The Cuban Comedy

by Pablo Medina

A love story steeped in political satire, poetry, and the lightest touches of magical realism, Medina has created a bold, funny narrative with an uncanny heroine at its core: Elena of Piedra Negra, Cuba.
Piedra Negra is an isolated village, whose citizens consist mainly of soldiers injured in the revolution who pass the time drinking a firewater so intense, all hallucinate, and most never recover. The firewater distiller's daughter Elena longs to be a poet, and after a chance encounter with Daniel Arcilla, Cuba's most important poet, Elena wins a national poetry prize and leaves Piedra Negra behind for Havana.
There she encounters a population adjusting to a new way of life, post-revolution: there are spies and secret meetings, black marketeers, and censorship. Full of outlandish humor and insights into an often contradictory and kafkaesque regime, Medina brings 1960s Cuba to life through the eyes of Elena.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Poetry, Humor, Historical, Novels

192 pages, Paperback

First published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Tylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and visual story about a Cuban poet named Elena. For me, this book offered a chance to experience early-post revolution Cuba and the pulse of a country eager to maintain victory. Elena grew up in an isolated village distilling firewater for the local community--mainly soldiers. Her path starts out relatively planned out for her (marriage, babies, supporting family), but her creativity and talent lead her to Havana. It was a fun experience to see a strong female character put a career and ambition over the familiar trope of having children and being a spouse. Especially when set in the 1960s. I got similar vibes from this book as I did reading The President's Gardens and not necessarily because they are similar in story. Book of them have been referred to as Kafkaesque -- so perhaps I need to learn/read more about Kafka.

The humor in the book didn't feel outlandish, but it was good. The period between a political (and physical) victory and then maintaining the promise of that victory made for a tense and fascinating story. The author is able to immerse the reader into Cuba's landscape and culture, both in the rural mountains and upbeat Havana.

Especially recommend it if you enjoyed The President's Gardens or Who is Vera Kelly?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and thank you to Unnamed Press for providing an advanced copy for review.

[Jean Blackwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a comedy.

This novel has many of the familiar elements of Latin American fiction, a bit of magic realism, some hyperbolic sex, some touches of madness, and forays into politics.

But Medina's real goal seems to showing the brutality of the early years of the Castro regime, when the protection of the revolution has become paramount over human rights and civil liberties.

The failure of the book lies in the story of Elena, the protagonist, who spends much of her life, and the book, in a rural backwater of Cuba, helping her father make a primitive sort of alcohol that turns most of the town's young men into alcoholics, including her short-term husband, until drinking kills him. Her other distinction is being a determined poet bent on gaining acclaim for her work and moving to Havana.

Without much sturm or drang she wins an annual distinguished poetry contest and gets her opportunity to visit Havana. A brief return to her village gives her the chance to get reacquainted with her daughter. (You didn't know she had a daughter? That's okay, because Elena barely knew it herself.) Leaving the daughter behind again she returns to Havana and her poet-lover and instead of entering a heady world of artists and intelligentsia, she finds herself in a world of surveillance, censorship, and threats. She manages to stay out of trouble with authorities but her now husband poet faces their wrath after releasing a collection of poems highly critical of the regime.

The author makes a brave choice then of having the poet renounce his work, along with several friends, so that he and Elena are left in a murky, uneasy world with no clear path of escape. It would have been so easy to make them into martyrs in front of a firing squad, but instead we see them behave like ordinary human beings.

I found the fatal flaw in the book to be Elena herself. She pursues her own dreams of poetic success to the detriment of her own family and village, never showing any remorse about abandoning her child and mother, no regrets about the plague of alcoholism she helped her father unleash on the village, no sense of obligation or compassion towards the cousin whose "magic" frees her from a perceived curse, or even the long-suffering mule who gets her safely home only to drop dead himself at her doorstep.

Ultimately I didn't much care what happened to Elena or her husband as neither of them showed any signs of conviction outside the pages of poetry. Their lack of real character gives some credence to the regime's complaint that they cared only about themselves. I hasten to add that devotion to the idealised Revolution also took its adherents no closer to real compassion.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing remotely comedic in this work. The story of a Cuban woman who grows up in the country and becomes a passionate poet.. Her poetry lands her in the big city,Havana. Initially she is swept up in the excitement of big city life, meeting interesting people and going to parties. As she becomes more involved in the artistic life she begins to see and experience the State and its tentacles in every aspect of life. I found the work a slow start but am glad I stuck with it. The author is adept at illuminating life in a communist regime.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a story that seems to be leaning to becoming a magic realism story but never really gets there. Then it seems to be becoming a romance, but it never really gets there. Then it seems to be a story about the revolution, but it never really gets there. There are bits of humor throughout that kept it interesting, but in the end I didn’t find much memorable.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The short book won prizes in Cuba, the setting for the story. I found the story line difficult to follow but apparently the book has one several awards. There's some humor and some romance. Maybe it can give us some laughter in this time when politicians make us laugh and make us cry.

[Cara Wood]

This book is a dark comedy, highlighting the range of pain, suffering and negative consequences that are part of an oppressive regime. Thank goodness for the resilience and artistry of the main character Elena. Her poetry, even when censored provides the relief and beauty the island needs.

[Caroline Bock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pablo Medina's new novel THE CUBAN COMEDY is about love-- in a country upended up by revolution, by civil war, by the legendary, hallucinatory alcohol (aka "firewater" in the often wondrously surreal language of the novel), by poetry that yearns to be passionate and true, but for the state must be in current terms, 'politically correct.' Told through the eyes of Elena, a talented young poet, THE CUBAN COMEDY set in 1960 Cuba totally enthralled me.

The story is set in the outskirts of Havana, in a village, Piedra Negra, known for its moonshine, brewed by her father, but soon moves to Havana as Elena wins the National Poetry prize, and so begins her journey to meet with the stalwarts of the National Writers Association and her mentor and soon lover/husband the national poet of the revolution: Daniel Arcilla. The plot soon turns dark, twisting in the marshes and jungles, and into the snares and jails of the Communist Party. The writing is elegant, crisp, immersive and bristling with the tragic comedy of human desire.

Last thought: this short (205-page trade paperback) novel is perfect for book clubs-- loads to discuss about family/duty versus art, about the lies we tell ourselves to survive and the lies we tell others to survive. Serve all book discussion with rum and cokes!

--Caroline
and for more immersive reading...consider:
Carry Her Home: Stories

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The responses to this novel on GR are all over the map. While I found it a little hard to get into, I was soon fully involved in the story, not least because I spent my honeymoon in Cuba in 1979 and recall it vividly, even after so many years. The character of Elena is brilliant, and unlike some reviewers, I found her feisty, brave, morally deep, pragmatic and very much torn between her pursuit of her artistic drives and her guilt at leaving her daughter in her mother’s care. I didn’t judge her, I felt for her dilemma. She shows toughness and courage. She endures a horrendous journey solo to bring her unlovable deceased father back to his village so he can be properly buried in his hometown, in defiance of the scary authorities in control. Later in the book, she is forced to walk a moral tightrope
where the risks are life threatening. The tragedy of Cuba is that a corrupt government was replaced by one that may be just as bad, only in different ways. The Cuban people go on enjoying life regardless because they’re tough and resilient, like Elena. I finished the book with admiration for the Cuban people, glad for the rights I have that are denied so many people in this troubled world.

[Jason Muckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Cuban Comedy" by Pablo Medina is both a political satire and historical fiction of the Cuban communist regime in the early 1960s after the Cuban Revolution. The story follows the life of Elena, a poet from the small town of Piedra Negra, who wins a national poetry prize, and abandons her family and young daughter to claim her prize in Havana.

The book's themes include the role of women in society, creative work versus duty and traditional roles, the absurdity of communism and its attempts to control people/society, love and reasons for marriage, among other things.

This book was a stimulating read as a poet myself, and as a lover of world history. It was another perspective and peek under the curtain of socialist/communist societies of the 20th century exposing its disregard for personal freedoms in favor of the state's "best" interests.

I highly recommend this book to all lovers of history, poetry, and good fiction.

[Susan Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written with a light, ironic comedy and a light, comedic magical realism. Much of the story is told in a very straightforward style, with some very poetic language mixed in. For me, it all worked together very well.
Although I never became fully absorbed in Elena’s struggles, her perspective nonetheless brought out a wonderfully-described Cuba in the years around the 1959-60 revolution. I have a visceral, if not slightly magical realist, vision of Elena’s village of Piedra Negra. And when we switched to Havana, a city very much coming to grips with the new dictatorial whims of the revolution, the author drew a clear picture of its people and what was happening. Some of the minor characters – Edmundo and Kushim, for instance – were the best of the book. They provided nuance to how otherwise good and moral people got sucked in to the new rules of the regime, all carried off without the novel becoming didactic or dwelling too directly on politics.
I highly recommend the book, both for its rich writing style and a complex view of newly revolutionary Cuba.

[Elizabeth G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Medina delivers a bold, funny love story steeped in political satire and the lightest touches of magical realism, centered on an uncanny heroine who longs to transcend her isolation. Elena of Piedra Negra, daughter of a firewater distiller in a village of hallucinating revolution veterans, wins a national poetry prize and escapes to Havana's post revolutionary Kafkaesque contradictions. The novel shines in its outlandish humor and insights into censorship, black marketeering, and spies adjusting to new ways of life. Medina's 1960s Cuba feels lived rather than merely researched, though occasionally the satire risks overwhelming Elena's personal journey. The chance encounter with Cuba's most important poet and the national prize feel slightly convenient, but Elena's voice remains distinctive throughout. A thoroughly original narrative for readers who believe political fiction should be funny without being trivial, and that magical realism can illuminate harsh realities rather than escape them.

[Brooke · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I was NOT loving this book. There were some scenes that bordered on absurdism and that is NOT my jam. Once it settled in, I actually got to liking it. Settling in to Elena's experiences in Piedra Negra and "the capital" being told almost in prosaic verse got to be enjoyable by the end. As a student of the Spanish language and Latin/Hispanic culture, I know woefully little about the Cuban revolution, although I believe this is the third book I've read in the last year or so centered around this era, so I guess I'm learning. Regardless, the story has an unmistakable Latin feel in it's flow and syntax, even though there's only a handful of Spanish language phrases used throughout. I wasn't sure what to expect when I started, and I'm not entirely sure what I ended up with, but I really did enjoy it.

But seriously, a dual with AVOCADOS? :0

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironic and witty, tragic at the same time darkly amusing, this epic work's magic realism lifts it into the realm of allegory and avowal of freedom and free expression. Cuba after "the Revolution", the dichotomies between new thinking and small town traditional religion and practice. Elena lives in the small town of Pieda Niegra, full of superstitious practice and people who are surviving by hardscrabble and often moonshined delusions. She, though, breaks through with her poetic works and visions, and ends up in Havana. No sophisticated town this Havana, rife with disingenuity, deception and lives of common people no less hardscrabble than in the country. Medina's prose is rich and vivid; Elena's journeys, physical, spiritual and emotional, are prima facie absurd but all equally real.

[Stella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook. Don’t be deceived by the title - there is nothing comedic, not even mildly funny, about this book. What starts out as a mildly interesting account of life in a small village turns into an openly (if not aggressively) critical account of life in Havana during the early years of the communist rule. As I was born in Eastern Europe, the sinister fate of one of the main characters was not surprising - but it reminded one that Cuba suffered a strikingly similar fate to the communist countries geographically much closer to the USSR. The story of a budding poet had potential, but felt somewhat shallow, with a very abrupt ending.

[William Storm · Rating 2 out of 5]

More tragicomedy than actual comedy, the novel’s initial steam falls apart as soon as Elena leaves her hometown post the death of her husband, Pedrito. There is little to engage the audience into caring about the failures of the Cuban society or Elena save the longing and tragic figure of Pedrito. I wanted to see more of who he might have been, or more about the challenges of an octogenarian love affair with two individuals who had lost touch with the present.

[Jake · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good writing but the story itself felt inconsistent. It begins as the story of an innocent small town girl who lives poetry in the time of the Cuban Revolution. The first bit is almost apolitical. Time goes on, noteworthy character is broken by the regime for writing poetry. Felt like it did not follow the line. There were almost no shady bureaucrats or secret police in sight until BAM. It was ok but needed a few more threads weaved throughout.

[Tatiana Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book opens with a whimsical and poetic lyricism that echoes its lead character’s naïveté and similarly grows more serious, political, mature as it progresses. What starts off as a feminist adventure ends with a universally thought provoking and philosophical dilemma about the responsibilities and efficacy of art in society.

[Rauko · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters. A warning to unsuspecting readers: this book starts off with graphic depictions of grooming and pedophilia. I understand that "it was a different time," and written about a different culture. But that didn't make it any easier to scrape through. The poetry bits weren't impressive enough to offset the disgsust I felt for the characters or the plot.

[Jacob Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel had a lot of promise, but insufficiently used its central conceit. It has interesting characters and story beats, and in its best moments, Medina uses poetic language to complement his prose, but ultimately this reads like an ill-fated and derivative attempt to write a Cubano Márquez story.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was not finished. I will never attempt to finish it. I found it hard to give a shit about this book or the characters at ALL. Super sorry to all the 5 stars out there. Books speak to folks in different ways, and this one said blah.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love world literature, and this book set in Cuba around the time of the revolution was excellent. (Although not remotely a comedy.) Family relations, poets, colorful characters, a look at life in Cuba. I liked the audiobook from Hoopla, but I wish I had read it in book form.

[kanisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out with a lot of promise but I found it difficult to finish. The plot itself was interesting and touched on important societal issues, but there was a lot unnecessary writing in some areas.

[David Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book about poetry and revolution in 1960's Cuba.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was 3.5 read for me
thoughts coming shortly

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would not recommend this book.

[Asia J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Appreciated what this was trying to do, and loved the story when it was actually moving forward, but a little TOO much unnecessary writing added in some parts.

[Jesse Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cuban Comedy started with a lot of promise, but I found myself struggling to stay interested while finishing up the book. Maybe that is more where I'm at right now and less about the book.

[Carol Tilley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid, entertaining, if not wholly remarkable.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright, the brightest spot for me was the connection to Las Meninas and it’s part of the story.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this revolutionary poet slice of life novel.