the pages of RESTAVEC began to unfold ,I realized that this author has the potential to follow in the footsteps of Pearl Buck and Vladimir Nabokov.Hats off to Mr. Cadet.