Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN num: 9781594539558
ISBN number: 1594539553
Label: Airleaf Publishing
Manufacturer: Airleaf Publishing
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 392
Printing Date: January 10, 2006
Publishing house: Airleaf Publishing
Sale Popularity Level: 1339396
Studio: Airleaf Publishing
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
A bilingual collection of 14 short stories, all in Spanish and English, based on the author’s experiences of childhood before and after the Communist revolution. Includes Appendix for educators wishing to use the book in Spanish or English foreign language classes. Lots of nostalgia for those who knew Cuba in the 50’s and 60’s and plenty of humour for readers in general. Includes many period family photographs that illustrate the stories. The stories explore themes of family life, childhood friendships, school life, Cuban Catholic culture, the passing of loved ones, and the effects of the dramatic political events that forever changed Cuba in 1959. Each story is narrated in facing pages of Spanish and English text. They are all told with a good deal of humour but also with a deep feeling of nostalgia for a beloved land and recounted with a great love of family, both living and dead. For those who lived in Cuba, the collection will evoke bittersweet memories of their own families and lives on the island; for others, it will make them experience, through the eyes of a native, everyday life in Cuba before and after the Revolution. The collection has been created not just with Cubans in mind! It is definitely for the general reader, especially one who enjoys plenty of humor, a little history, and stories of family life. Una colección bilingüe de 14 cuentos cortos, todos en inglés y en español, basados en las experiencias del autor antes y después de la revolución comunista. Incluye una Apéndice para enseñantes que deseen emplear el libro en cursos de inglés o de español como idiomas extranjeros. Muchísima nostalgia para los que conocieron a Cuba en los cincuenta y los sesenta y muchísimo buen humour para todos los lectores en general. Incluye también numerosas fotografías de época que ilustran los cuentos. Los cuentos exploran la temática de la familia, las amistades de la niñez, la vida escolar, la cultura católica cubana, la pérdida de los seres queridos, y los efectos de los dramáticos eventos políticos que para siempre cambiaron a Cuba en 1959. Todos los cuentos se narran en español y en inglés en páginas opuestas. Se revelan con un gran sentido de humour pero también con un profundo sentimiento de nostalgia hacia una lejana pero queridísima tierra. Y se muestra también en ellos un gran cariño hacia todos los parientes queridos, ya estén vivos o ausentes. Para los que vivieron en Cuba, la colección les traerá recuerdos a veces penosos y otras veces alegres de sus propias familias y de su vida en la Isla. Para los demás, les hará experimentar, a través de los ojos de uno del país, la vida cotidiana en Cuba antes y después de la Revolución. ¡Esta antología se ha creado no solamente para los cubanos! Se ha considerado en todo momento al lector en general, sobre todo aquel que aprecia el buen humor, un poquito de historia, y los cuentos de la vida en familia.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book for a school essay project, I was drawn to it by its title I though it would be information about Cuba, but it turned out to be about this family and I have to tell you it was even better. By the way I made an A on my essay, thanks.
Amy
Rated by buyers -
This is a moving story and highly recommended for anyone whose heart goes out to those who suffered the stones of Communism. One thing is certain, we must never forget, and this book is part of that active remembering that we are called to do.
Rated by buyers -
Recently Cuban dictator Fidel Castro temporarily handed power over to his brother, Raul, while he underwent surgery and recuperation from intestinal problems. As the news media reviews the legacy and rule of Fidel Castro, now would be a good time to look a that legacy from the point-of-view of one who lived in Cuba pre- and post-revolution. Oscar Ramírez-Orbea is one who grew up pre-revolution and saw all that his family work hard for be taken by the Communists under Castro.
As the title suggests, this book is bi-lingual, written by a professor who actually was born and raised in Cuba and fled Cuba as a boy with his family. The Ramírez-Orbea family lost all they had worked for when Castro seized private property "for the common good."
The author also includes illustrations of the homes he lived in as well as photographs. The Ramírez-Orbea family trees are also illustrated.
Ramírez-Orbea's dislike of the Castro regime is not hidden. There is nothing about Communism that has a redeeming value in his eyes. After seeing all that his family worked so hard to build up being taken away "for the common good," you can't blame his views on the subject.
Ramírez-Orbea also hopes that the book becomes a movie. It could be a good movie along the lines of A Christmas Story (based on In God We Trust--All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd). It is not a straight narrative of his life as the author tells us about his family or the homes he lived in or the schools he attended.
The period between Castro's takeover of Cuba and the family's flight to the United States was dramatic. The family had to move to a smaller home and the author was sent to a Catholic school (even though his mother taught in the public schools--and had an underground business as a tutor). His final day at the Salesian school St John Bosco was marked by rampaging "revolutionaries" breaking through the fence and taking over the school. Imagine fearing for your life at school? Most clergy left Cuba shortly after this.
The family had decided to leave Cuba and applied for exit papers. Of course they became unemployable, people marked as "unpatriotic." For several years (when they did get permission to go to the US) the family couldn't get any official jobs and were unemployed and unemployable. Ramírez-Orbea highlights the irony that even as the government reported no unemployment his parents were unemployed--and were considered "unemployable." It was then that the family found ways to support itself, such as baking cakes to sell, the mother tutoring in her home, and other odd jobs.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Cuban history, in the realities of Communism, and in the indomitable human spirit. Being bilingual, the book can be used as an aid in teaching a second language (Spanish to the English speaker or English to the Spanish speaker). Granted most instructors won't want the book's handy "jimmy" structure, but for myself I am able to try to learn Spanish on my own. The author also has an appendix for instructors wishing to use this book in the classroom. Check it out!
The author has some pointed barbs about Communism. Usually it's of an ironic sort, such as his unemployed, unemployable parents in a land with no unemployment. There is the reminiscence of the trenches dug for missiles which were never finished. The author states: "Given this Communist efficiency, thank God the Americans never attacked us!" Of course the trenches filled with water and became prime breeding areas for mosquitoes, which may have spread malaria. The Communist government did nothing about the mosquitoes or the malaria (so much for the vaunted health care system).
The book has three major sections. "From the Old House/Desde la casa vieja" focuses on the author's life and home before the Castro revolution. "From the New House/Desde la casa nueva" details post-revolutionary life and the home the author's family moved to after the revolution until they left for the United States. "From the Other House/Desde la otra casa" details the author's religious memories from Cuba.
Overall I enjoyed reading this book. The layout takes some getting used to as alternating pages contain the Spanish and English. Since chapters don't begin on a consistent page, some chapters have the English on the right side page, other chapters have English on the left side page. Perhaps starting every chapter on an left side (even numbered page) would allow the Spanish and English to exist better side by side. The Spanish also takes up more space, so possibly leaving more white pace for the English will allow a better pairing of English and Spanish. Or have English throughout start from one cover and the Spanish from the other cover.
Rated by buyers 
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After reading this book...I just need to point out that was not a La-La Land during the Revolution and even presently. I think its nice that Dr.Orbea can remember his own personal pleasant times. I just wonder if he has any idea of what really went on outside of his "Happy Garden".....?
Rated by buyers -
Dr. Ramirez if I had not read that this was your very first book I would have never known. It was a wonderful read full of laughs, crys and screams, all the good stuff of life, family and crisis. I wanted to know if you have any more work out or coming out soon. I would love to read more of your work.
A New Fan
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