Inverna Lockpez

Divorced from the historical question of Cuba, this is a very intense coming-of-age story with stark, memorable art. Of course you can't really divorce a story about a disillusioned Cuban revolutionary who eventually flees to Miami from context, can you? So of course the question is how does one put a story like this in context? A lot of people who fled Cuba were the folks who had done their fellow Cubans wrong, but pretending Castro never did any human rights violations is tankie nonsense, show more much like the health care and literacy gains of the island are real.

But back to Lockpez, it does mean that when you're reading this semi-autobiographical story, you do wonder "is this basically true?" and "is there important context being left out?" and that's kind of where I was left with the book. show less

An unbelievable story. I spent time speaking with a friend who shared with me her travails in getting out of Cuba and was able to compare what Inverna felt with what she went through as well. It's incredible to think how deep the devotion to Cuba and Fidel ran that even after the horrible tortures she endured, it could not be broken. Shocking and brutal, this story of survival is one that stays with you for a very long time after you close that back cover.

As for Haspiel's artwork and show more storytelling craft, I can't ever find any flaws to it. I love his work whole-heartedly and always look forward to his next opus. show less

This was eye-opening. One woman's story of her experiences in the newly-turned Castro's Cuba. First an ardent supporter (like much of the country), she gets a brutal awakening into what the dictator was really bringing to power in her country, and then has to come to terms with all that has happened and is going on. A wonderfully insightful read, with nice artwork.

One Cuban woman, initially an enthusiatic believer in Fidel Castro's revolution, becomes gradually disillusioned.