A Confluence of Two Lives: A Review of Elizabeth Acevedo’s “Clap When You Land”.

Review by Confidence Olika.

At a confluence of two lives

it should be messy

there should be war-

baring of teeth at least

rage should be the order of the day

anger should scrawl out of skins

but it is not so

this story is different.

This is a story of a man divided in two

one part in the Dominican Republic

the other in New York-

it takes a plane crash to unravel

to have both lives mixed up

and his, lost.

This is a story of sisterhood-

fitting into a life you never knew existed

like you always have

like you owned it.

This is a story about secrets

how they hurt when we keep them-

Camino walks in her father’s tracks,

keeping them

till they come back to hurt her.

This is a story about a team of queens

united by a king

compelled by fate to meet.

Yet

they grow a relationship

like their herbs

they grow a family

and like families-

they stand up for each other.

In this culture

when you touch down after a flight

you clap when you land

in this culture

two families can exist

unknowing to each other

it can be messy when they find out about each other

this book tells us so.

The writing style allows you to easily go through the book and if it doesn’t drag you, the story does that. Some themes explored in this book are Culture and Society, Forgiveness, Sisterhood, Family and Love.

Culture and Society:

We learn so much about the Dominican Republic from this book. The title itself is a door into the culture. It is traditional to clap when a plane touches down on the DR island, although the tradition was suspend with time, it takes the crash to remind them, to bring them back home.

Throughout the book, we see all the adult characters making efforts to ensure that Camino doesn’t end up like girls from the island, girls like Carline. Her father has to pay for El Cero to leave her alone and when word gets to Tia that she is always around him, Tia reminds her of the effort she put into making her comfortable.

Also, when Camino is told that Nelson is considering dropping out of school for a bit to continue later, she says it is not an uncommon story because “a lot of people don’t finish school or follow their dreams”. Through the characters, we are let into the culture, norms and lifestyle of the people from Dominican Republic and how even if it seems watered down when they are away, they carry it with them everywhere.

Class Consciousness:

There is a class consciousness that is alive in the book. Although Camino is an “American-adjacent”, the daughter of the man from New York, she is not as wealthy as the rich, light-skinned Dominicans at her school who “come from families who own factories or are children of American diplomats”. She could not contribute to the annual fundraiser, or go on any of the international trips, or receive a brand-new car for Christmas break.

The class difference also shows in the description of the house. Camino says, “we have the nicest house in the barrio because Papi spent money to make it so. Papi got us fat iron locks, running water & a working bathroom we don’t have to share”. She also adds that they have air conditioners, a refrigerator, and generator and other luxuries like wi-fi, and so many small luxuries . How these luxuries can live within the poverty in the environment shows the huge class consciousness that they live with, the knowledge they are part of the semi privileged people in society.

Forgiveness:

“My father having two families is also not an uncommon story.

When Yahaira messaged me

she seems unutterably betrayed”.

It takes so much to forgive because all the reasons not to are glaring but the characters get to do that. When Yahaira found out her father had another wife, she was heartbroken and did not want to talk to him. But she gets to the DR, meets Camino, and then one day she stands at the beach where she forgives him. It is her desire to be close to him that makes her travel to the DR with his body to see Camino.

It is the same with Camino, seeing Yaya feels like meeting her father- a part of him. It is expected that Zoila hold on to her anger more because Yano did not only betray her when he had Camino, he also married her mother but she too gets to see the what could be Camino’s life if she leaves her on the island. She sees that Camino could be raped and forced into a sex object. However, we learn that she feared she’d be made to be a mother to Camino and that is why she refused to let Yano bring her to New York.

Sisterhood:

“I have a sister. I have a sister. I have a sister.

There is another person besides Tia of my blood in this world”.

These are Camino’s thoughts when she finds out about Yahaira, but they aren’t anything close to Yahaira’s. When she sees Camino’s picture with her father, she asks her mother

“Have you ever seen this picture?

I don’t know this girl. Why is he with this girl?” and she has a large feeling growing in her chest.

Then they meet and both girls get to realize that they have bits of their fathers mixed up with the bits of their mothers. Like Camino guesses, Yahaira is the only girl in the world that has an idea of how she feels about finding out she has a sister after all the years they’d spent not knowing.
Even if they are protective of how they react, even if they hold their feelings from each other, they learn to bond and build a sisterhood that goes as far as Yahaira refusing to go back without Camino and Camino making efforts to make sure Dre like her.

Family and Love:

“we are here: Tia like a bishop,

slashing her machete. Mami, the knights with rims. My body in front of my sister’s body: queens…

We stand for her. For eachother.

With clenched fists & hard jaw-

We will protect Camino at all costs.

We will protect one another.”

It is at this point in the novel that it all comes together, they all come together. Every wall built by anger, betrayal and deceit is broken down and they become a family.