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Loading... In Cuba I Was a German Shepherdby Ana Menéndez
None.  agnesmack | Sep 5, 2011 |  Ana Menedez's stories, all concerned with the exiled Cuban community in Miami, are beautifully written, wry, and melancholy. The title of the book refers to a joke about Juanito, a mangy dog from Cuba who lands in Miami and is spurned by an impeccably groomed French poodle. He protests: "Pardon me, your highness,,,, here in America, I may be a short, insignificant mutt, but in Cuba I was a German shepherd." Menendez paints her members of the Cuban community (almost all from the wealthy first-wave of exiles) as suffering from a variety of displacement disorders. As the years go by, and their hopes of returning to Cuba fade, their children grow up, some marry outside the Cuban community (usually unhappily), they regain prosperity in a variety of commercial ventures, but there is little sense of assimilation into a broader American society. These stories are soaked in nostalgia and longing. I will be very interested to see if in her new book, Menendez moves on into the younger generations to explore that assimilation process. (  ) janeajones | Jun 25, 2011 | Such sensitivity... WOW! I'm awed! Folks, this is the best book I've read in 2005. I don't hand out such credits easily. Totally worth your time if emotions are part of your life! (  ) yuvalro | Nov 14, 2007 | This was a cute little book. The stories were short, but interesting and didn't involve me having to bend my brain too far around talking cats. The cats involved themselves in quite catlike [read: troublesome] behavior. A quick, satisfying read. Just like a Snickers Bar. ( ) tuff517 | Jun 1, 2006 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 080213887X, Paperback)Pushcart Prize winner Ana Menendez landed firmly in the literary landscape last year with the hardcover publication of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd. Reviewers overwhelmingly agree that she is an important new voice in American fiction: hers is "a bright debut that points to even brighter accomplishments to come" (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times), a tour de force that is "poignant and varied, emotionally vivid and hauntingly melancholy" (San Francisco Chronicle), and "a Cuban odyssey that conjures up Eugene O'Neill-like drama" (Kirkus Reviews). In these linked tales about the Cuban-American experience and the immigrant experience in general, Ana Menendez has instantly established herself as a natural storyteller who "probes with steady humor and astute political insight the dreams versus the realities of her characters" (Elle). From the prizewinning title story -- a masterpiece of humor and heartbreak -- unfolds a series of family snapshots that illuminate the landscape of an exiled community rich in heritage, memory, and longing for the past. In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd is at once "tender and sharp-fanged" (L.A. Weekly) as Ana Menendez charts the territory from Havana to Coral Gables with unforgettable passion and explores whether any of us are capable, or even truly desirous, of outrunning our origins. "Achingly wise." -- Richard Eder, the New York Times Book Review "Menendez taps into [a] wellspring of broken promises and unfulfilled desires and gives us a ... peek at ... the Cuban-American experience." -- Ariel Gonzalez, The Miami Herald "Menendez offers a lilting narrative that sways soulfully between past and present, longing and regret, joy and tragedy." -- Donna Rifkind, The Baltimore Sun "Superb ... The community that emerges in these pages is one of humor, acute grief, and gifted storytelling." -- Fionn Meade, The Seattle Times "The first work of a young writer with a bright future." -- Jay Goldin, Fort Worth Morning Star-Telegram "A tender and occasionally sharp-fanged portrait of Miami's Cuban-exile community ... Brave and funny and true." -- Ben Ehrenreich, L.A. Weekly "A raucous, heartfelt debut...Deft, talented and hilarious...." -- Junot Diaz (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 22 Apr 2011 06:20:58 -0400) No library descriptions found. |
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Wikipedia in English (1)
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While I liked it overall, I had a few problems with it. First of all, it was a collection of short stories. I am not typically a fan of short stories. Though the few collections that really hit me are worth the majority that I hate. However, this series was pretty much the epitome of what I dislike about short stories. Instead of really being a collection of unrelated stories, it was a series of related stories that should have really had a more cohesive narrative and just been a novel. When this happens, when a collection of short stories has every story with the same narrator (like jerkwad David Sedaris, for example), it just makes me think the writer was too lazy to put in the time making it a novel.
Second of all, the stories were really of a 2nd generation Cuban-American living in Miami. A few of the stories were of her homeland, but for the most part it was a book about being the child of an immigrant and growing up in a community that's made largely of immigrants. While that's an interesting enough topic, I've had enough friends in similar situations that I don't really need to read a series of short stories about it.
The writing was fine, but nothing particularly special. If it had been the right subject matter, I think I would have liked the writing more. It was very simple and the point was obviously to tell a story, rather than to fill the pages with flowery prose.
In summation : If someone ever asks me for a recommendation of a book of short stories about being raised in the U.S. as the child of Cuban immigrants, and wants the book in question to be easy to read, I'll know what to recommend. (