A thriller with a French white on an American drama

An American novel written by a French author in the French text, I found it very hard. Then a novel about the Katrina tragedy is even harder, of course black, black with sadness situations, the dark drama, black by the color of skin.
That's what I think when I was stuck in the library, I read the first lines of the novel, the tone was set, the old black skin was speaking. "I, Josephine Linc. Steelson, Negress for almost a hundred years, I opened the window this morning, at a time when others are still sleeping, I sniffed the air and I said it smells like dog. "
The author's writing strength lies in this ability to retransposer characters with uncanny accuracy. You go from one character to another throughout history, and each time, the author chooses a style of expression that is unique to each of these characters. I found it very beautiful and strong, even if sometimes I regret that the transitions from one situation to another takes place without clear transition but by too fast jumps. I would have preferred a more easy and simple literary structure for the reader, because sometimes, especially in the beginning, that we have struggled to be in history.