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New York Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
2 Novels for Double Lives
By Leah Greenblatt Dear readers, Considering the amount of flop sweat, vigilance and pure performance art it takes to be just one person in the world, I am always impressed by people who manage to lead double lives. Like the nest of Russian intelligence operatives recently uncovered in Brazil, secretly serving at the pleasure of the Kremlin while they posed for years as students, small business owners, even models. (Some evaded the Polícia Federal and got away; the rest were apparently undone by bogus birth certificates and 'gringo Portuguese,' among other things.) The two books in this week's newsletter don't have much to do with beachy espionage, nor the shadowy cabals and gray trench coats of a John le Carré or Graham Greene novel. The protagonists here are, you could say, double agents of their own making: ordinary citizens whose unremarkable public personas serve as cover stories for stranger, seamier things. Their only real motive is self-preservation and the stakes (divorce, ignominy, maybe jail) are relatively low. But creating a whole second self without help from king or country? That deserves a deeper dive. —Leah 'Adèle,' by Leila Slimani Fiction, 2014 (2019 in America) The French Moroccan writer and journalist Leila Slimani is probably best known for 'The Perfect Nanny,' a harrowing portrait of infanticide whose cool, ambiguous style defied its lurid Lifetime-y title. (Originally, it went by the more genteel 'Chanson Douce,' or 'Lullaby.') That book became a sensation in Slimani's home country in 2016, earning her a prestigious Prix Goncourt, and was released stateside not long after. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Graham Greene gingerbread hotel destroyed by Haiti's descent into chaos
Haiti's famed gingerbread hotel that inspired the novelist Graham Greene was burned down by gangs as the country plunged further into crisis. Once a presidential palace, the storied Hotel Oloffson was built at the end of the 19th century and had survived coups, dictatorships and the 2010 earthquake. But the hotel manager Richard Morse has confirmed the Port-au-Prince landmark visited by stars including Mick Jagger and Elizabeth Taylor had become the latest target of gang violence gripping the Caribbean country. Pictures of the devastation showed the once grand white mansion, which boasted turrets, spires and wooden lattice work had been reduced to piles of ash, with just the singed bones of the building left behind. Haitians mourned the loss of the iconic building which drew intellectuals, creatives and politicians from around the world, including Jackie Kennedy and Tennessee Williams. It also served as inspiration for the fictional Hotel Trianon in Graham Greene's 1966 novel The Comedians, set in Haiti under the dictatorship of Francois Duvalier, known as Papa Doc. 'From the beginning it was a place where Haitian elites would gather, and then international elites, filmmakers, dancers and writers would come and use the Oloffson to describe the history of Haiti, as Graham Greene did,' said Olsen Jean Julien, Haiti's former culture minister. 'It's a place where regular people would meet with elites, would meet with artists, would meet with everybody,' Mr Julien told The Telegraph. 'When gangs burn down a symbol of social inclusion and cohesion... It tells us that society is very sick,' he said. Haiti has been terrorised by a coalition of gangs led by warlord Jimmy 'Barbecue' Chérizier for more than a year, with criminal groups murdering and raping thousands of citizens. Gangs now have 'near-total control' of the capital, according to the UN, with criminal organisations now expanding to attack previously peaceful areas. More than 5,500 were killed in gang-related violence in Haiti in 2024 and more than a million people have fled their homes. Until last week the Oloffson had survived the unrest. Mr Morse, who had been overseeing the property remotely from the US since the hotel's closure in 2022, said that for months, there were persistent rumours that the hotel had burned down. 'So when I heard Sunday morning that it burned, I did what I usually do, which is call someone who has drones and have them go take a look,' he said. 'This time, when they called back, they said something like, 'take a seat.' I knew then that this wasn't like the other times.' Mr Morse said he was reluctant to talk about what happened to the hotel given that in Haiti 'so many people are dying and being raped and losing everything that I don't want the focus to be on the hotel'. James Jean-Louis, who lives in the hills above the Oloffson said the attack began on Saturday. He saw flames as he and other residents were chased out while police and gangs exchanged heavy gunfire. Nestled in the upscale community of Pacot in the southeast corner of the country's capital, the Oloffson was surrounded by lush gardens and often described as a mythical place known for its creaking parquet floors that characterise Haiti's endangered gingerbread homes. Built as a presidential palace at the turn of the 18th century, the Oloffson was one of the most famous examples of gingerbread architecture, a unique, ornate style that flourished in Haiti at the start of the 20th century. The building became a Marine Corps Hospital before a Swedish sea captain converted it into a hotel in the 1930s. A 1940s advertisement by Haiti's tourism department said that the hotel was situated 'in the coolest section of the town' and noted that English, French, German and Spanish were spoken there. In the late 1980s, Mr Morse became the hotel's manager. His band, RAM, played Haitian roots music on Thursday nights that became legendary, as were the Day of the Dead celebrations known as Fèt Gede that drew in Vodou practitioners. The hotel closed in recent years as gangs began raiding and seizing control of once peaceful communities. 'During the earthquake, during the political unrest in Haiti it was a place of reference, where people would go and talk to friends and eat and to have discussions,' Mr Julien said. 'I've been to that place, I don't know, I can't count how many times... It's very rare a building has that kind of sentiment and historical value in Port-au-Prince, that's what we've lost, so it's very painful.' He added: 'The destruction… It breaks my heart because this is something that Haiti should take care of, not destroy.'
New York Times
07-07-2025
- New York Times
A Hotel Made Famous by Graham Greene Is a Victim of Haiti's Violence
One of Haiti's most renowned landmarks, the Oloffson Hotel, noted for its ornate wooden facade and celebrity guests, including the novelist Graham Greene, has become the latest victim of the country's destructive spiral. The hotel was 'burned to the ground' in an apparent arson attack on Saturday night, Richard Morse, the hotel's Haitian American owner and manager, said in a telephone interview on Monday from his home in Maine. The destruction, he added, was confirmed by friends in Haiti and by drone footage showing the smoldering shell of the building, which had stood for more than a century, just a short walk from the center of the capital, Port-au-Prince. While details about who was behind the fire remained unclear, the neighborhood has been convulsed by violence from gangs that now control most of Port-au-Prince. The hotel's wooden latticework, turrets and spires made it a classic example of the gingerbread Caribbean architectural style of homes that adorned some older residential parts of Haiti's capital. 'I can't describe the sadness and rage about the destruction of our patrimony,' Frederick Mangonès, a Haitian architect, said about the loss of the Oloffson. 'There's no respect for human life or history.'' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Miami Herald
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Gangs burn down Haiti's iconic Hotel Oloffson, host to stars and writers
Haiti's storied Hotel Oloffson, a favorite haunt of writers and artists that survived dictatorship, coups and a devastating earthquake and was immortalized in novelist Graham Greene's 'The Comedians,' is no more. After months of resisting gang threats and attacks that forced thousands in its surrounding Carrefour Feuilles neighborhood to abandon their homes and flee, the landmark hotel overlooking Haiti's capital was 'burned to the ground' Saturday evening into Sunday morning. The hotel's burning was confirmed to the Miami Herald by proprietor Richard A. Morse, who also announced the destruction on X, after drone images began circulating showing its hollowed out structure.. The culprits: members of the Viv Ansanm gang coalition, who had been using the sprawling hotel as a base for their takeover of Port-au-Prince and have been fighting with Haitian national police officers. Another source who confirmed the hotel's destruction said it was among several places in the area gangs burned during the confrontation with police, which intensified on Saturday afternoon. 'Losing the Oloffson reflects the incompetence of Haiti's oligarchs, the Haitian government, the United Nations as well as the French and American governments,' said Morse, an outspoken critic of Haiti's wave of crises and ongoing political instability. The founder of RAM, a Haitian roots band named after him, Morse took over the famed hotel in 1987 after it had been closed a year earlier. At the time it was in near ruins after having once served as a media hub for visiting press during the years of the Duvalier dictatorship. The musician soon transformed the Oloffson into a gathering place for Haitian culture featuring folkc dancers and Vodou rock performances. His band's weekly Thursday performances along the hotel's creaky, wooden balcony attracted both locals and tourists and became a must attend event as gawking visitors begged to see where Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy Onasis and Graham Greene once slept. 'Stepping into this magnificent gingerbread mansion with its cathedral ceilings, you could feel the lingering presence of legends —painters like Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin and André Pierre; dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham; former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy; Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of 'The Comedians;' Charles Addams of The Addams Family; and James Jones, author of From Here to Eternity — to name just a few,' said Port-au-Prince political analyst and former hotel patron Michel Eric Gaillard. 'Sipping a glass of rum at the old Acajou bar, you might have imagined yourself seated beside Rolling Stones icon Mick Jagger, or witnessing Graham Greene in deep conversation with Aubelin Jolicoeur. Brushing your hand against its walls, you did so with reverence—closing your eyes to absorb the vibrations, the echoes, the voices of history,' he added. 'The Oloffson withstood the 2010 earthquake, its wooden structure flexing with resilience as it stood tall above Port-au-Prince. But it could not defy manmade disaster. Like an old reel of film, it has faded into oblivion.' Gaelle Delaquis, a promoter of Haitian culture, said the hotel's destruction represents a great loss. 'I carry so many cherished memories of this cultural landmark,' she said. 'It was my Thursday Mass, the birthplace of the original Gede Fest – a true symbol of unity, generational legacy and Haitian excellence. 'They can destroy our city, but not our spirit,' Delaquis added. 'Our collective memory is our history.' Gregory Brandt, a fan who also used to support cultural events at the hotel, is mourning the hotel's destruction while trying to understand the logic. 'I am very said and don't understand the use of fire,' Brandt said. 'Take the house and move in, but the attraction for destruction and setting fire?' Built in the late 19th Century, the Oloffson was initially a private home owned by the Sam family, who lived there until President Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in 1915 was lynched by an angry mob in the streets of Port-au-Prince. Sam had only been president for five months at the time of his death, which triggered a U.S. military intervention and a 19-year occupation of Haiti by U.S. marines. Until President Jovenel Moïse's equally brazen slaying four years ago, on July 7, 2021, Sam had been the last Haitian president to be assassinated. During the U.S. occupation, the Oloffson was used by the marines as a hospital, and following the departure of American forces in 1934, it was converted into a hotel in 1935. In 1960, Al Seitz, a New Yorker, became proprietor of the what was then called the 'Ginger Bread' Grand Hotel Oloffson, and he transformed it into a haven for both local and visiting celebrities whose names graced the hotel's rooms. In addition to Jagger and Greene, another draw was the Aubelin Jolicoeur room, named after the Haitian gossip columnist on whom Greene based his character Petit Pierre in 'The Comedians.' The Oloffson itself served as a muse for Greene's fictional Trianon Hotel in 'The Comedians,' which tells a tale of treachery and the absurdity of Haiti amid the rule of Francois 'Papa Doc' Duvalier. The hotel was also the setting for the 1967 film 'The Comedians,' starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, in which Burton portrayed the hotel manager. Seitz died in 1982 at the age of 64 of cancer, and years later Morse took over. Under Morse's management, the Oloffson braved deepening political instability, dried-up tourism, the 2010 earthquake and worsening gang violence. Still, its low room rates, lunches and rum sours continued to inspire a new generation of writers and foreign correspondents searching for news, as the hotel served as a repository for the latest political gossip and intrigue. Despite curfews, it still attracted Haiti's intellectuals, artists and foreign diplomats on its porch until the gang violence in Carrefour Feuilles and downtown Port-au-Prince completely made it off limits. 'The Oloffson has literally attracted everyone,' Morse said, noting that the late Anthony Bourdain, the celebrated chef and author, once listed it as among his five favorite spots in Haiti after visiting the country in 2011 to film season 7 of his show 'No Reservations.' The demise of the Oloffson follows a similar attack on The Lodge, a popular hotel in the hills above Port-au-Prince. The destruction is part of an alarming rise of violance against private homes and businesses by armed gangs that began ramping up their attacks at the beginning of the year. The violence is paralyzing Port-au-Prince, now up to 90% under gang control, and is quickly spreading to other regions of Haiti. Late last week, at least eight people were reported killed in gang attacks in the Lascahobas area in the Central Plateau. The United Nations issued an alert for the region after armed gangs orchestrated an attack, intensifying the already precarious humanitarian crisis in the rural area. Lascahobas was already hosting 7,455 internally displaced persons following gang attacks in April, the U.N. said. Now with the recent attacks, more Haitians have been forced to flee their homes. In Port-au-Prince, gangs have continued to torch century-old homes in historic neighborhoods like Pacot, not far from the Oloffson hotel, and in the hills above the capital of Kenscoff. Morse, who said he never understood why the hotel was listed as being in an off limits 'red zone' back in the 2000s when the gang problem wasn't what it is today, is vowing to rebuild. 'I'll do everything I can to get it back on its feet in spite of the powers that be,' he said. 'I feel free to finally speak out again. They can only burn it once.'
CBC
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
'When I started, we were dead people': Tantoo Cardinal on bringing nuanced Indigenous stories to the screen
To understand the legacy and trajectory of Tantoo Cardinal's renowned acting career, you really have to understand the cultural context she was born into. "I was born only [five] years after Emily Carr passed away," the Indigenous icon tells Q 's Tom Power in an interview. "If you look at her work, it's all about the dying culture and the dead Indian…. So when I started, we were dead people." By the time Cardinal landed her first professional acting role in 1971, she says there was "massive ignorance" about Indigenous peoples across Canada. Fueled by rage, she turned to acting and storytelling as a form of resistance. "I understood the power of stories," Cardinal says. "Those stories had to be changed to empower ourselves to decolonize … to get back to the origins of who we are." In 1986, Cardinal moved to Los Angeles to find more work. That's where she landed a career-changing role in the Oscar-winning film Dances With Wolves, opposite Kevin Costner and Graham Greene. For a lot of people, Dances With Wolves was the first time they saw Indigenous people being represented in a way that highlighted their humanity. "There was a lot of magic surrounding that movie and I knew that it was significant," Cardinal says. "It was going to be in a Native language and then I asked them, 'Could you use a language where there are some materials, so that the actors have something that they can use to learn what the language is? … So that's how Lakota became the language that they used." Recently, Cardinal was honoured with the Equity in Entertainment Award at The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Canada gala in Toronto. The award recognizes the Canadian acting legend's tireless work to bring authenticity, accuracy and nuance to Indigenous stories. When she looks back on her career now, Cardinal can see how her advocacy helped lay the groundwork for greater Indigenous representation today. "There's no turning back," she says.
