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Monika Krause, Queen of Condoms: Memoir of a Sex Educator in Revolutionary Cuba
In 1962, the 20 years young Monika from East Germany marries the "youngest Captain in the world" and moves to Cuba, a country with a very different climate, culture, and customs. Soon she clashes with Afro-Cuban saints, food shortage, and the macho mentality.
Monika's memories and recollections, told with humor and heart, provide a unique glimpse into the turbulent first thirty years of the Cuban Revolution. The young mother of two boys experiences the follies of the Cuban educational system, when a whole country was turned into a laboratory for the formation of the New Man. Like so many others who once believed that the Revolution would lead to utopia, Monika Krause gradually came to realize that she was in, and part of, a totalitarian system based on the cult of a caudillo.
As fate would have it, Monika became Cuba's first Sex Educator, charged with developing and implementing an ambitious and impactful national program of sex education and planned parenthood. Monika was the first director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), a celebrity with own radio and TV programs, a strong advocate for women's rights, and a staunch fighter against institutionalized homophobia.
In 1990, exhausted and disillusioned, with her marriage over, and her grown children eager to break free from the rigid ideology, Monika returned to Germany, her country of birth.
Monika's memories and recollections, told with humor and heart, provide a unique glimpse into the turbulent first thirty years of the Cuban Revolution. The young mother of two boys experiences the follies of the Cuban educational system, when a whole country was turned into a laboratory for the formation of the New Man. Like so many others who once believed that the Revolution would lead to utopia, Monika Krause gradually came to realize that she was in, and part of, a totalitarian system based on the cult of a caudillo.
As fate would have it, Monika became Cuba's first Sex Educator, charged with developing and implementing an ambitious and impactful national program of sex education and planned parenthood. Monika was the first director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), a celebrity with own radio and TV programs, a strong advocate for women's rights, and a staunch fighter against institutionalized homophobia.
In 1990, exhausted and disillusioned, with her marriage over, and her grown children eager to break free from the rigid ideology, Monika returned to Germany, her country of birth.
356 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2022
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July 26, 2022
The book ‘MONIKA KRAUSE QUEEN OF CONDOMS Memoir of a Sex Educator in Revolutionary Cuba’ documents the life of Monika Krause, a former East German introduced to Cuban society through her marriage to Jesús Jiménez Escobar, a Cuban sea captain she met and married in Rostock, East Germany in 1962 when in her early twenties. Monika’s story offers insight into a segment of the political and human dimension of the Cuban Revolution during the second part of the twentieth century.
A Foreword to the book by Professor Jacqueline Loss recalls a quote about Cuban male sexuality and the AIDS pandemic that first brought Monika to Loss’ attention: 'the one area revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries have in common is homophobia'. The reasons for the labelling of Krause within Cuba as 'The Queen of the Condoms' don’t become apparent until late in the book, when she discusses her rise to more powerful positions within Cuba's bureaucratic public health system during the 1970s and 1980s.
Beyond the book's Foreword, the first chapter recounts the author's escape from Cuba in November 1990, by which time she’s totally dismayed at the direction taken by the Cuban Revolution; as such, the book can be read as a chronicle of disillusionment. Monika is initially hopeful Cuba’s social experiment will radically transform Cuba into a true paradise, about which both she and her husband were ‘fantasizing, talking, debating, and feeling we were participants in a truly revolutionary and humanistic process.' The author’s initial openness to the experience included learning to respect the rites of santería, ‘the syncretism of Catholicism and African religions, showered during the Revolution with Marxist-Leninist jargon’. But initial enthusiasm for life in Cuba falls flat. Monika found (to borrow a line from a Saul Bellow novel) that ‘the outlook and psychology of officialdom in the Communist world’ left much to be desired. Regular food shortages throughout the country placed pressure on the household budget and family palates, with the market on occasion offering nothing but eggplant. ‘We ate rice with eggplant, eggplant with rice, fried eggplant, grilled eggplant, or eggplant in vinegar. I had had it up to my ears with eggplant.’
Even more difficult was adapting to what the author portrays as a ‘Cuban herd personality … having to think and act in plural (the use of “we” was institutionalized)’, thus becoming ‘a person with a collective opinion, who followed Party guidelines’. Monika’s antidote was to frequent the beach. Few could eavesdrop there amidst the crashing of the waves, and it became her salvation. ‘When I needed to speak of things that were prohibited and no one should hear what my friends and I were saying, we went swimming offshore and beyond, without witnesses, changing the world, conversing until we wore ourselves out, happy and content.’
The birth of Dictys, her first son, opened Monika’s eyes to Cuban medical shortcomings. In the cubicle beside her, a young woman who'd had an illegal abortion was surrounded by family members, as well as by the police. Family members were urging her for the name of the abortionist; the police demanded it. ‘She had injected hydrochloric acid to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy and was now mutilated, at the age of eighteen, and unable to be a mother. This was my first experience with the problem of abortion. Many years later, the subject of abortion would become one of the key issues in my work.’
Giving birth to her second child proved just as traumatic. Due to inadequate hospital medical attention, Dani nearly died during delivery. Exacerbating the experience, their journey home by taxi was a nightmare in ‘a car from the fifties, totally dilapidated’ through which the road was visible through a hole, covered with cardboard, in the floor. ‘The owner offered to transport us, but not before warning me not to sit next to the left door, as the lock was broken and it could fly open. He kept the right door held shut with a length of sisal rope, undoing the knot only to let the passengers out.’
Conditions in the country continued to deteriorate. Monika and her husband found it necessary to fall back on comforting cliches, the likes of ‘The Revolution is made by human beings. Human beings make mistakes. There is no absolute justice.’ Nevertheless…. In 1970 Cuba experienced ‘The Year of the Ten Million’, which to Monika’s mind was proof — if any was needed — or how poorly the government was managing. ‘All men with two good hands — from hairdressers to eminent surgeons — were sent to the fields to cut cane. They joined the army of macheteros who were struggling to harvest enough sugarcane to produce the proposed record of ten million tons of sugar. The barber shops, the shoe-repair shops, the tailors’ workshops, the few Chinese laundries that had survived until then: everything was closed.’ In a none-too-subtle allusion to Orwellian Doublethink, Monika wryly refers to Fidel Castro’s line, ‘We shall turn setback into victory’, noting that ‘to this day “setback” and “victory” are synonymous in Cuba’.
Finding herself in a situation where her education and linguistic abilities were in demand, Monika took up employment within a government department. This opened the way to a position of authority working with a small group of ‘experts’ in the fields of sex education and women’s reproductive health. The work interested her, but was not without its distractions. Philosophical debates on current issues and work practices were ‘cloaked in the terminology of Marxism-Leninism, which, if you dug down a little, showed that we were all slaves of our past, of traditions, of beliefs full of deficient knowledge, fraught with errors, prejudices, and anachronisms.’ Nevertheless, Monika found the work wholly satisfying work — dedicated to sex education, counselling and therapy, and eventually earning her the nickname “Mónica, La Reina del Condón; Mónica, Queen of Condoms.” With the lack of a modern understanding of sex education throughout the country, Monika took on the task of tackling teenage pregnancy and its consequences, ‘girls dropping out of school, indiscriminate use of abortion as a contraceptive method, marriages between immature couples, and girls giving birth without being prepared for motherhood.’ Poor quality Chinese condoms, lacking in lubricant, were readily available throughout Cuba at the time. Through her department’s initiatives, the introduction and widespread use of better quality condoms from overseas — considered revolutionary at the time — became the norm.
1989 reshaped Monika’s world. The Berlin Wall fell. Her marriage dissolved, and her ex-husband planned to remarry. Combined with disillusionment with Cuba’s revolution, these provided catalysts for Monika’s decision to take flight and return surreptitiously to the country of her birth. ‘It took two more decades for the castle of dreams, delusions, and wishful thinking to collapse, for us to become aware that we had spent our energies, intelligence, and strength—had sacrificed our lives—in a futile effort to construct a society based on dreams, ideals, and infantile desires, exempt from realistic, objective, and rational considerations,’ she lamented.
Monika returned to a life in Europe with her two sons. She died in 2019, too early to appreciate Cuba’s efforts at managing the Covid epidemic or view from afar its struggles with the country’s biggest-ever anti-government protests in July 2021. Her book documents three decades of life in Cuba (from the early 1960’s through to 1990) from the viewpoint of both an outsider and an insider, and is well worth the read.
(Ralph Wessman is a parent, partner and publisher, and lives in Tasmania).
A Foreword to the book by Professor Jacqueline Loss recalls a quote about Cuban male sexuality and the AIDS pandemic that first brought Monika to Loss’ attention: 'the one area revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries have in common is homophobia'. The reasons for the labelling of Krause within Cuba as 'The Queen of the Condoms' don’t become apparent until late in the book, when she discusses her rise to more powerful positions within Cuba's bureaucratic public health system during the 1970s and 1980s.
Beyond the book's Foreword, the first chapter recounts the author's escape from Cuba in November 1990, by which time she’s totally dismayed at the direction taken by the Cuban Revolution; as such, the book can be read as a chronicle of disillusionment. Monika is initially hopeful Cuba’s social experiment will radically transform Cuba into a true paradise, about which both she and her husband were ‘fantasizing, talking, debating, and feeling we were participants in a truly revolutionary and humanistic process.' The author’s initial openness to the experience included learning to respect the rites of santería, ‘the syncretism of Catholicism and African religions, showered during the Revolution with Marxist-Leninist jargon’. But initial enthusiasm for life in Cuba falls flat. Monika found (to borrow a line from a Saul Bellow novel) that ‘the outlook and psychology of officialdom in the Communist world’ left much to be desired. Regular food shortages throughout the country placed pressure on the household budget and family palates, with the market on occasion offering nothing but eggplant. ‘We ate rice with eggplant, eggplant with rice, fried eggplant, grilled eggplant, or eggplant in vinegar. I had had it up to my ears with eggplant.’
Even more difficult was adapting to what the author portrays as a ‘Cuban herd personality … having to think and act in plural (the use of “we” was institutionalized)’, thus becoming ‘a person with a collective opinion, who followed Party guidelines’. Monika’s antidote was to frequent the beach. Few could eavesdrop there amidst the crashing of the waves, and it became her salvation. ‘When I needed to speak of things that were prohibited and no one should hear what my friends and I were saying, we went swimming offshore and beyond, without witnesses, changing the world, conversing until we wore ourselves out, happy and content.’
The birth of Dictys, her first son, opened Monika’s eyes to Cuban medical shortcomings. In the cubicle beside her, a young woman who'd had an illegal abortion was surrounded by family members, as well as by the police. Family members were urging her for the name of the abortionist; the police demanded it. ‘She had injected hydrochloric acid to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy and was now mutilated, at the age of eighteen, and unable to be a mother. This was my first experience with the problem of abortion. Many years later, the subject of abortion would become one of the key issues in my work.’
Giving birth to her second child proved just as traumatic. Due to inadequate hospital medical attention, Dani nearly died during delivery. Exacerbating the experience, their journey home by taxi was a nightmare in ‘a car from the fifties, totally dilapidated’ through which the road was visible through a hole, covered with cardboard, in the floor. ‘The owner offered to transport us, but not before warning me not to sit next to the left door, as the lock was broken and it could fly open. He kept the right door held shut with a length of sisal rope, undoing the knot only to let the passengers out.’
Conditions in the country continued to deteriorate. Monika and her husband found it necessary to fall back on comforting cliches, the likes of ‘The Revolution is made by human beings. Human beings make mistakes. There is no absolute justice.’ Nevertheless…. In 1970 Cuba experienced ‘The Year of the Ten Million’, which to Monika’s mind was proof — if any was needed — or how poorly the government was managing. ‘All men with two good hands — from hairdressers to eminent surgeons — were sent to the fields to cut cane. They joined the army of macheteros who were struggling to harvest enough sugarcane to produce the proposed record of ten million tons of sugar. The barber shops, the shoe-repair shops, the tailors’ workshops, the few Chinese laundries that had survived until then: everything was closed.’ In a none-too-subtle allusion to Orwellian Doublethink, Monika wryly refers to Fidel Castro’s line, ‘We shall turn setback into victory’, noting that ‘to this day “setback” and “victory” are synonymous in Cuba’.
Finding herself in a situation where her education and linguistic abilities were in demand, Monika took up employment within a government department. This opened the way to a position of authority working with a small group of ‘experts’ in the fields of sex education and women’s reproductive health. The work interested her, but was not without its distractions. Philosophical debates on current issues and work practices were ‘cloaked in the terminology of Marxism-Leninism, which, if you dug down a little, showed that we were all slaves of our past, of traditions, of beliefs full of deficient knowledge, fraught with errors, prejudices, and anachronisms.’ Nevertheless, Monika found the work wholly satisfying work — dedicated to sex education, counselling and therapy, and eventually earning her the nickname “Mónica, La Reina del Condón; Mónica, Queen of Condoms.” With the lack of a modern understanding of sex education throughout the country, Monika took on the task of tackling teenage pregnancy and its consequences, ‘girls dropping out of school, indiscriminate use of abortion as a contraceptive method, marriages between immature couples, and girls giving birth without being prepared for motherhood.’ Poor quality Chinese condoms, lacking in lubricant, were readily available throughout Cuba at the time. Through her department’s initiatives, the introduction and widespread use of better quality condoms from overseas — considered revolutionary at the time — became the norm.
1989 reshaped Monika’s world. The Berlin Wall fell. Her marriage dissolved, and her ex-husband planned to remarry. Combined with disillusionment with Cuba’s revolution, these provided catalysts for Monika’s decision to take flight and return surreptitiously to the country of her birth. ‘It took two more decades for the castle of dreams, delusions, and wishful thinking to collapse, for us to become aware that we had spent our energies, intelligence, and strength—had sacrificed our lives—in a futile effort to construct a society based on dreams, ideals, and infantile desires, exempt from realistic, objective, and rational considerations,’ she lamented.
Monika returned to a life in Europe with her two sons. She died in 2019, too early to appreciate Cuba’s efforts at managing the Covid epidemic or view from afar its struggles with the country’s biggest-ever anti-government protests in July 2021. Her book documents three decades of life in Cuba (from the early 1960’s through to 1990) from the viewpoint of both an outsider and an insider, and is well worth the read.
(Ralph Wessman is a parent, partner and publisher, and lives in Tasmania).
July 7, 2022
This was a fascinating look at the Cuban culture and its views on sexual health and sex education beginning in the 1950s and continuing for decades.
I learned a lot from this book and the story only lagged in a couple places. Those lags are the reasons why this book is receiving 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Overall, I think this is a book worth reading. If you are interested in the lives of everyday women who are fascinating, dedicated, passionate and flawed, this is a book you will enjoy.
Rating = 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
I learned a lot from this book and the story only lagged in a couple places. Those lags are the reasons why this book is receiving 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Overall, I think this is a book worth reading. If you are interested in the lives of everyday women who are fascinating, dedicated, passionate and flawed, this is a book you will enjoy.
Rating = 4 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All opinions are my own.
February 14, 2023
Monika Krause had an incredible life, and I'm glad that she chronicled it so that her sons and others could learn and enjoy it. Loved learning about the history and culture that surrounded her life there. How she came to live there, how difficult it was for her from both her home country and her newfound one. Oppositions and prejudices on both sides, surrounded by so much warfare.
Although it is written in first-person, I feel that secondhand nature of the memoir as I read further. I don't feel like we really settle in with Krause. We're given the moral fiber, her motivations for what she does. Her actions through her roller coaster life are thorough. But there were times when I think a beat could have benefited from another personal anecdote. Like when she fell in love with her captain, something that only she would know to explain how deeply she fell for him. Or even how the quality of condoms were like in her own hands.
She may have wrote it, but it feels like we're told her life story. From a distance. Perhaps a bias for sticking to the factual? Those parts of seemingly omitting personal feelings made me question just how much was her writing and how much was filled in later by someone else. Or did she intend to keep it that way?
I rather enjoyed Monika Krause for the educational bits. Learning about the sex and gender prejudices as well as the history in Cuba were eye-openers. By extension, the Soviet Union at that time too, considering how hard it was for Krause to readjust to her life choices.
And it's nice to see the family photos next to appropriate passages too. Classy! They're welcome proof of Monika's life. Enjoyed this book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Although it is written in first-person, I feel that secondhand nature of the memoir as I read further. I don't feel like we really settle in with Krause. We're given the moral fiber, her motivations for what she does. Her actions through her roller coaster life are thorough. But there were times when I think a beat could have benefited from another personal anecdote. Like when she fell in love with her captain, something that only she would know to explain how deeply she fell for him. Or even how the quality of condoms were like in her own hands.
She may have wrote it, but it feels like we're told her life story. From a distance. Perhaps a bias for sticking to the factual? Those parts of seemingly omitting personal feelings made me question just how much was her writing and how much was filled in later by someone else. Or did she intend to keep it that way?
I rather enjoyed Monika Krause for the educational bits. Learning about the sex and gender prejudices as well as the history in Cuba were eye-openers. By extension, the Soviet Union at that time too, considering how hard it was for Krause to readjust to her life choices.
And it's nice to see the family photos next to appropriate passages too. Classy! They're welcome proof of Monika's life. Enjoyed this book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 4, 2022
An inspiring book about a truly inspiring woman, this is easily one of the most absorbing and engaging non-fiction books I’ve read in a long time. I’ll be honest, prior to reading this biography of Monika Krause I had not heard of her or her work, and had very little background knowledge on the Cuban Revolution. Not only did I learn so much about a time and part of history I was unfamiliar with while reading, but I also gained such deep respect and admiration for Monika, who sounds like such an incredible woman and whose strength and passion radiates through each and every page.
I often struggle with non-fiction titles, which can often read to me as rather dry and bogged down in detail, however that is certainly not the case here. Engaging and immersive right from the off, this was such a page-turner for me – I struggled to put the book down, desperate to know more about Monika, her life in Cuba and her work as a sex educator. Her tireless struggle and fight for issues such as women’s rights and better sexual health provisions, things we take for granted now in modern society, is extremely admirable and inspiring, particularly given the political and social backdrop against which she was campaigning.
Overall, this is such a fantastic read, and I loved the opportunity to get to know Monika though the pages. Eye-opening, engaging and inspiring in equal measure, this is an excellent biography and one that I know will stay with me for a long time. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
I often struggle with non-fiction titles, which can often read to me as rather dry and bogged down in detail, however that is certainly not the case here. Engaging and immersive right from the off, this was such a page-turner for me – I struggled to put the book down, desperate to know more about Monika, her life in Cuba and her work as a sex educator. Her tireless struggle and fight for issues such as women’s rights and better sexual health provisions, things we take for granted now in modern society, is extremely admirable and inspiring, particularly given the political and social backdrop against which she was campaigning.
Overall, this is such a fantastic read, and I loved the opportunity to get to know Monika though the pages. Eye-opening, engaging and inspiring in equal measure, this is an excellent biography and one that I know will stay with me for a long time. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
April 4, 2022
Monika was a strong, hard-working and professional woman. With a great passion and constant desire to teach. She transformed the aspects of sexuality throughout the country, I was shocked to read all the recognitions she had and how much she had achieved. It’s certainly an inspiration for me. She helped several people, fighting for the rights of women, helping to break the taboo related to sexuality and intimacy, she taught for several years about sexual education, which is something of life importance.
Accompanied by photos from different moments of Monika’s life, in this biography we will learn about her beginnings, we’ll learn with her about what the Cuban culture was in her time, the obstacles that arose in her life and how she managed to overcome them, her great achievements.
She was an admirable woman who went through many complicated problems that sometimes put her life at risk, but she still managed to change the lives of many people, in a field not so common for the time, she was someone who came forward for her and for her family.
I think just like Monika at one point in the book the proverb "Every cloud has a silver lining" will also be my new mantra, that means that despite the problems that present to us things will work out alright.
I think it is a great gesture on the part of her sons to publish her autobiography, she was a loving mother and a great woman, who sacrificed so many things and deserves to be remembered. If you have the opportunity to know the story of Monika Krause, read it.
Accompanied by photos from different moments of Monika’s life, in this biography we will learn about her beginnings, we’ll learn with her about what the Cuban culture was in her time, the obstacles that arose in her life and how she managed to overcome them, her great achievements.
She was an admirable woman who went through many complicated problems that sometimes put her life at risk, but she still managed to change the lives of many people, in a field not so common for the time, she was someone who came forward for her and for her family.
I think just like Monika at one point in the book the proverb "Every cloud has a silver lining" will also be my new mantra, that means that despite the problems that present to us things will work out alright.
I think it is a great gesture on the part of her sons to publish her autobiography, she was a loving mother and a great woman, who sacrificed so many things and deserves to be remembered. If you have the opportunity to know the story of Monika Krause, read it.
April 12, 2022
Monika, A Woman with extraordinary abilities
I could not put down the book when I first understood it. I thought I had read everything there was to find out about Cuba, yet I had never known about Monika Krause. He has been banned from Cuban history for his outspoken support for the human right to inform his constituents. Born German, she married “the youngest commander in the world” and lived in Cuba for a long time, when she turned out to be a confidant of a public servant. His honest and intellectual movement, as well as the rationality he encountered between the values and the reality of the Reformation, are many of our experiences. However, the book is not disturbing; it also contains crazy stories. Her role as a spouse and mother is relevant. I won’t give you what’s happening, yet Monika has become an inspiration to me, in fact, because of the unity, humor, and commitment to what she hoped for. I want to know this very important lady. At present we all can, with this English meaning.
Monika Krause, the Condom Queen is an amazing diary that tells of the thrilling journey of a young and irrational, but especially intelligent woman. He encounters a logical conflict of ideas about the complexity of their assassination on an already prosperous and picturesque Caribbean island. Eventually, she becomes a hero in the training of sex workers in a common society plagued by duplicitous puritans and harmed by machismo. Whenever a reader reads this book, I assure you that no one will be able to put it down. I would highly recommend this piece of writing to read.
I could not put down the book when I first understood it. I thought I had read everything there was to find out about Cuba, yet I had never known about Monika Krause. He has been banned from Cuban history for his outspoken support for the human right to inform his constituents. Born German, she married “the youngest commander in the world” and lived in Cuba for a long time, when she turned out to be a confidant of a public servant. His honest and intellectual movement, as well as the rationality he encountered between the values and the reality of the Reformation, are many of our experiences. However, the book is not disturbing; it also contains crazy stories. Her role as a spouse and mother is relevant. I won’t give you what’s happening, yet Monika has become an inspiration to me, in fact, because of the unity, humor, and commitment to what she hoped for. I want to know this very important lady. At present we all can, with this English meaning.
Monika Krause, the Condom Queen is an amazing diary that tells of the thrilling journey of a young and irrational, but especially intelligent woman. He encounters a logical conflict of ideas about the complexity of their assassination on an already prosperous and picturesque Caribbean island. Eventually, she becomes a hero in the training of sex workers in a common society plagued by duplicitous puritans and harmed by machismo. Whenever a reader reads this book, I assure you that no one will be able to put it down. I would highly recommend this piece of writing to read.
May 12, 2022
I recently read this book and loved it so much. The writer's voice is crisp, to the point, right on and brutally honest about her life in Revolutionary Cuba. I learned a lot about what the Cuban Revolution was like by reading this book and the author's experiences living there for 30 years as a woman who was born and raised in East Germany. What I found particularly interesting was her descriptions of Revolutionary Cuba from her perspective as an East German where life was plenty hard. When she discussed how hard Revolutionary Cuba was to live in, I knew it must have been brutal because life in East Germany was very difficult. The closer I got to the end of the book the more I looked forward to details about why she decided to leave Cuba after 30 years and how she managed to do this. However, that was information was not found at the end of the book but in the first chapter which, by the time I got to the end of the book, I had forgotten about. I then had to go back and reread the first two chapters to fully understand why she was leaving. I would have liked this information at the end instead. This woman was an outspoken critic of Cuba's machismo culture which many didn't like but she supported women and their right to exercise their will in the sexuality of their lives. She was critical of Revolutionary Cuba's treatment of homosexuals and touched on the treatment of people infected with HIV. I would have liked to see more information on how exactly Cuba handled the HIV issue in the country which was controversial to say the least.
April 13, 2022
I’m a huge fan of memoirs so I’m always excited to pick one up. I had never heard of Monika Kraus and have not spent a lot of time studying Cuba so I was excited to venture into this book and learn something new about a country I wasn’t familiar with and be exposed to a new memoir. Monika Kraus, Queen of Condoms did not disappoint. Monika is one of the most inspiring and strong women I have ever had the pleasure of reading a memoir about. She has lived such an amazing and colorful life with lots of incredible experiences. It is easy to see her passion surrounding Cuba, sex education, and so much more. Her advocacy work clearly made an important impact on sex education, Planned Parenthood, and women’s rights in Cuba. The stories of her experiences as a wife and mother are intertwined to provide some humor and make her even more relatable as a person.
The writing in this book is also fantastic. It is easy to relate to and follow. It is absolutely one of the best memoirs that I have read. Often, I find my mind wandering and myself losing focus during the slow parts of a memoir but that was not the case with this book. I could not put it down. I think this is a book that everyone will enjoy and learn a lot from. It is an impressive account of a life well-lived that made an impact on an entire country. Grab this one today, especially if you love memoirs!
The writing in this book is also fantastic. It is easy to relate to and follow. It is absolutely one of the best memoirs that I have read. Often, I find my mind wandering and myself losing focus during the slow parts of a memoir but that was not the case with this book. I could not put it down. I think this is a book that everyone will enjoy and learn a lot from. It is an impressive account of a life well-lived that made an impact on an entire country. Grab this one today, especially if you love memoirs!
April 26, 2022
If I managed to make one person think and question an attitude, it was worth it. If I imparted one solution for a problem it was worth it. If I managed to avoid a single catastrophe, a single suicide, it was worth it. If I helped break one taboo, it was worth it. If the positive consequences of my work outweighed the negative ones, it was worth it. If one seed sown by me germinated, surviving the cyclone of traditions, time, and underdevelopment, and managed to take root, it was worth it.
Undeniably Monika Krause was an amazing, awe inducing woman. More people need to know about her and her astonishing accomplishments. She is truly an extraordinary role model for young women out there and I really hope that her story will reach far and wide!!
In the process of recounting her life, Monika also paints a very vivid picture of Cuba. It was fascinating to read about Cuba's own brand of socialism. While many of the absurd happenings were very familiar to me, as a person who has lived in socialism, many other details were very specific to Cuba and its geographical and historical coordinates. Heartbreak is present at every turn, but Monika's humour helps the reader see the light at the end of the tunnel.
*Book from BookSirens with many thanks for the opportunity to read this memoir.
Undeniably Monika Krause was an amazing, awe inducing woman. More people need to know about her and her astonishing accomplishments. She is truly an extraordinary role model for young women out there and I really hope that her story will reach far and wide!!
In the process of recounting her life, Monika also paints a very vivid picture of Cuba. It was fascinating to read about Cuba's own brand of socialism. While many of the absurd happenings were very familiar to me, as a person who has lived in socialism, many other details were very specific to Cuba and its geographical and historical coordinates. Heartbreak is present at every turn, but Monika's humour helps the reader see the light at the end of the tunnel.
*Book from BookSirens with many thanks for the opportunity to read this memoir.
March 29, 2022
This is an amazing book for many reasons. Monika Krause, Queen of Condoms, offers the reader a deep, dynamic and introspective portrait of Cuban society, and Monika's own intimate experience with the Cuban Revolution. The book reveals with absolute honesty the evolution of her thoughts and conscience, forged in the crucible of her tireless struggle as an educator, wife, mother, and citizen. It is a portrait of her dreams, disappointments, hardships and contradictions, always with a deep love for Cuba, an identification so ravishing that, as a German born and raised, she wrote the original text of her memoir in the purest "Cuban" Spanish. A book, undoubtedly exciting and unforgettable, and a lucid and sensitive translation by Regina Anavy.
April 20, 2022
What an extraordinary life story!
There are so many amazing people in this world you didn’t know that made a difference until you read a book about them, about their lives. This memoir is exactly that: an exceptional collection of memories of a time long past told in a surprisingly objective manner by a fierce woman who had the courage and determination to speak up her mind and go against the flow. The pages will flow through your fingers, as you are captivated by the stories told. I simply loved the sincere and unapologetic tone of it. It was like having a very long afternoon chat with a dear friend, getting to know a time you didn’t experience in your lifetime. It’s one of those books that stay with you and you need a physical copy in your personal library.
There are so many amazing people in this world you didn’t know that made a difference until you read a book about them, about their lives. This memoir is exactly that: an exceptional collection of memories of a time long past told in a surprisingly objective manner by a fierce woman who had the courage and determination to speak up her mind and go against the flow. The pages will flow through your fingers, as you are captivated by the stories told. I simply loved the sincere and unapologetic tone of it. It was like having a very long afternoon chat with a dear friend, getting to know a time you didn’t experience in your lifetime. It’s one of those books that stay with you and you need a physical copy in your personal library.
May 23, 2022
I was fortunate to have access to an advanced readers copy of this book although I am only able to post my review now.
With the amount of censorship that was prevalent in Cuba it is understandable how so many of the stories of homophobia, inhumane mistreatment, discrimination, abuse, attempted ethnic cleansing of homosexuals - among others -have not been able to reach the rest of the world. Monica was such a strong woman with such important purpose and accomplishments that she so deserves her story to be told and kudos to her boys for making that happen.
Much of this island’s history is unknown to those who see Cuba as a tropical travel destination. So much insight here and such an interesting story/memoir to read.
With the amount of censorship that was prevalent in Cuba it is understandable how so many of the stories of homophobia, inhumane mistreatment, discrimination, abuse, attempted ethnic cleansing of homosexuals - among others -have not been able to reach the rest of the world. Monica was such a strong woman with such important purpose and accomplishments that she so deserves her story to be told and kudos to her boys for making that happen.
Much of this island’s history is unknown to those who see Cuba as a tropical travel destination. So much insight here and such an interesting story/memoir to read.
July 5, 2022
Monika sounds like an extremely well lived and impactful person but this nonfiction about her experiences was lacking. The stories chosen and flow of the book was very odd and often just came across as random ranting. For having “Queen of Condoms” in the title, the first 30% of the book doesn’t even talk about her stances and teachings or how she came to be such a reproductive icon. This book could have been done better.
I received an advance review copy for free to give my honest feedback.
I received an advance review copy for free to give my honest feedback.
March 31, 2023
As far as biographies goes, this one is overall interesting and informative. It’s a great look into some of the private and political lives of a very secluded country.
The only negative is that the explanation for the title of the book is almost at its end… the leading 25 chapters are detailed and emotional but the rest seems rushed and lacks the deeper connection, like the writer’s focus changed.
I would indeed recommend this book to other readers who might be curious about anything Cuban!
I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
The only negative is that the explanation for the title of the book is almost at its end… the leading 25 chapters are detailed and emotional but the rest seems rushed and lacks the deeper connection, like the writer’s focus changed.
I would indeed recommend this book to other readers who might be curious about anything Cuban!
I received a review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.
November 2, 2023
Quick review I hope to extend later.
Taken from her diaries, this is a more than detailed account of how a young East German woman fell in love and married a Cuban marine officer, renowned as a hero of the Revolution, abandoning her studies with the promise of being able to finish them in Cuba. Of course, she had to wait for that to happen. This is a very personal account of her life as a wife of a husband who was often absent and as mother of two sons, who were involved in writing this book. I felt a lot of it should have stayed as family anecdotes; I didn’t need to read about every childhood illness, though the later problems with schooling were an insight into a country that went into decline, much of it due to America’s trade embargo. On the other hand, some of the opportunities that were created in a country where medicine and education was free for all are very impressive. Eventually, Monika Krause became a national radio personality as she campaigned for Cuban men to drop their macho culture and wear condoms to improve the lives of women, who no longer had to expect multiple pregnancies and abortions. She also caused uproar when she suggested women were supposed to enjoy sex, too. This book was really fascinating, but could have done with radical editing. Can’t complain: it was a free ARC from Book Sirens in return for my review, but I might have balked if I’d realised how long it would take me to read it in an already jam-packed month.
Taken from her diaries, this is a more than detailed account of how a young East German woman fell in love and married a Cuban marine officer, renowned as a hero of the Revolution, abandoning her studies with the promise of being able to finish them in Cuba. Of course, she had to wait for that to happen. This is a very personal account of her life as a wife of a husband who was often absent and as mother of two sons, who were involved in writing this book. I felt a lot of it should have stayed as family anecdotes; I didn’t need to read about every childhood illness, though the later problems with schooling were an insight into a country that went into decline, much of it due to America’s trade embargo. On the other hand, some of the opportunities that were created in a country where medicine and education was free for all are very impressive. Eventually, Monika Krause became a national radio personality as she campaigned for Cuban men to drop their macho culture and wear condoms to improve the lives of women, who no longer had to expect multiple pregnancies and abortions. She also caused uproar when she suggested women were supposed to enjoy sex, too. This book was really fascinating, but could have done with radical editing. Can’t complain: it was a free ARC from Book Sirens in return for my review, but I might have balked if I’d realised how long it would take me to read it in an already jam-packed month.
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