Grieving for Guava

University Press of Kentucky New Poetry & Prose Series

by Cecilia M. Fernandez

Castro's communist regime gained control of Cuba in 1959, sparking a surge of immigration to the United States, particularly Miami, as refugees sought a better life. But for many, Cuba will always be home. The island's stories pass from refugee to refugee, immigrant to grandchild, mingling hope for the future with grief for what's lost. Yet these stories also pass down a deep, unconscious desire for the unattainable, which often results in fractured relationships and a loss of purpose for both young and old. Grieving for Guava revels in the unbroken ties between past and future, Havana and Miami, and recounts the unintended generational costs of immigration. Ten stories explore the lives of Cuban refugees in Miami as they grapple with a longing for the past and a fervent need to move forward. Spanning six decades of the Cuban exile, these stories lay bare a collective struggle to overcome the destabilizing effects of migration and to reassemble splintered identities: A journalist returns to the island for a childhood toy. An investment banker leaves Miami to open a bookstore near the Malecon. A girl with cerebral palsy attempts to swim across the ocean to reach her lost home. Cecilia Fernandez artfully weaves together the complicated lives of her characters to produce an overarching sense of yearning for the past, transforming grief into an even more powerful force: communion.

Grieving for Guava captures the heartache and hope that are common in the immigrant experience, adding a dynamic, human voice to the politically charged dialogue surrounding immigration.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

152 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2020

Reviews

[Kristin Perrine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of short stories was interesting and colorful. Each story was a bit different, but many of them had a little twist of the unexpected. Sometimes this twist was delightful, sometimes poignant, sometimes shocking. The book came full circle in the end, and I really appreciate the attention not just to each individual story, but the arrangement in the book as a whole.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on goodreads. it is a very sad book about immigrants from Cuba who are longing for home but trying to get a new start.