Olas

by José Ramón Torres

Olas (Waves, Spanish version, 63,237 words) draws a parallelism between three major Cuban migration episodes and, to some extent, describes the political wrangling between Fidel Castro and various US administrations. But above all it narrates the misadventures of three members of a Cuban family who decide to emigrate to the US after individually seeing for themselves that they cannot lead a satisfactory life on the island.

179 pages, ebook

First published December 1, 2014

About the author

José Ramón Torres was born and raised in Cuba, where he spent 32 years of his life. He completed his university studies in English Language and Literature at University of Havana and a PhD in Education (Language Teaching) at University of Barcelona. In Havana, Vancouver, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK (where he is currently based with his wife and two children), he has worked as a language teacher, translator, interpreter, TV presenter, proofreader, localisation project and language manager, telephone operator, doorman and street seller.
His first novel, of around 63,000 words and entitled Waves, draws a parallel between three major Cuban migration episodes (Camarioca, Mariel, Rafters) and to some extent describes the political wrangling between Fidel Castro and various US administrations. But above all it follows three members of a Cuban family as they emigrate to the US.
Before this first foray into fiction, he had published several academic articles, mostly on phonetics and language teaching.
He is now embarked on the writing of a second novel: a trip in the opposite direction of Waves, from the First to the Third World.

Reviews

[Growls and Grimm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waves is a book that truly offers an alternative view point into the Cuban crisis and what we here in the US didn't see. Though I remember numerous stories across the news and in the papers it was nice to read something that gave a different perspective. It is centered around the life of one character and the choices and things he faced in the very beginning. It did start out a little slow for me but once the story began to take form it was an interesting read. Not only was the main characters story told but also those who he was close to and a look into what happened to each character as time moved on. Granted there are somethings we would like to ignore when it comes to history but this book really did hit the nail on the head and not only show the lows but the highs also as choices were made and life changed. The only reason that this book received 4 stars from me is because I felt that the ending could of summed things up a little better. I will say that I was left wanting to know how each characters life ultimately turned out but I guess everything has to end a certain way and this is the way that the author felt that the book should end. Overall it was an interesting read and it does give a different point of view of how Tent City came about and all the things that lead up to that point.

[Bonajean McAneney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and enlightening

I was a young teen in the early 80's with only vague memories of Cuban refugees making their way to Florida. No history book could have given me a better understanding of what happened than this novel.

Occasionally I found the naming of specific streets a little overwhelming, that said, for anyone who has been in Cuba I am certain these details add a depth and realism I can't appreciate.

No punches are pulled as you follow this family and their decisions to stay or attempt to leave their homeland. No one is painted a saint, no one a devil (save for Castro with good reason).

Emotionally raw, the beautiful and the disgusting, the graceful and disgraceful are equally well drawn and dcumented. If it weren't for some more graphic sexual passages I would easily recommend this books to be taught in high school history and sociology classes.

My own theories of illegal immigrants have been challenged and newly shaped as I found myself rooting for both the intellectuals and criminals to find their escape to America.

This author has much to be proud of, and I will certainly be searching for more of his titles.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up during the Elian Gonzalez custody battle, that swept the nation in 2000. That was heartbreaking. But after reading this book and being encamped with the main characters, this is heartbreaking to the nth degree.

From the first chapter, I was hooked into the situation and the people. I felt the strife, the uprisings, the anger. The choices the people were making are choices I hope I never have to make. Constant hunger. Sleeping with one eye open. Hoping and praying for a better day tomorrow.

How they survived is beyond me? I wouldn't even call it surviving. I'd call it managing to exist.

There is hope, if they can hold on. But at what cost? Their lives? The lives of their families?

[Zee Monodee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poignant and heart-wrenching tale of people you don't really get to hear about - the immigrants themselves, those 'little' people caught in the diplomatic/economic/political crossfire of whatever conflict is plaguing their country. The author takes you on a nerve-wrecking journey, making you care about his protagonists, their lives almost your own with the descriptive and eloquent world-building and prose.
If you've ever wanted to get into the head of an 'illegal immigrant', then read this book. It is bound to make you see that the world is never just black and white and that everyone exists in shades of grey.