Cecilia Valdes

by Cirilo Villaverde

Cecilia Valdés is arguably the most important novel of 19th century Cuba. Originally published in New York City in 1882, Cirilo Villaverde's novel has fascinated readers inside and outside Cuba since the late 19th century.

In this new English translation, a vast landscape emerges of the moral, political, and sexual depravity caused by slavery and colonialism. Set in the Havana of the 1830s, the novel introduces us to Cecilia, a beautiful light-skinned mulatta, who is being pursued by the son of a Spanish slave trader, named Leonardo. Unbeknownst to the two, they are the children of the same father. Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo's advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who gets bored with Cecilia after a while, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge. A mulatto friend and suitor of hers kills Leonardo, and Cecilia is thrown into prison as an accessory to the crime.

For the contemporary reader Helen Lane's masterful translation of Cecilia Valdés opens a new window into the intricate problems of race relations in Cuba and the Caribbean. There are the elite social circles of European and New World Whites, the rich culture of the free people of color, the class to which Cecilia herself belonged, and then the slaves, divided among themselves between those who were born in Africa and those who were born in the New World, and those who worked on the sugar plantation and those who worked in the households of the rich people in Havana. Cecilia Valdés thus
presents a vast portrait of sexual, social, and racial oppression, and the lived experience of Spanish colonialism in Cuba.

Genres: Fiction, Spanish Literature, Classics, Historical Fiction, Latin American Literature, Literature, Latin American

Audiobook

First published January 1, 1839

About the author

Cirilo Villaverde was a Cuban poet, novelist, journalist and freedom fighter. His novel Cecilia Valdés, published in 1882, is considered one of the most important works of Cuban literature.

Reviews

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in colonial Havana, Cecilia Valdés by Cirilo Villaverde opens a window to the evils of slavery and colonialism in early 19th century Cuba. Written in 1839, Villaverde was describing contemporary evils much as Harriet Beecher Stowe did. Think of it as the Cuban Uncle Tom's Cabin, even if it goes light on violence and heavy on flowery romance.

Our eponymous heroine is a strikingly beautiful quadroon orphan who -- unbeknownst to her -- is the product of an adulterous union between Cándido de Gamboa, a lustful and wealthy landowner and slaveholder, and a mulata slave, who dies in childbirth. Eager to avoid a scandal, Don Cándido ships his illegitimate mixed-race daughter Cecilia to an orphanage. Her grandmother, Chepilla, after five years, is able to regain custody of the girl through threats of exposure, and brings Cecilia up, but Chepilla doesn't disclose Cecilia's paternity. The coquettish and beautiful Cecilia has many admirers, but she gains a dangerous one: Don Cándido's legitimate eldest son and heir, Leonardo.

Leonardo Gamboa is engaged to the well-born and white Isabel Ilincheta from Alquízar, a good match arranged by Leonardo's mother with a girl Leonardo has known since boyhood. However, like his father, Leonardo has a roving eye. Leonardo unwittingly falls in love with Cecilia, his half-sister, and she with him. But the fickle Leonardo abandons Cecilia for Isabel Ilincheta and respectability. Needless to say, this tale of star-crossed lovers will end tragically.

In addition to critcisms of slavery, the novel also shines a light on the racial and class system of colonial America. The Spanish-born oligarchs top the social hierarchy, followed by the white Cuban colonists (criollos), sorted by wealth and family distinction. Class distinctions also exist among those who are mixed race and those who black, between those who are free and those who are still enslaved, those who toil on the sugar plantations and those in domestic service at the homes of the elite, between those who were born on Cuban soil and those who were plucked from Africa.

The novel needs to be read in light of its 19th century origins. Like the Spanish literature of its day on which this Cuban classic was modeled, Cecilia Valdés is a great deal more flowery than Latin American or Spanish literature today -- or even than the novel's British or American contemporaries. Like 19th century novels, Cecilia Valdés reads as a melodrama. However, the story is still a great one, and Cecilia Valdés is still considered the greatest Cuban novel of the 19th century.

This abridged Audible.com edition is an excellent introduction to 19th century Spanish literature (Cuba was still a Spanish colony then) for upper-level Spanish students and especially for hispanohablantes like me trying to get a firmer foundation in the great literature of heritage. The multi-cast recording makes the action easy to follow, and at just a little over two hours, this abridged version won't get too overwhelming. This isn't just for those trying to improve their Spanish.

[Mariana Romo-Carmona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Al leer esta narrativa situada en Cuba en el siglo XVIIII, se reconocen con no mucha sorpresa las nociones racistas con que hemos crecido. Aun dentro de nuestras propias culturas, nuestras familias, escuelas, conversaciones con pinceladas de prejuicios emergen de la memoria. Cecilia Valverde es una novela que ya repite en el dialogo de los personajes las actitudes de una sociedad en esclavitud. Toda la sociedad es esclava de los prejuicios. Cuando la abuela mulata le dice a la muchacha que porque ella es "casi blanca" puede tener una vida mejor, no les parece extraño ni ilógico. Esto era lo que se oía en una radionovela llamada Esmeralda, en Chile en 1958. Sin haber sido uno de los países azucareros, en Chile se cultivaban las mismas creencias en la literatura popular. ¿Cómo se libera una conciencia formada en estas condiciones? El personaje de Cecilia es singular porque tiene autonomía a pesar de ser inscrito en una narrativa de esclavitud. Cirilo Valverde crea un personaje que lleva sus propias iniciales: CV. ¿Cuánto se identifica el autor con su personaje? En fin, esta novela de costumbres, de estilo realista, capta más que el momento histórico, también capta la psicología de la sociedad cubana decimonónica.

[Nei · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5*

A superb book on the 19th century Cuba which the authors claims it’s a true story. Cecilia Valdes is a beautiful but poor woman that falls in love with the rich white son of a land owner involved in the commerce of slaves. The plot is captivating and the characters are very well defined. I loved that the author does not seem to be biased towards none of its characters, as he portrays them both with their good sides and their bad.

I find the title a bit misleading as in you would think this book is a romance, when it actually is so much more. It’s a book about social inequality and the hardships of black slaves used for the sugar cane cultivation in Cuba. It is also a book on double standards, or how religious devoted people can be kind and generous with their kin, but at the same time cruel and insensitive with their slaves which they did not regard as entities with human rights to begin with.

[Cubana Lectora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenía muchas ganas de leer este clásico de la literatura cubana, pero debo reconocer que por momentos se me hacía monótono por tantas descripciones, para mi en ocasiones innecesarias. Lo que me mantuvo pegada al libro (y que hizo que no lo dejara pese a demorarme un mes y medio leyéndolo) fue la curiosidad por el desenlace de la historia entre Cecilia Valdés y Leonardo de Gamboa; no obstante creo que el final fue muy precipitado y en menos de un capítulo se intentó dar conclusión a una historia que daba para un final mucho más extenso. Creo que es un libro de obligatoria lectura para cualquier lector, sobre todo cubano...pero no cumplió con las tantas expectativas que le tenía y es una pena.

[El Bibliófilo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mis comentarios en video: https://youtu.be/JvT_cExwpOA

Crítica socia cubana... potente e imperdible.
El autor cubano nos presenta una obra de crítica social profunda y erudita con una descripción detallada de costumbres, entorno social, político, económico y de forma especial el problema del esclavismo y la sangre mezclada en el entorno latinoamericano del siglo XIX. Es una obra imprescindible y destaco unas relaciones con otras obras del boom latinoamericano, sobre el que seguramente influyó.
Espero sus comentarios. Saludos

[Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cecilia Valdés es una historia sobre una joven en la Cuba del siglo XlX y sus cuitas amorosas. Esta novela hace parte de las denominadas "ficciones fundacionales". Historias que buscaban un proyecto de Nación a través de una literatura que no solo mostrara la realidad de la sociedad, sino que transmitiera valores y propagara el ideal de país. Por otro lado, la novela tiene un subtexto sobre el racismo y la esclavitud en la América decimonónica. Es decir, todo el proceso de compra y venta de esclavos, así como las normas y castigos impartidos por los blancos.
Aunque la historia presenta una intriga durante toda la novela, siento que el final no le hace justicia a toda la trama de 400 páginas, no se hace el debido cierre a los personajes y quedan algunos elementos inconclusos. Por último, siento que estos libros nacionales son de lectura fundamental para quienes deseen reconocer la historia y lucha de América.

[Dusty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Villaverde's novel is a source of great Cuban literary pride, and many (lazily) refer to it as the country's first great piece of fiction. Studying the book for my PhD exam (alongside contemporary works like Huck Finn and Silas Lapham), I wondered if the book isn't as "American" as it is "Cuban" considering Villaverde wrote it after living in the United States for decades, but that's a question for a longer investigation...

[Ferris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read! Set in the early 1800s in Cuba, this novel encompasses a marvelous melodrama and genuinely interesting, if depressing, history of social class and slavery of the period. The only negative is that the ending, after 490 pages of detail and delight wraps up in 1 page in a very unsatisfying manner.

[Claudia López · Rating 4 out of 5]

No pensaba que me fuera a gustar tanto esta novela pero al final estaba muy enganchada a la historia. Tampoco me esperaba que un personaje rompiera la cuarta pared; cosas que pasan, supongo.

Eso sí: un poquito más corta sí que podías haberla hecho, Cirilo.

[Estela Zhang · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first pure latino novel in its native language. It's really interesting to read/listen to a love/not love story from the perspective of this side of the world.

[Eva Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most books written in this era it takes me a while to get into the dialogues, witch seems very unnatural in the beginning, and also the writers' need to describe everything; people, their clothes, rooms and furniture, landscapes, down to the smallest detail. Once I got over that, this book was actually surprisingly readable. I read it while staying in extremely dilapidated Havana, right before and during hurricane Ian, and having Villaverde describing the wealth and grandeur of the city while walking around in it's ruins was an experience I'll never forget.

From his writing it's also obvious that Villaverde was against slavery, something he shows by having several of his characters being slaves, or of mixed race, like one of the main characters, Cecilia Valdes. Many of his characters are quite fleshed out, something I often miss in older books, and the plot is engaging even though I wish someone would just TELL THEM!

[eleana · Rating 3 out of 5]

prof spoiled the ending, crazy how the greatest piece of cuban literature got an incest plot. also latinos sure do love their descriptions, have we considered may be less is more ! i get why it's regarded as such an important piece of cuban literature nd i think if someone wants to read to understand current cuban society nd see where it has developed from nd why it is how it is now then this is an absolute necessary read (as well as autobiografía de un esclavo - juan francisco manzano).
i dont think i quite understand how cecilia is mulata that girl is 1/16th black at most, it feels like cecillia's personal struggles are more about class prejudice as opposed to racism. but ig it's unfair to say that racism nd classism don't go hand-in-hand.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Cirilo Villaverde's, "Cecilia Valdes or EL Angel Hill", is not written in the breathtaking prose some of my favorites are, it is an incredible novel depicting nineteenth century Cuba. It can be considered, and is, one of the "Greats". When I purchased this book, I found out that it is part of a small library of Latin American Literature published by the Oxford University Press (www.oup.com - Library of Latin America Editions). I highly recommend this Library to anyone interested in Latin American history, culture or literature. Outstanding!

[Sofía Solustri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si te gustan los culebrones esta es TU novela. De verdad no esperaba nada al leer esto que era para una materia de la facultad pero me entretuvo y no podía parar de leerla. Tiene momentos densos donde describe todo al detalle porque busca ser una novela realista pero igualmente es una buena lectura.

[Jose Antonio · Rating 4 out of 5]

CECILIA VALDÉS de CIRILO VILLAVERDE es una novela muy interesante para adentrarse en la Cuba colonial de la primera mitad del XIX (hacia 1830). Nos presenta personajes extraídos de todas las capas sociales: el esclavo (Aponte) que conduce el quitrín del niñato protagonista: el criollo Leonardo Gamboa. Este es un joven de 21 años, estudiante calavera, rico derrochador de la fortuna de su padre (don Cándido). Dicho entre paréntesis esta fortuna conseguida a base del tráfico de esclavos: plagiando negros en las costas de África. También tenemos a la bigotuda Isabel, rica y enamorada de Leonardo. Pero el personaje que da título a la novela, Cecilia Valdés, es una joven mulata de padre desconocido (se descubrirá quién es más adelante), bellísima y encaprichada de Leonardito. Finalmente está José Dolores Pimienta, el músico mulato enamorado de Cecilia y celoso de los avances de Leonardo. Tenemos, por tanto, no un triángulo amoroso, sino un cuadrado. El conflicto no puede evitar estallar.
Extraígo un elocuente párrafo que describe nítidamente dicho conflicto y de paso se puede valorar el estilo de Don Cirilo: «…séannos permitidas algunas reflexiones. ¿A qué aspiraba Cecilia al cultivar relaciones amorosas con Leonardo Gamboa? El era un joven blanco, de familia rica, emparentado con las primeras de La Habana, que estudiaba para abogado y que, en caso de contraer matrimonio, no sería ciertamente con una muchacha de la clase baja, cuyo apellido sólo bastaba para indicar lo oscuro de su origen, y cuya sangre mezclada se descubría en su cabello ondeado y en el color bronceado de su rostro. Su belleza incomparable era, pues, una cualidad relativa, la única quizás con que contaba para triunfar sobre el corazón de los hombres; mas eso no constituía título abonado para salir ella de la esfera en que había nacido y elevarse a aquélla en que giraban los blancos de un país de esclavos. Tal vez otras menos lindas que ella y de sangre más mezclada, se rozaban en aquella época con lo más granado de la sociedad habanera, y aún llevaban títulos de nobleza; pero éstas o disimulaban su oscuro origen o habían nacido y se habían criado en la abundancia; y ya se sabe que el oro purifica la sangre más turbia y cubre los mayores defectos, así físicos como morales. Pero estas reflexiones, por naturales que parezcan, estamos seguros que jamás ocuparon la mente de Cecilia. Amaba por un sentimiento espontáneo de su ardiente naturaleza y sólo veía en el joven blanco el amante tierno, superior por muchas cualidades a todos los de su clase, que podían aspirar a su corazón y a sus favores. A la sombra del blanco, por ilícita que fuese su unión, creía y esperaba Cecilia ascender siempre, salir de la humilde esfera en que había nacido, si no ella, sus hijos. Casada con un mulato, descendería en su propia estimación y en la de sus iguales: porque tales son las aberraciones de toda sociedad constituida como la cubana.» Como vemos, la crítica social y la denuncia de la esclavitud está presente en casi todo el texto, especialmente a partir de la segunda mitad.
El tono de melodrama folletinesco para mí forma parte de las virtudes del libro: le proporciona encanto e interés narrativo.
La novela tiene diálogos llenos de vida y verdad: destaco entre otros el capítulo que retrata la relación madre e hijo consentido y caprichoso (el XII de la primera parte). También encontramos el recurso expresivamente realista de hacer hablar a cada personaje según su extracción social y su propio registro lingüístico. Es todo un logro la imitación del habla de los esclavos con sus palabras deformadas y su acento característico y el contraste con el habla culta de los amos.
En la parte negativa destaco el exceso de descripciones detalladísimas de personajes, lugares, ropajes, etcétera que ocupan largas páginas de una novela ya de por sí demasiado larga para nuestros hábitos de lectura actuales (más de 600 páginas).
En resumen, todo un clásico digno de leerse con detenimiento y disfrute.

[Laura Bulawski · Rating 4 out of 5]

SPOILER ALERT! The book takes place in early 19th century Cuba and was published in 1839 in Havana, revised several times, then published in New York City in 1882. The story is like a Greek tragedy, even Shakespearean. Unfortunately, it misses the mark of great literature imho, not because of the plots and subplots which are riveting but the unevenness of the writing and a few minor contradictions, in the English language version at least. Through much of the book, Villaverde goes into minutely detailed descriptions of scenes in Cuba. As for Cecilia, our mixed-race heroine, she is often described as looking very much like her lover's sister who is white. In different parts of the book, her grandmother and great-grandmother are described as mulatto with white fathers. If those descriptions are the author's intention and not my misunderstanding, Cecilia would be 1/8th or 1/16th African. This is important in the story since these minor differences were very important in 19th century slave countries. Regardless, no matter how her lover, Leonardo, felt about her, he could not marry her and expect to be accepted by his family and friends. Also, Leonardo's mother refers to herself as creole and her husband as Spanish from Spain. Presumably, the older definition of 'creole' is being used in the book. There are sub-plots involving Cecilia's enslaved wet-nurse and her husband and several side stories which are related in greater detail than the conclusion of the main story. In the last few pages (very few pages), the fate of Cecilia, her faithful friend, Leonardo's betrothed and Cecilia's wet-nurse are described hurriedly as if the author had 10 minutes to finish the book. It's startling in a book with so many detailed descriptions of people's lives, the streets of Havana and landscapes of Cuba's countryside which only a person familiar with Cuba would find interesting.

So here's the spoiler: Neither Leonardo nor Cecilia knew they were brother and sister. It seems only 3 people knew: Cecilia's father, mother and her grandmother who raised her. Cecilia looked white and aspired to marry her handsome upper-class white boyfriend, Leonardo. She adores him, failing to see his shallow character. Leonardo is described as a spoiled, self-absorbed young man. So his devotion to Cecilia seems out of character. He may have been a narcissist because Cecilia is described as looking exactly like Leonardo's full sister. His mother is a malignant enabler. The feckless Leonardo wants it all. Ultimately, he succeeds in making Cecilia his mistress. She gets pregnant and he gets bored with her. Enabling mother to the rescue: She arranges to have Cecilia locked up on false charges and arranges Leonardo's wedding to the appropriate Isabel. When Cecilia found out he was planning to marry someone else, she turned to her old friend and admirer, Pimienta and told him, "This marriage must not take place." Before she could explain to Pimienta that she wanted Isabel killed, he ran off and killed Leonardo. Cecilia was grief stricken. Oddly, there is no mention of Pimiento's fate after the murder. But Cecilia is arrested as an accomplice and put in an insane asylum where she meets her mother who's been locked up in the same asylum since Cecilia's birth. Cecilia had thought her mother was dead. Isabel, who was always tender-hearted and anti-slavery, decided to join a convent. Most of this was suddenly thrown at the reader at the end of the book.

The book was a fascinating look into Cuban life in the 19th century, made all the more fascinating for me by a trip to Cuba in 2017. There are several subplots such as the escaped slave who succeeds in killing his wily captor and the life of Cecilia's wet-nurse who was also a wet-nurse for Leonardo's family. She had a close relationship to the escaped slave mentioned above.

[Alfredo Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novela muy interesante ambientada en la primera mitad del siglo XIX en Cuba, cuando era colonia española. Aunque me costó entrar en la novela, a las pocas páginas empieza a cautivar el interés. Muestra las relaciones que existían entonces entre la alta sociedad (formada en su mayoría por españoles o descendientes de españoles), y las clases más bajas. Se ponen de manifiesto todos los prejuicios clasistas y racistas que existían en la sociedad de la época, tanto entre los más acaudalados como también en los menos afortunados económicamente. Aunque la exclavitud se pretendía derogar y ya Fernando VII en 1920, presionado por Inglaterra, prohibió el comercio de esclavos, la esclavitud seguía siendo legal y en Cuba, esclavos que trabajaban fundamentalmente de sirvientes en las casas de los adinerados y en las tareas más duras del campo. También había negros no esclavos, los denominados libertos, pero no precisamente acaudalados.
Cecilia Valdés es hija ilegítima de Cándido Gamboa, burgués de origen español, tratante de esclavos entre otros negocios, y una mujer negra. Cecilia es apartada de su madre al nacer, criada con su abuela, y mantenida por Cándido Gamboa. Por otra parte, Leonardo Gamboa, hijo de Cándido, se enamora perdidamente de Cecilia. Alrededor de este hilo argumental se suceden escenas y episodios en los que continuamente afloran la relación de amos y esclavos, y la doble moral que imperaba en la minoría burguesa de la ciudad de La Habana. La novela constituye una crítica muy contundente a la sociedad de La Habana del siglo XIX con todos esos prejuicios y discriminaciones antes mencionados.
Como apunte no tan positivo, decir que se nota que la novela se escribió a lo largo de casi 40 años. Y eso se percibe en el ritmo de las partes 3 y 4 en las que la novela se centra más en el desarrollo de la trama y menos en la relación de los personajes, a diferencia de las partes 1 y 2 que transmiten una unidad más redonda. También hay descripciones muy amplias en algunos casos y hechos importantes que se ‘despachan’ en cuatro líneas. Como digo, un ritmo un poco irregular y a mi modo de ver, una segunda mitad de la novela que me resultó menos atractiva. En cualquier caso, no deja de tener interés.

[Zara Velandia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela de fundación nacional en el siglo XIX de Cuba. Mostrando el mestizaje que se estaba dando en la época, la trata de esclavos y el comercio de esto. La novela gira entorno a los amantes: Cecilia Valdés y Leonardo Gamboa. Con sus matices entre la categorización racial que no les permite estar juntos (más un detalle bajo la mesa) y los detalles históricos del autor que son muy precisos. Un detalle que resalta en la novela es la mujer. La mujer viste desde su físico, la feminidad de esta, el cuerpo como un vientre y la poco racionalización de esta. Esto concuerda con la época y más con un país esclavizado, dirigido por una colonia y la poco educación que se le daba a la población. Villaverde cumple con contar los inicios de algunos grupos de Cuba que en la historia fueron muy importantes, uniéndole con una historia romántica sin futuro.

[Adelais · Rating 3 out of 5]

Кубинська класика, в якій є ще одне криваве весілля, мені на них часом щастить. Головна героїня Сесілія - мулатка (насправді окторонка, я розібралася), надворі середина дев'ятнадцятого століття, а з батьками в неї все складно. На руку її претендують порядний хлопчик зі свого кола і шикарний кабальєро з вищого класу, а в результаті кабальєро передбачувано збирається женитися на іншій, але отримує на весіллі ножем у груди. Хто не вмер, пішов у монастир, висновку не буде.
Автор - відомий аболіціоніст, і воно відчувається, а ще це така, гм, широка картина тогочасного життя: хто з ким може водитися, а кому зась, що таке плантація (з усіма процесами), як взагалі влаштовані порядки на Кубі. Вр��жає, наскільки це все відрізняється з вбитого в голову образу комуністичного острова; воно й на краще.

[Rick Rapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Villaverde's book about life in 19th century Cuba is fascinating and disturbing. White privilege and ruthless behavior by the ruing class is disturbingly similar to events in today's United States. The tale is leisurely told and populated with many characters from all classes who show their goodness and hypocrisy. Vice thinly disguised as virtue and bigotry running deep through their veins, the characters of Cecilia Valdes are uncomfortably familiar and all the more disgusting because humanity has learned nothing.

[Zahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro me ha encantado, la historia y el drama que tiene son de 10.
Me sobra muchísimo todo lo relacionado con la historia de la época, es decir, creo que tiene algunas explicaciones bastante innecesarias y que solo hacen que añadir relleno c: (las cosas como son).
El final me ha hecho mucha gracia, no sé es muy telenovela.
¿Lo recomiendo? sí.
Siempre de jajillas gente

[Isis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A primeira vez em muitos anos a ler em espanhol… não ajudou que fosse espanhol do século 19 mas de facto esta novela é extraordinária. O autor pega na tua mão e mostra-te toda uma época da sociedade cubana através da vida e pensamentos das várias personagens da história. O enredo em si faz lembrar os maias, mas mais divertido e melodramático…

[Anto♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Novela de fundación nacional, excelente con sus respectivas cosas cuestionables por la época y la posición social del autor. El ritmo cada vez se pone más intenso pero Cirilo nunca pierde el nivel de detalle y la fidelidad para poder imaginar La Habana y la sociedad que en ella vivía. Muy densa la condena que se enfrenta la sociedad esclavista, racista y machista.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know how to describe this experience except to say that it is like a very important Cuban version of "Gone with the Wind;" the racism is more prevalent but also more tongue in cheek. Very interesting post-Cuba-trip reading.

[Lance Winstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good, but a lot of unnecessary length, the story dragged on for 480 pages and then wrapped everything up with a bow in the last 15 pages, not really into any details and just ending it. Like the author was “ ok I’m done with this story-The End” very anti climatic.

[Gretel Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia de amor bastante perturbadora y tóxica, dado que incluye temáticas como el incesto, y el egoísmo; una fuerte crítica a la esclavitud, y el racismo; una obra muy profunda que es solo apta para personas muy cultivadas.

[Isabela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting novel that reveals the history, tradition, and lost memory of the Cuban people.

[Pía ౨ৎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

like a fanfiction

[Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is arguably the most famous Cuban literary book of the late 1800s and relates the life and times in the slavery communities in 1820. It was published in 1882 but with an early short story version in 1839 which was much altered and expanded – to now some 491 pages on text. The author Villaverde (1812-1894) had his own history of problems related to a plot to annex Cuba to USA in 1848 and was imprisoned only to escape. I understand the book was made into a film in 1981.

This is yet another of those classics that takes a whole book to tell a simple one line story being ‘Plantation owner’s son falls for a beautiful pale mulatta who terms out to be his father’s illicit interracial daughter; where could this incestuous relationship go?”. I can further expand the point that the back cover (and Goodreads) states “Eventually Cecilia gives in to Leonardo's advances; she becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. When Leonardo, who is getting bored with his mistress, agrees to marry a white upper class woman, Cecilia vows revenge” in fact this remarkably summaries all the events that occur in the last 4.5 pages of the book! – some spoiler, so don’t blame me. Goodreads make this worse by confirming the remaining 0.5 pages with her being sent to prison (technically an error as it is actually a ‘confinement in a hospital’ for a year).

But wait I haven’t spoilt it because this book is overstated for its incestuous content and conclusion, because in fact it is so very much more. Slavery was still vigorous if internally challenged. Cuba was a mixture of poor mulattos, indigenous creoles, free blacks, slaves, rich plantation owners and sophisticated city people. Despite Spain signing an agreement with England in 1817 to ban the slave trade more slaves than ever were in Cuba at the time of the story and when it was actually written (there’s an extended scene where slaves need to be dress up as indigenous natives to fool the British blockade). Though we are introduced to many characters I feel they primarily fit 3 groups Don Candido (family including the son Leonardo aged 21, & daughter Adela etc) a sugar grower trying to impose his will on slaves, his wife and son; next the less rural folks represented by Don Illincheta’s family (including Isabel the proper intended for Leo) and more cultured group finding slavery less acceptable; finally the large and varied mulatto/slavery group represented by Sena Josefa (gran to Cecelia aged 18) and her associates particularly Maria de Regla a beautiful slave/wet nurse. We are painted a clearish picture of the brutal treatment of slaves – beatings, whippings and murder; the social pressures on families to make good matrimonial ties is there; but the simmering tension is really the lust and cover-up - generating rivalry between Cecila’s suitors; concerns that Candido really wants Cecilia for himself (though he’s really trying to prevent Leo going bad); mixed race people abound the story (representing adulterous affairs) – there are murderous blacks and whites.

The book is a sort of mixture of “Uncle Tom’s cabin” (for the slavery and inequity), Richardson’s “Pamela” (for the style and representation of protecting virtue), and may be Forester “Howard’s End” (for the family intrigue).

Read this book for the setting, the history and the story vignettes and significantly for me the side characters (slaves etc) were the more interesting. If I had two criticisms they’re be 1) there are too many scenes that develop between inter-family & friends and slave pairings realising the relationship between Candido and Cecilia, yet the penny never drops for Leonardo or Cecelia until it’s too late. I suspect this was a deliberate allusion to Cuban society about ‘turning a blind eye to the unacceptable’ sort of thing. 2) perhaps more really could have been made of the finale expanding the implications and impacts.

[Judy]

Una novela classica de Cuba. La novela se lee lentamente, pero es un cuento bueno, rico con personajes y da un retrato de Cuba en los tiempos de los esclavos - una sociedad de contrastes. Villaverde pinta bien sin juzgar como estaban la gente y la sociedad de Habana. Se ve claramente las injusticias que sufrian los negros y mulatos alli. "Quien tiene la sangre como agua para chocolate ne puede burlarse." p. 283