Una Isla llamada hogar (Pensamiento)

by Ruth

An Island Called Home

Genres: Jewish, Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel, History

340 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Stacey B · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0
I read this in 2008 before I went to Cuba on my first humanitarian mission there.
It was a great book and gave me the background I wanted to learn.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book about the Jewish community who live in Cuba. The author interviews a range of different Jewish people on the island and puts it in an interesting way into the book with photographs as well.

I found the book a little slow in parts but was certainly was of interest about a community of people not well known to me.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a combination of Ruth Behar's personal story/memoir and her description of Jews in Cuba today.

Behar was born in Cuba, but her family moved to the United States after the Cuban Revolution. She describes her desire to return to Cuba and reclaim her roots, while at the same time she expresses her concerns and fears about Fidel Castro's Cuba. The first and last chapters are specifically her story, while the sections in between are about the Jews that she meets and visits with on her trips.

Although Behar is an anthropologist, she doesn't seem able to separate the description of Jews in Cuba from her reactions. Several of the Jews whom she interviews are supporters of the Communist Party, and Behar feels it necessary to question this. There is a very funny scene where one of her interviewees wants to give her a gift - a poster of Fidel. She tries to come up with an excuse for not accepting, because she can't imagine bringing a pro-Castro poster back to the U.S. and wonders whether she could sell it on eBay

One of the themes of the book is that Cuban Jews are now a chic cause and that their existence is well publicized in the United States. Somehow I've missed out on this. I hadn't heard about a resurgence of Judaism in Cuba prior to reading this book. And I found the book because it was listed on someone else's TBR list on Goodreads.

[Michael H. Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro es la historia de otra demolición: la de la comunidad judía cubana. Dueña de cierta prosperidad en los años 50 del siglo xx, la llegada del castrismo le arrebató toda posibilidad de seguir creciendo. Tras 1959, no fue hasta 1993 que se pudo realizar la primera ceremonia de conversión de nuevos practicantes.

La autora comenzó a realizar viajes a Cuba en los años 2000 en búsqueda de la huella familiar y su exploración se extendió por varios años hasta el confín más oriental de la Isla, allí donde quedara algún descendiente.
Profusamente ilustrado con fotos, no es poco lo que nos deja saber sobre los restos de una comunidad que sobrevivió a duras penas a base de ayuda exterior y también de cierta tolerancia por parte de la sociedad totalitaria, quizás porque detectó que era muy minoritaria y estaba desarticulada. 

Está repleto de detalles que se vuelven más interesantes y curiosos si tenemos en cuenta que hablamos de una sociedad cerrada, policial y totalitaria: la creación en los años 2000 de un hotel en La Habana sólo para la comunidad judía extranjera (Hotel Raquel), que comenzó a viajar con cierta frecuencia a la Isla; los dos cementerios judíos en las afueras de La Habana y algunos en las provincias, y cómo al final del viaje la comunidad sigue diezmada porque muchos de sus entrevistados se establecieron en Israel gracias a la Ley del Retorno.

La edición: a diferencia de la edición en inglés, que luce cuidada y hermosa (la he consultado en línea), este artefacto más feo no puede ser. Sin diseño interior, sin gracia. Desconozco si es la norma de Linkgua, me gustaría pensar que no.

[Rona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Open-hearted interviews with members of the small Jewish communities of Cuba. I like her fiction better.

[pdxmaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book right after another book on the same topic, "The Chosen People: Jews in Cuba". This one was much more readable, for sure. And the pictures were way better (the author had a professional photographer with her) but often very confusing what pictures were of whom. As I mentioned when reviewing the other book, a lot of the same people were interviewed for both books -- clearly they are on the "Jews who go to Cuba who want to meet other Jews should go to see these folks", and this author in fact mentions a certain uncomfortableness with knowing that she is visiting the same folks that so many other "Jews from the US looking to meet --and help-- Jews from Cuba" have already visited.

[Deborah Charnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this book many years ago, after hearing the author speak in my community. I just re-read it, and enjoyed the book equally the second time around. I felt as if Behar introduced me to all her friends and acquaintances in Cuba. Her descriptions, sharing of quotes from the people whose homes she enters, and the images bring everyone to life.

As someone who pursued anthropology and Latin American studies myself, Behar's books should be required or recommended reading for many college curricula.

[Marlena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a Cuban American anthropologist whose family left Cuba when she was five. Behar returns to Cuba to find the island home that she longs for and is drawn to meet the remaining Jews in Cuba. Who are they? Why did they stay? I read it straight through last night. It's hard to describe the impact of this book. Behar has such empathy for the people she meets. Outstanding.

[Christine Stafford]

I'm not sure how to rate this book in terms of stars. I found it interesting, poignant and full of information I had no idea about before reading the book. The combination of the written narrative and the photos shows the human condition of Jews in Cuba. It's a story not only of Jews in Cuba, but life in Cuba. Well worth the read, it makes me want to read more.

[Terry Waslow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful text and photos of the people sprinkled with the history of Jews in Cuba.

[Maria Ramos-Chertok · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Ruth's stories about Cuba and did so in anticipation of an interview I did with her. She is a wonderful writer and a person that's full of life.

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author writes a very moving and personal story of the Jews who chose to remain and retain their Jewish faith and identity in Cuba. The photographs add an additional layer of intimacy.

[Debi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It showed the people as multi dimensional.

[Elsie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The topic is fascinating. I love reading about Jewish communities outside the United States. This is an account of the Jews who remained in Cuba after the Revolution. It is a selection of interviews with individuals in addition to a good bit of background of the history of Jews in Cuba. Each story was interesting.

What I didn't care for was the voice of the author who, I felt, brought herself to the foreground of the stories way too often. Enough about her. I wanted to know more about her subjects. I felt in some cases, the profiles were a little weak. Other than that, there's a lot of good information in this book, if you are interested in the Cuban Jewish communities.

[Regina Lobree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jewish Cuba

This book is a big WOW! I can not imagine a more comprehensive view of Jewish Cuba. The book is a must for any Jew traveling there. There was much information written about the Jewish community that truly surprised me. I really appreciated the author’s summation of Cuban history at the end of the book.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

must read for Jews visiting CUBS

Having just returned from Cuba I found this book to be very helpful. It is a combination of a photographic essay as well as a journal or the author's travels and reminiscents if life in Cuba.

[Leslie kuris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book. I highly recommend it to everyone-much about one cultures changes and survival but also much information about Cuba and Cubans.

[Edie Kestenbaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the book for its photographs, vignettes, and stories, but didn't know quite what to make of the narrator. Also wish that there had been more historical context.

[Jane Mendelsohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to read. Amazing that there are still a few Jews still living in Cuba.