King of Cuba
by Cristina Garcia
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A "darkly hilarious" (Elle) novel about a fictionalized Fidel Castro and an octogenarian Cuban exile obsessed with seeking revenge by the National Book Award finalist Cristina Garca, this "clever, well-conceived dual portrait shows what connects and divides Cubans inside and outside of the island" (Kirkus Reviews).
Vivid and teeming with life, King of Cuba transports readers to Cuba and Miami, and into the heads of two larger-than-life men: a fictionalized Fidel Castro and an octogenarian Cuban exile obsessed with seeking revenge against the dictator. Garca's masterful twinning of these characters combines with a rabble of other Cuban voices to portray the passions and realities of two Cubas--on the island and off-- in a pulsating story that entertains and illuminates.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 9781476725666
- Binding
- Paperback
- Authors
- Cristina Garcia
- Publisher
- Scribner Book Company
- Published Date
- October 8, 2013
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 256
- Physical Info
- 7.9 in L x 5.2 in W (0.44 lb)
This fictionalized story of Fidel Castro, and the hatred a Cuban exiled in Miami feels toward him, is engrossing from the first page. Ms Garcia is queen when it comes to representing the Cuban culture. As a Cuban herself, she has a clear understanding of the Cuban ethos, but her descriptive and colorful prose is what sets her apart from other Cuban writers. All the characters, including minor ones, jump off the page. I loved the book.
I really dislike books set up like this - where it jumps from one character to the other, but doesn't allow for any other viewpoints. Moreover, both the main characters couldn't be rendered with more yawns.Goyo is old. He has two children. Goyo guesses his daughter Alina needs a place to live, which is really why she is living at his house, and not to take care of him. Goyo's favorite child is his son, Goyito, who is in his sixties. Goyo thought his son was abused. But Goyito was just manipulative and emotionally abusive, and I don't think he was as vulnerable as Goyo believed him to be. At no point did Goyito even try.Goyo's one true desire was to kill Fidel Castro. His hatred was irrational. (Hatred often is.) For perceived slights decades old. The most significant is the loss of Adelina, someone he loved from college, but Castro swept her away then dumped her. Goyo cannot forgive.The passages re: Fidel Castro were dull and uninformative and tiresome.Nothing much happens in this book. It just bounces back from the routine of one to the other. The ending isn't climatic.And what I also hated was the author's own interposition in the anecdotes. It was obnoxious, and I wish she had been able to work in her views within the narrative. For her to interject, as if she had observation that was different from the direction of the book, was just redundant. Worse, her anecdotes lacked credibility.I just didn't enjoy the book, and I had force myself to get to the end.
Fun read of an ill and angry Castro-like dictator and an aging Cuban exile in Miami. Lots of insight into Cuba, it's exiles, their culture and attitudes in a story of relationship and family.
Richly-written, fascinating tale of two elderly men, El Comandante and an aging exile in Miami, both looking back on their lives and the life of their country. Very well done. What a talented writer she is!
A fictionalized Fidel Castro and an elderly Cuban exile with a personal grudge against El Jefe each face the plight of growing old, becoming irrelevant, and “what-might-have-been.” Thoughtful but funny with a perfect conclusion.
