The Lure of Modernity

They consecrated the rest of their time to their waning dreams in the hills. … Sure, one survived, sure, one was free, but the aftertaste of misery was rising quickly. It was the bitterness of a land whose promises fly away. It was from the boredom with nature that did away with all patience before the least wish came true. … The hills had neither schools nor lights. You just found yourself with the sky over you like a lid, getting anxious, sometimes destitute, and always without perspective. The still hills did not care for any weakness. Thus, year after year, the maroon Trail began to go down to the Factory. There was opportunity there.

-Patrick Chamoiseau, pg. 139, Texaco, trans. Rejouis & Vinokurov