Zoe Valdes

Meet Yocandra. She is a woman with an identity crisis. Born Patria, at sixteen she develops a rebellious streak and marries an author turned philosopher who takes her away from her beloved Cuba for some time. She is a wild child, fiery and passionate, just like her homeland. I don't know how to explain the rest of this short novel. Yocandra's second marriage ends in death & so at an early age she is a widow. That doesn't slow her down in the least. She has two lovers, the Nihilist and the show more Traitor. At best, Yocandra is a handful, and all one can hope to do is just try to keep up with her. show less

I had to grit my teeth to get through this book, which was the next one from the shelves of my local library. There were many things about it which I did not like and yet is held a fascination for me and that fascination was the immersion in downtown Havana Cuba. Zoé Valdes is a Cuban author living in self exile in Paris since 1995. She was born in Havana in 1959 the year when the corrupt Baptista regime was overthrown and Fidel Castro established his communist government. Her family would show more therefore have been used to the cultural norms of the old regime. Her novel tells the story of Cuca Perez who was in her late teens living in Havana at the time of the communist insurrection and I was surprised how the perspective of the book was towards the right. So extreme in fact that the author cannot bring herself to name Castro; she calls him Taille Extra (french translation).

Cuca Perez lives with an aunt in a rumbustious household that also contains two slightly older girls who get by living off the men and women that they pick up in the club scene in Havana. Cuca shares a room with these two and has to spend many nights out on the landing while they entertain their clients. Most nights they are taken downtown by Ivo, who runs a car and they take Cuca with them to introduce her to the nightlife. Cuca meets Ouane who teaches her how to dance and takes her virginity. He has money, but he appears and disappears blaming his business interests, Cuca is head over heels in love with him. She becomes pregnant and one night he visits her at home and gives her a dollar bill, which he says she must guard with her life as he has to go away for some time. Thirty six years later Cuca is still dreaming of L'Ouane, she like many poor people in Havana is scraping by trying to feed herself, always glancing round in case she see's L'Ouane and one day she does see him. He is anxious to see her and wants to meet his daughter, now of course a grown up woman working as a journalist. He also is desperate to trace that dollar bill that he left with Cuca.

The story is an interesting one covering the political divide that happened in Cuba during the late 1950's and which led to a change in life style's when the Cuban regime was ostracised by the West. The embargo placed on it by the USA and the regimes dependence on Russian support led to difficult times for a population stuck on "prison island" (Zoe Valdez). Cuca unwittingly becomes peripherally involved in the politics through her connection with L'Ouane. There is a marked contrast to life in old Havana when it was full of American tourists and the clubs and bars were doing tremendous business, to the desperate struggle for existence under the communist regime. Valdez has a love for the old Havana and her passion for the city pours out of these pages. She combines the sights with the sounds of Cuban popular music, frequently quoting from popular songs and popular works of art. The dance and rhythm of the city make this novel come alive at times.

However apart from the right wing perspective which does not sit well with me, there are other difficulties. The novel sprawls and if this was meant to portray life in Havana, then it is a fine artistic achievement, but I doubt this very much. Apart from the popular culture, which is all pervading there are also recipes, idle thoughts of the characters and reflections that seem to come from elsewhere. The novel dwells on the filth and degradation of the city and at times on the sexual predilections of the characters. It does seem at times to wallow in its own disgust. However in my opinion its worst fault is a continual conversation with the would be reader. I never though I would find a novelist who would "get in my face" so much, even offering to rewrite the ending if it was not to my taste.

The novel was originally written in Spanish (Te Di La Vida Entera) and translated into french by Liliane Hasson and could not have been an easy task as she must have run out of words or phrases describing male and female sexual parts. Just taking the next book along the shelf as a way of selecting a library book is obviously going to throw up some curve balls and I haven't found one yet that was a waste of time. This one perhaps took up too much of my time, but it did lead me to refresh myself on Cuban history and learn a little about Cuban popular culture. 3 stars. show less

Thank you to NetGalley / Skyhorse Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Looking for a peek into Cuban politics and culture? Then check out A Greek Love, which tells the story of Zé, a teenager who becomes pregnant after a brief affair with a Greek ship captain's son. After he sails away, Zé is left alone to face the consequences, and her father violently throws her out of her home. She ends up leaving Havana to raise her son in Matanzas, surrounded by show more a supportive group of women. Later, Zé (who is now a Greek scholar) and her grownup son (who is a world famous musician) seek permission from the communist government to travel to Greece for a concert and to find her lost love.

This beautifully-written novella packs so much into so few pages! I loved the peek into Cuban life, as well as all the lovely descriptive details the author included, although it was hard to connect with the characters in such a short book. Let's just say I was definitely left wanting more (in a good way). This book also piqued my interest in seeking out more Cuban authors. show less

"Being a woman means having to arm yourself with courage for any conflict that might come along"

Definitely a case of 'it's me and not you.' I just struggled to connect with this one. The violence right in the beginning was shocking and kind of shrugged off. From there, the timeline jumps around. One, she is older, the next her son is 5. Then she's writing a letter and I can't quite date it. It was confusing and kept me from really getting in to the story. I did like the conclusion and I just show more love the cover. It was eye opening to see the prejudice and hate towards the Greeks, something I wasn't aware of. I just wish I'd liked it more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. show less