The Messenger

by Mayra Montero, Edith Grossman (Translator)

An suspenseful reimagining of an incident in singer Enrico Caruso's life follows his adventures after fleeing a bomb explosion in Havana when, fearing the Black Hand's vengeance, he becomes involved with a Chinese-Cuban woman who has a powerful godfather.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary

218 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Well-known Cuban-Puerto Rican author and columnist.

Reviews

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the description of this book makes it sound like a thriller, it doesn't really qualify as one. There is never any explanation for the role of the Black Hand in this novel. I suspect that they didn't really interest the author. Montero was far more interested in offering us an exploration of Cuban culture from the point of view of the very liminal Aida Chang who has one foot in the Afro-Cuban community and the other in the Chinese-Cuban community.

As a glimpse into Cuban history, culture and religion it was really quite fascinating.

See my complete review at http://www.maskedpersona.blogspot.com
It's a September post called "Cuba 1920 as a Confluence of Powers"

[Sara Elliot · Rating 3 out of 5]

perché devi accennare cose e poi non risolverleeeeee?????

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction always creates an alternate reality, but there is something uniquely compelling to me about works of historical fiction that take their inspiration from real events. In June 1920, Italian tenor Enrico Caruso was rehearsing at the Teatro Nacional in Havana for a performance of Aida when a bomb went off. Panicked, as he had been receiving death threats from the Black Hand, he ran out into the street in full costume. From that point, Mayra Montero's vivid imagination takes over. While he is a key player, Caruso is not the book's central figure - instead, it follows the story of Aida Cheng, daughter of an Afro-Cuban woman and a Chinese man, who falls into a passionate affair with Caruso although warned against him by a prophecy from her santero godfather José de Calazán. Lucky for me this novel is short, because I couldn't stop reading it once I'd started. I definitely want to explore more of Montero's work, especially if I can find it in the original Spanish.

[Francisco Barrios · Rating 2 out of 5]

A veces uno se encuentra con un libro que promete mucho, que tiene un comienzo flojo (pero uno confía que la obra sea fiel a su promesa) y que por momentos se acerca al clímax; pero que resulta totalmente anticlimático y lo deja a uno con la idea de que lo mejor había pasado.

En esta novela asisitimos al periplo fantástico de Enrico Caruso por Cuba, después del atentado con bomba al Teatro Nacional de La Habana, donde el célebre tenor interpretaba a Radamés en Aída. La autora teje un entramado de realidad y ficción para explicar qué fue de él durante los días que estuvo en Cuba; desafortunadamente algo ocurre con esta novela, no cuaja del todo, los personajes tienen contornos borrosos y el clímax de la acción se disuelve en una confusión que hace que todo termine siendo un sainete.

Definitivamente un libro para el verano... Pero de esos que es mejor olvidar en la playa.

[Daniel del Toro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesante imbricación entre la historia y la ficción, con una historia de amor en el centro, asediado por el sino y la brujería, y una fascinante exploración (aunque a veces un poco densa) de las comunidades afro y chinas de Cuba en este periodo histórico.

[Adrienne Bodisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written, but nothing ever happened.

[Tulio Daza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tuve el gusto de conocer a la autora en FIL Guadalajara 2013

[Steff Daza · Rating 2 out of 5]

No me agradó. Me pareció aburrido.

[Tony Hightower · Rating 4 out of 5]

This imagined love story between the great Enrico Caruso and a Chinese-Cuban local is based on an actual event, an bomb that went off while Caruso was performing Aida at the Teatro Nacional in June of 1920, and which caused him to flee into the street and disappear for a week, fearing for his life.



This book comes in two parts: the first half is mostly setup, explaining the woman (Aida Cheng)'s patchwork personal history, and how her family managed to meld the spirituality of both China and Cuba into some kind of earthy herbal cocktail. It delves a little into Caruso's past, and how he wound up coming to Cuba to get away from the dark forces in Italy and New York that he felt were following him, but Aida Cheng is clearly the protagonist, and though she's a simple woman, Mayra Montero writes a great amount of depth into her emotions. This is a character whose feelings start just below the skin and run very deep.



The second half of the book, after the explosion, when Aida and Enrico go into hiding, is where the book takes off. Dream sequences bleed into each other as if the reader has been affected by some of the spells that are constantly being thrown about. Aida and Enrico cling to each other through their dark swampy ordeal like animals huddled against an oncoming storm. They get help from the most powerful people in their respective worlds, and it's almost enough to get them to safety. But Enrico has a wife already, and Aida Cheng has no idea about the world outside of Cuba, and the ending, while not bleak, seems to have been foretold by the spirits all along.



This is a murky, uneven, sweaty book, that will make you feel like you're constantly waking up out of a surreal and slightly harrowing dream. No knock on the translation, but I'd like to read this in the original Spanish at some point.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great expectation filled the Havana National Theatre on the night of June 13, 1920. Enrico Caruso, the legendary tenor, was to sing Aida. Rumor had it that the Great Caruso was suffering from a strange disease and was being hounded by the gangsters of the Mano Negra. A bomb exploded in the theatre at the beginning of the show, and Caruso ran out, dressed as Radames, and disappeared in the streets of Havana. The tenor emerged from the shadows a few days later, but nobody knew where and with whom he had been, except for Aida Petrinera Cheng. She zealously keeps the secret until she finally tells her daughter in 1952. At long last light will be shed upon one of the bel canto's best-kept secrets.

[liz r · Rating 3 out of 5]

I also just read this one in Mexico. The story takes place in Cuba and the characters are chinese, african, cubano, mexican, haitian, etc. It is a story about a women who learns about the love story of her mother and father while her mother is on her death bed. She goes back to learn of the story from multiple people. You give me any story about family history and culture and I like it. I am easy to please. :)

[Cateline · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read a little bit into this and honestly, some of it is hard to swallow. I am a believer in "suspension of belief" but this is beyond that, for me at least. Definitely one to go back on the shelf, probably permanently.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction about Caruso's visit to Cuba at the end of his life. Slow start.