What do you think?
Rate this book
Graveyard of the Angels
Cecilia Valdes, illegitimate, mulatto daughter of Don Candido, a slave trader, unknowingly falls in love with her half-brother, Leonardo
121 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 1987
87 people want to read
About the author
Reinaldo Arenas
54 books359 followersArenas was born in the countryside, in the northern part of the Province of Oriente, Cuba, and later moved to the city of Holguín. In 1963, he moved to Havana to enroll in the School of Planification and, later, in the Faculty of Letters at the Universidad de La Habana, where he studied philosophy and literature without completing a degree. The following year, he began working at the Biblioteca Nacional José Martí. While there, his talent was noticed and he was awarded prizes at Cirilo Villaverde National Competition held by UNEAC (National Union of Cuban Writers and Artists). His Hallucinations was awarded "first Honorable Mention" in 1966 although, as the judges could find no better entry, no First Prize was awarded that year.
His writings and openly gay lifestyle were, by 1967, bringing him into conflict with the Communist government. He left the Biblioteca Nacional and became an editor for the Cuban Book Institute until 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he was a journalist and editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba. In 1973, he was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of 'ideological deviation' and for publishing abroad without official consent.
He escaped from prison and tried to leave Cuba by launching himself from the shore on a tire inner tube. The attempt failed and he was rearrested near Lenin Park and imprisoned at the notorious El Morro Castle alongside murderers and rapists. He survived by helping the inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. He was able to collect enough paper this way to continue his writing. However, his attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered and he was severely punished. Threatened with death, he was forced to renounce his work and was released in 1976. In 1980, as part of the Mariel Boatlift, he fled to the United States. He came on the boat San Lazaro captained by Cuban immigrant Roberto Aguero.
In 1987, Arenas was diagnosed with AIDS; he continued to write and speak out against the Cuban government. He mentored many Cuban exile writers, including John O'Donnell-Rosales. After battling AIDS, Arenas died of an intentional overdose of drugs and alcohol on December 7, 1990, in New York City. In a suicide letter written for publication, Arenas wrote: "Due to my delicate state of health and to the terrible depression that causes me not to be able to continue writing and struggling for the freedom of Cuba, I am ending my life... I want to encourage the Cuban people abroad as well as on the Island to continue fighting for freedom... Cuba will be free. I already am."
In 2012 Arenas was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people
His writings and openly gay lifestyle were, by 1967, bringing him into conflict with the Communist government. He left the Biblioteca Nacional and became an editor for the Cuban Book Institute until 1968. From 1968 to 1974 he was a journalist and editor for the literary magazine La Gaceta de Cuba. In 1973, he was sent to prison after being charged and convicted of 'ideological deviation' and for publishing abroad without official consent.
He escaped from prison and tried to leave Cuba by launching himself from the shore on a tire inner tube. The attempt failed and he was rearrested near Lenin Park and imprisoned at the notorious El Morro Castle alongside murderers and rapists. He survived by helping the inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. He was able to collect enough paper this way to continue his writing. However, his attempts to smuggle his work out of prison were discovered and he was severely punished. Threatened with death, he was forced to renounce his work and was released in 1976. In 1980, as part of the Mariel Boatlift, he fled to the United States. He came on the boat San Lazaro captained by Cuban immigrant Roberto Aguero.
In 1987, Arenas was diagnosed with AIDS; he continued to write and speak out against the Cuban government. He mentored many Cuban exile writers, including John O'Donnell-Rosales. After battling AIDS, Arenas died of an intentional overdose of drugs and alcohol on December 7, 1990, in New York City. In a suicide letter written for publication, Arenas wrote: "Due to my delicate state of health and to the terrible depression that causes me not to be able to continue writing and struggling for the freedom of Cuba, I am ending my life... I want to encourage the Cuban people abroad as well as on the Island to continue fighting for freedom... Cuba will be free. I already am."
In 2012 Arenas was inducted into the Legacy Walk, an outdoor public display which celebrates LGBT history and people
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 10, 2023
Egotism is where decency and goodness and even love go to die, according to Arenas. Or, in other words, it is The Graveyard of the Angels. This story is a grotesque portrait of self-indulgence and self-absorption. Nothing exists for these characters but themselves and their appetites. This damning, campy farce makes it easy to point an accusing finger at such foibles and laugh. But this is us. These are our foundational tendencies. And this is what happens when there are no obstacles to their fulfillment. Arenas’ portrait is unremitting. Not a single character acts as counterpoint.
At the societal level this is a comment on the abuse of privilege. You could frame it as an exaggeration of decadence, too. The book is set in 1800s Cuba, but it could just as easily be recast in 2000s America.
I didn’t actually enjoy this much, though I did laugh uproariously here and there. For me, over-the-top satires that take more than a single sitting get tiresome.
At the societal level this is a comment on the abuse of privilege. You could frame it as an exaggeration of decadence, too. The book is set in 1800s Cuba, but it could just as easily be recast in 2000s America.
I didn’t actually enjoy this much, though I did laugh uproariously here and there. For me, over-the-top satires that take more than a single sitting get tiresome.
December 25, 2025
Qué libro coquetón; uno con Reinaldo Arenas no tiene pierde. Libro corto y divertidísimo, para todo aquel que decida, como Arenas, burlarse de todo aquello que parece sacro o inmaculado. La loma del ángel es un ejercicio creativo, libre como Arenas, independiente, burlón, recreativo y paródico; bien lo dice Arenas en la intro., 'Sobre la obra', hay una base, un referente que permite "una torpeza tan desmesurada como la mía". Cecilia Valdés o La loma del ángel del escritor cubano Cirilo Villaverde es la materia prima, Arenas, sin miedo a deshuesar el texto que bien podría ser una ficción fundacional con nombre de mujer, de esas que son sagradas e inmarcesibles en nuestra América, Arenas reescribe esta magna obra a su estilo, se divierte, ríe, plagia, escupe, inventa...
La estructura externa de la obra, además de esa pequeña palabra inicial del autor, se compone de un epígrafe evocando al gran Lezama, cinco partes y unas conclusiones. El número de capítulos por cada parte es variable y cada nombre es sencillo: o bien refiere a algún personaje, sobre el cual se pondrá el foco en ese instante, o bien a algún hecho climácico de las tantas líneas que propone el texto. Imagino este texto lleno de líneas que avanzan en distintas direcciones. Aunque parezca que cada capítulo pone la focalización en una nueva historia, todas estas líneas en algún punto convergerán y mostrarán la maestría de Arenas para desarrollar, con delicadeza, a cada personaje. Otro hecho, notorio en las partes finales del libro, es el juego del narrador. En momentos serán los personajes, luego el narrador, luego el narrador contra Arenas, luego Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (?), en fin, se rompe 'la cuarta pared' y se juega con el lector. Finalmente, sobre lo más sorprendente de este libro, Cirilo Villaverde, autor original de Cecilia Valdés o La loma del ángel, aparece como personaje en un rifirrafe cómico entre los personajes del libro que cobran vida y autonomía y trascienden el pacto ficcional. Es brillante cómo el temperamento de los personajes femeninos mueve la trama y hasta parece que intimida al narrador.
Sobre la trama diré poco. La novela originaria es antiesclavista, aquí se hiperbolizan rasgos propios del conflicto racial de finales del XIX, con crueldad, pero finura procede Arenas a mostrarnos la desigualdad y lo complejo que lo tuvieron las negritudes en la isla, como aquel episodio en el ingenio donde al probar la primera máquina de vapor para la producción, esta falla y termina expulsando negros al aire por todo el campo, los primeros negros voladores temen por su vida, pero luego, caricaturizado, todos los miles de esclavos que observan se lanzan a la máquina ya que esta los llevará de nuevo a su continente pasado. Otro gran episodio es 'La cena pascual', el capítulo final de la cuarta parte, sin duda mi favorita, barroco, imaginativo, genealógico, geográfico, muy carpenteriano, parece un bestiario medieval, es una transición perfecta de lo sagrado a lo profano: un deleite magistral. No añadiré más, pero no es despreciable la gran reflexión que gira alrededor del amor, del loco amor...
Avanzo en la lectura de la obra de Arenas, cada vez con más deleite, extasiado por su creatividad y convencido de su deseo de libertad.
La estructura externa de la obra, además de esa pequeña palabra inicial del autor, se compone de un epígrafe evocando al gran Lezama, cinco partes y unas conclusiones. El número de capítulos por cada parte es variable y cada nombre es sencillo: o bien refiere a algún personaje, sobre el cual se pondrá el foco en ese instante, o bien a algún hecho climácico de las tantas líneas que propone el texto. Imagino este texto lleno de líneas que avanzan en distintas direcciones. Aunque parezca que cada capítulo pone la focalización en una nueva historia, todas estas líneas en algún punto convergerán y mostrarán la maestría de Arenas para desarrollar, con delicadeza, a cada personaje. Otro hecho, notorio en las partes finales del libro, es el juego del narrador. En momentos serán los personajes, luego el narrador, luego el narrador contra Arenas, luego Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (?), en fin, se rompe 'la cuarta pared' y se juega con el lector. Finalmente, sobre lo más sorprendente de este libro, Cirilo Villaverde, autor original de Cecilia Valdés o La loma del ángel, aparece como personaje en un rifirrafe cómico entre los personajes del libro que cobran vida y autonomía y trascienden el pacto ficcional. Es brillante cómo el temperamento de los personajes femeninos mueve la trama y hasta parece que intimida al narrador.
Sobre la trama diré poco. La novela originaria es antiesclavista, aquí se hiperbolizan rasgos propios del conflicto racial de finales del XIX, con crueldad, pero finura procede Arenas a mostrarnos la desigualdad y lo complejo que lo tuvieron las negritudes en la isla, como aquel episodio en el ingenio donde al probar la primera máquina de vapor para la producción, esta falla y termina expulsando negros al aire por todo el campo, los primeros negros voladores temen por su vida, pero luego, caricaturizado, todos los miles de esclavos que observan se lanzan a la máquina ya que esta los llevará de nuevo a su continente pasado. Otro gran episodio es 'La cena pascual', el capítulo final de la cuarta parte, sin duda mi favorita, barroco, imaginativo, genealógico, geográfico, muy carpenteriano, parece un bestiario medieval, es una transición perfecta de lo sagrado a lo profano: un deleite magistral. No añadiré más, pero no es despreciable la gran reflexión que gira alrededor del amor, del loco amor...
Avanzo en la lectura de la obra de Arenas, cada vez con más deleite, extasiado por su creatividad y convencido de su deseo de libertad.
May 6, 2018
"A great love is the simple story of a self-deception that we impose on ourselves, that we suffer, and that we enjoy. Gestures we know to be circumstantial that we magnify; promises that are forgotten with the same force they are spoken; we treasure things sworn we know will never be done; and we exalt all these things thanks to which and for which we live. Because a great love is not the story of a great love but its invention"
April 11, 2021
Just your average Cuban, surrealistic, horror, meta-fan-fiction, Looney Tunesian-soap opera!? I'm very curious about the provenance of the small paperback that ended up on the shelves of the used book store I frequent.
March 8, 2025
Superlativo
February 13, 2013
It's Havana. It's 1830. And the members of the white, wealthy Gamboa family can't keep their hands off each other (or their slaves). Graveyard of the Angels is Reinaldo Arenas's wicked reimagining of Cirilo Villaverde's Cecilia Valdés, which most people seem to agree is Cuba's greatest nineteenth-century novel. Only problem is, you probably need to read Villaverde's original, which is about five times longer, to understand just how brilliant and hilarious Arenas's rewrite is.
November 3, 2015
Un libro irreverente, brutal, costumbrista que desafía a la narración convencional, mezclando la visión del propio autor dentro de la obra y a la vez la narración es casi un poema, se termina convirtiendo en prosa, te pierdes en ella y eso es lo maravilloso, y todos los personajes son uno mas genial que otro, me encanto.
April 13, 2012
Probably the weirdest book I have ever read. It took my mind into areas I never knew existed. At times I would think where is he going with this. The writing was awesome- very descriptive and very visual- probably one of the best written books I have ever read. Not for the faint of heart.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews