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Havana Real: One Woman Fights to Tell the Truth about Cuba Today
She's been kidnapped and beaten, lives under surveillance, and can only get online—in disguise—at tourist hotspots. She's a blogger, she's a Cuban, and she's a worldwide sensation.
Yoani Sánchez is an unusual dissident: no street protests, no attacks on big politicos, no calls for revolution. Rather, she produces a simple diary about what it means to live under the Castro regime; the chronic hunger and the difficulty of shopping; the art of repairing ancient appliances; and the struggles of living under a propaganda machine that pushes deep into public and private life.
For these simple acts of truth-telling her life is one of constant threat. But she continues on, refusing to be silenced—a living response to all who have ceased to believe in a future for Cuba.
Yoani Sánchez is an unusual dissident: no street protests, no attacks on big politicos, no calls for revolution. Rather, she produces a simple diary about what it means to live under the Castro regime; the chronic hunger and the difficulty of shopping; the art of repairing ancient appliances; and the struggles of living under a propaganda machine that pushes deep into public and private life.
For these simple acts of truth-telling her life is one of constant threat. But she continues on, refusing to be silenced—a living response to all who have ceased to believe in a future for Cuba.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
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800 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
June 24, 2020
This is a diary made up of entries sent by email for others to post, of the time 2007-2010, by a woman who had to don disguises to get to the hotel computer to send them quickly. The author had emigrated to Switzerland for two years, in 2002, but decided to come back to Cuba, to live pretending she was a free person, in a land that is not and bleeds people leaving any way they can. Yoani lives with a danger of kidnaps, beatings, and jailtime, but manages to live as courageously as she can.
So, what would be the one word to describe life in Cuba today (2010 or now ten years from that because I do believe limits haven't changed)?
Lack. Lack of freedom, lack of things, lack of beliefs in things that don't happen.... lots of lacks. Living in a land that is one of the last 'lack' state remains of the Cold War. With leader who are fell-fed, but not believed, and their powers on the street that get less and less respect. Even TV defamation no longer makes people avoid you, but give you sympathies.
There is the lack of food: ever-present hunger, the rush to get things when news gets around that such and such thing is available briefly somewhere, black markets, meagre school lunches, the joy of a foreign visitor bringing five tangerines. When there's no meat so you eat rice with buillon cube liquid. When increase in salaries means increase in prices.
Lack of interesting things on tv (not realistic and censored) but lots of censorship and not-telling in all media that is allowed incl. what Internet is there; lacking stuff to finish the building of your home building or stuff to repair within (elevators, piping etc. not working), public clocks being not on time, public transportation not being on time (so you use an unlicensed taxi). Lack of good restaurants. Shortage of things, like light bulbs, sanitary pads, glue.
Of course there are still prejudices, like racism. It's pretty much impossible to get justice against domestic violence (partly hard to escape it also due to lack of housing). No birth control much around, so abortions happen more, when you can get it. Generations live together, which can get tense, and this one reason why Yoani has only one child, Teo.
People want to leave, and leave a lot. She expects Teo wanting to do this also, when older. It's not just the buildings and leaders that age, but also things like rail lines, cars etc.
You bring stuff to the hospital; she brings these when she goes to visit a friend's mother with terminal illness: a bucket, a pillow, an electrical fan, an omelet sandwich for a custodian so Yoani can stay after visitation hours, a little sack of detergent with jasmine aromatic to clean the bathroom, a pair of yellow gloves for scrubbing, some puree for the sick one, IV needles, some gauze and cotton (from the black market), suture thread for a future surgery, a box of disposable syringes, a radio for distraction, a gift for the doctor from the patient's husband, some insect spray for cockroaches, some more medicines, and money for the taxi home.
Later she recalls also that schools lack things also, like cleaning staff and -tools, copy machines, chair repairers.... and good teachers since some kids with bad grades get pushed into a short training to be a teacher, resulting in lesser quality in teaching, luckily later they are there just to turn on the education-TV.
She is denied travel visas frequently but she persists (she has, after the release of this book, since been allowed to travel a bit). Then again, she quickly finds out that a lot of foreign firms in Cuba are living in compromise to please the powerful, and so censor and not-deliver certain things (the example here being DHL not deliver copies of her books for her).
I wonder how things with Corona are there, but certainly during H1N1 there was not much chance for protection (lack of masks, soap, desinfectants for most people). And surprise, Augn San Suu Kyi pops up here, the author gets one of her book and finds comfort in it; but things have changed, and Kyi has shown her true colors - freedom for fear is not for all!
This was a good picture of what Cuba is like to live in today, for those who aren't in power, those who have hunger, limited freedom, and other lacks. The governments' talks and history reminders are no longer sources of respects (and who remembers that Angolan war these days so often?). The stories within the book are short, different camera views on the situation which makes you grateful for what you have and wondering what the future of Cuba could be.
So, what would be the one word to describe life in Cuba today (2010 or now ten years from that because I do believe limits haven't changed)?
Lack. Lack of freedom, lack of things, lack of beliefs in things that don't happen.... lots of lacks. Living in a land that is one of the last 'lack' state remains of the Cold War. With leader who are fell-fed, but not believed, and their powers on the street that get less and less respect. Even TV defamation no longer makes people avoid you, but give you sympathies.
There is the lack of food: ever-present hunger, the rush to get things when news gets around that such and such thing is available briefly somewhere, black markets, meagre school lunches, the joy of a foreign visitor bringing five tangerines. When there's no meat so you eat rice with buillon cube liquid. When increase in salaries means increase in prices.
Lack of interesting things on tv (not realistic and censored) but lots of censorship and not-telling in all media that is allowed incl. what Internet is there; lacking stuff to finish the building of your home building or stuff to repair within (elevators, piping etc. not working), public clocks being not on time, public transportation not being on time (so you use an unlicensed taxi). Lack of good restaurants. Shortage of things, like light bulbs, sanitary pads, glue.
Of course there are still prejudices, like racism. It's pretty much impossible to get justice against domestic violence (partly hard to escape it also due to lack of housing). No birth control much around, so abortions happen more, when you can get it. Generations live together, which can get tense, and this one reason why Yoani has only one child, Teo.
People want to leave, and leave a lot. She expects Teo wanting to do this also, when older. It's not just the buildings and leaders that age, but also things like rail lines, cars etc.
You bring stuff to the hospital; she brings these when she goes to visit a friend's mother with terminal illness: a bucket, a pillow, an electrical fan, an omelet sandwich for a custodian so Yoani can stay after visitation hours, a little sack of detergent with jasmine aromatic to clean the bathroom, a pair of yellow gloves for scrubbing, some puree for the sick one, IV needles, some gauze and cotton (from the black market), suture thread for a future surgery, a box of disposable syringes, a radio for distraction, a gift for the doctor from the patient's husband, some insect spray for cockroaches, some more medicines, and money for the taxi home.
Later she recalls also that schools lack things also, like cleaning staff and -tools, copy machines, chair repairers.... and good teachers since some kids with bad grades get pushed into a short training to be a teacher, resulting in lesser quality in teaching, luckily later they are there just to turn on the education-TV.
She is denied travel visas frequently but she persists (she has, after the release of this book, since been allowed to travel a bit). Then again, she quickly finds out that a lot of foreign firms in Cuba are living in compromise to please the powerful, and so censor and not-deliver certain things (the example here being DHL not deliver copies of her books for her).
I wonder how things with Corona are there, but certainly during H1N1 there was not much chance for protection (lack of masks, soap, desinfectants for most people). And surprise, Augn San Suu Kyi pops up here, the author gets one of her book and finds comfort in it; but things have changed, and Kyi has shown her true colors - freedom for fear is not for all!
This was a good picture of what Cuba is like to live in today, for those who aren't in power, those who have hunger, limited freedom, and other lacks. The governments' talks and history reminders are no longer sources of respects (and who remembers that Angolan war these days so often?). The stories within the book are short, different camera views on the situation which makes you grateful for what you have and wondering what the future of Cuba could be.
January 19, 2021
3.25 stars Chosen as my trip to Cuba
I chose this book in part to fulfill a group reading on Cuba. Having been written in 2011 this book is a bit outdated, but still reflects what life in Cuba has been like. The book is a blog covering three years in the life of Yoani Sanchez.
This book takes place during the three years that Fidel Castro was ill and at his worst. His brother Raul had taken over the politics and dictatorship of Cuba.
Yoani is determined to live as free a life as possible within her home country. She knows that any day she can be taken prisoner or killed, but she chooses to live the way she wants, and works everyday to make Cuba a more free and civilized country. However, living under continual surveillance, her life is under constant threat. She is unable to blog freely and must find the internet at tourist spots.
Yoani is determined to see a free Cuba, unhindered by politics and dictatorship. Yoani refuses to be silenced...
I chose this book in part to fulfill a group reading on Cuba. Having been written in 2011 this book is a bit outdated, but still reflects what life in Cuba has been like. The book is a blog covering three years in the life of Yoani Sanchez.
This book takes place during the three years that Fidel Castro was ill and at his worst. His brother Raul had taken over the politics and dictatorship of Cuba.
Yoani is determined to live as free a life as possible within her home country. She knows that any day she can be taken prisoner or killed, but she chooses to live the way she wants, and works everyday to make Cuba a more free and civilized country. However, living under continual surveillance, her life is under constant threat. She is unable to blog freely and must find the internet at tourist spots.
Yoani is determined to see a free Cuba, unhindered by politics and dictatorship. Yoani refuses to be silenced...
May 22, 2012
I've been to Cuba four times. The first time I went wearing the rose-colored glasses of a progressive who believes in socialist principles and I was ready to defend Cuba against any and all criticisms, especially by any of my fellow Americans. By my forth visit my rose colored glasses had fallen off and I was actively participating in helping a Cuban friend find a way to escape what he called "the island prison". I still believe in socialism, but now I am careful to add "democratic" in front of the word socialism. While I still defend some of the triumphs of the revolution and I'm always ready to dispel right-wing distortions about life in Cuba, I can no longer deny that Cuba is anything but an authoritarian police state. I saw too many people's lives truncated and diminished by the paranoid Cuban state security apparatus. Yoani Sanchez captures the quiet despair, the hardships, repressions and absurdities that Cubans must endure every day. She is a true Cuban patriot who speaks truth before power. I long for the day when the best of the Cuban revolution evolves to include freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom to travel.
February 4, 2017
Yoani Sánchez tells it like it is. Havana Real is a series of 2008-2010 blog posts from her blog, Generation Y. She tells of a Cuba full of poverty, government rationing, shortages of EVERYthing, and nothing being done about it. She notes the hypocrisy and exploitation under the island's Communist rule, and frankly, it's awful. She has been under constant surveillance for years, arrested and beaten multiple times, but has managed to let her voice be heard, despite not being allowed out of the country or needing to disguise herself just to ask to use the internet. This is a must-read. Every short post/essay is eye-opening, and I just found her blog, so I have more to read! I'll leave you to ponder on these thoughts of Yoani's:
"In all that time, preparing for a battle that never came, we overlooked the fact that the main confrontation was occurring amongst ourselves: A prolonged battle between those fed up with warmongering and those who need "a place under siege, where dissident is treason." " (on being trained to fight in school as a child, to resist invasions (from who, they never knew), to fight for the Revolution, wear gas masks in case of bombing and attacks...)
"Language can validate or bury any utopia."
"This illusion of paradise is killing us." (on the government's insistence for better hygiene, yet soap or rubbing alcohol are either not available, or a full day's wages)
"We cried in each other's arms in the middle of the sidewalk, I thinking about Teo [her son], for God's sake how am I going to explain all these bruises. How am I going to tell him that we live in a country where this can happen. How will I look at him and tell him that his mother has been beaten up on a public street for writing a blog, for putting her opinions in kilobytes."
"Success must be - or be seen to be - shared, the fruit of everyone's labors under the wise direction of the Party. And so we learned that self-esteem must be hidden and enterprising enthusiasm reined in. The mediocre made a killing in this society while conformity clipped the wings of the most daring."
"In all that time, preparing for a battle that never came, we overlooked the fact that the main confrontation was occurring amongst ourselves: A prolonged battle between those fed up with warmongering and those who need "a place under siege, where dissident is treason." " (on being trained to fight in school as a child, to resist invasions (from who, they never knew), to fight for the Revolution, wear gas masks in case of bombing and attacks...)
"Language can validate or bury any utopia."
"This illusion of paradise is killing us." (on the government's insistence for better hygiene, yet soap or rubbing alcohol are either not available, or a full day's wages)
"We cried in each other's arms in the middle of the sidewalk, I thinking about Teo [her son], for God's sake how am I going to explain all these bruises. How am I going to tell him that we live in a country where this can happen. How will I look at him and tell him that his mother has been beaten up on a public street for writing a blog, for putting her opinions in kilobytes."
"Success must be - or be seen to be - shared, the fruit of everyone's labors under the wise direction of the Party. And so we learned that self-esteem must be hidden and enterprising enthusiasm reined in. The mediocre made a killing in this society while conformity clipped the wings of the most daring."
July 6, 2011
Havana Real is a collection of posts from Sanchez’s Generacion Y blog from 2007 through 2010. In these posts, Sanchez depicts the lives of everyday Cubans struggling to survive in a country where food is scarce, internet access is severely restricted and opposition to the government is not tolerated. From the almost defunct Soviet elevator in her apartment building to the illegal black market that she must visit in order to obtain necessities such as eggs and cooking oil, Sanchez describes a life filled with challenges that most Americans could hardly imagine. Though puts herself and her family at risk, Sanchez continues to write fearlessly about the many injustices she and her fellow Cubans are suffering. Along the way she begins to share her knowledge of the accessing the internet and blogging with other Cubans, which allows them to begin writing about their lives.
Because it is a collection of blog posts, Havana Real occasionally feels a bit disjointed. However, it is the perfect book to carry with you and read whenever you have a few minutes to kill. Each post creates a picture in the reader’s mind that provides insight into the lives of Cubans. Sanchez has a flair for including specific details that create a picture in the reader’s mind with relatively few words. She doesn’t just state her opinions, she shares personal stories that bring the reader into her world and help them understand where she is coming from. There’s no happy ending here as the struggles of Cubans are ongoing, but Sanchez’s refusal to be silenced will inspire readers. Recommend Havana Real to readers interested in learning “the truth about Cuba today.”
Because it is a collection of blog posts, Havana Real occasionally feels a bit disjointed. However, it is the perfect book to carry with you and read whenever you have a few minutes to kill. Each post creates a picture in the reader’s mind that provides insight into the lives of Cubans. Sanchez has a flair for including specific details that create a picture in the reader’s mind with relatively few words. She doesn’t just state her opinions, she shares personal stories that bring the reader into her world and help them understand where she is coming from. There’s no happy ending here as the struggles of Cubans are ongoing, but Sanchez’s refusal to be silenced will inspire readers. Recommend Havana Real to readers interested in learning “the truth about Cuba today.”
March 27, 2017
"Havana Real" is a book based on a blog by Yoani Sanchez, an outspoken critic of the Cuban government. As an American, Cuba has always been this untouchable place. Being a student of politics and history, I understood why this was and wondered if I would ever see the relationship between our countries change. Since this book was written, politics have changed quite a bit. It remains to be seen what the relationship between our two countries will be like under the new Presidential administration. This book is best looked at as a capture of a certain time and place in a certain Cuba. It gives context to where the country has been as well as where it may be going.
This book came out in 2011 and is made up of blogs written before then so some of the information does feel a bit outdated. This is obviously not the fault of the book but the fault of the time that I am reading it. Things have certainly changed. This book is a collection of blogs that Sanchez wrote over a long period of time and each gives insight into what is going on at the time.
The writing of this book is what makes the story. Sanchez is unafraid of telling the truth without mincing words. At the time she is writing, that could have easily gotten her in trouble. The blogs are blogs. They don't necessarily connect to each other and there is no background or context for them, which made the book feel a bit disjointed and jumpy.
Overall, this was a good collection of glimpses into normal lives of Cubans during the mid-2000s.
This book came out in 2011 and is made up of blogs written before then so some of the information does feel a bit outdated. This is obviously not the fault of the book but the fault of the time that I am reading it. Things have certainly changed. This book is a collection of blogs that Sanchez wrote over a long period of time and each gives insight into what is going on at the time.
The writing of this book is what makes the story. Sanchez is unafraid of telling the truth without mincing words. At the time she is writing, that could have easily gotten her in trouble. The blogs are blogs. They don't necessarily connect to each other and there is no background or context for them, which made the book feel a bit disjointed and jumpy.
Overall, this was a good collection of glimpses into normal lives of Cubans during the mid-2000s.
August 9, 2017
Eye opening. Worth reading.
May 4, 2014
After returning from an 8-day "educational tour" to Cuba in February 2014, I found Ms Sanchez's book detailing the truth about Cuba today. Throughout our group's tour of the various locations in Havana, (chosen by the government) we were often "bombarded" with the party line of all the benefits the people of Cuba receive today. We were always told that the reason they lack some resources is due to our embargo that should be lifted immediately. No one ever mentioned the Cuban Missile crisis, nor the fact that Russia left and pulled all of her billions of dollars in support from them when they left.
We did tell the people that most likely the embargo would remain as long as the Castro Brothers ruled and that the many Cuban Americans in Florida, that lost most of their property to them during the revolution, still lived. When we left the group and spoke to private citizens on a one-to-one we got a more realistic picture of the shortages and fear that many live under today. Tourism from other countries has been a boom for some areas in the country. The people have to be wily in some instances to survive.
Thus, I was very happy to find Yoani Sanchez's book and her expose of life in Cuba today. She chose to return from Switzerland in 2002 so that she could write to the rest of the world what has happened in her country. She has started a blog which I read faithfully whenever she adds to it several times weekly.
Her book details daily life, the profound food shortages, (waiting in line for 2 hours for fish) absence of soap and detergents, medications, fear of reprisals if you speak out, beatings, jailings, lack of access to technology, black market, lack of good teachers, poor or absent bus service, and her own life being in constant threat for telling the truth. I was most sorry that I had not read her book before going to Cuba. Although I tried to look behind the scenes, I would have looked much harder, and filled my suitcase with necessities for the people. This is a must read if you really want to know the Real Cuba.
We did tell the people that most likely the embargo would remain as long as the Castro Brothers ruled and that the many Cuban Americans in Florida, that lost most of their property to them during the revolution, still lived. When we left the group and spoke to private citizens on a one-to-one we got a more realistic picture of the shortages and fear that many live under today. Tourism from other countries has been a boom for some areas in the country. The people have to be wily in some instances to survive.
Thus, I was very happy to find Yoani Sanchez's book and her expose of life in Cuba today. She chose to return from Switzerland in 2002 so that she could write to the rest of the world what has happened in her country. She has started a blog which I read faithfully whenever she adds to it several times weekly.
Her book details daily life, the profound food shortages, (waiting in line for 2 hours for fish) absence of soap and detergents, medications, fear of reprisals if you speak out, beatings, jailings, lack of access to technology, black market, lack of good teachers, poor or absent bus service, and her own life being in constant threat for telling the truth. I was most sorry that I had not read her book before going to Cuba. Although I tried to look behind the scenes, I would have looked much harder, and filled my suitcase with necessities for the people. This is a must read if you really want to know the Real Cuba.
July 5, 2011
I’ve come to have expectations for anything released by Melville House. An independent publisher, they consistently release high caliber non-fiction, poetry and literary fiction titles. I’ve rarely been found myself disappointed and am sad to have to give this such a negative review. The premise is engaging enough – I love reading first hand accounts that take place in often hostile areas. My bookshelf, in fact, is full of such readings. The author is likeable enough (I suppose) but her writing just isn’t….complete. It’s as if she has no training whatsoever in the written word. But I’m a bit ahead of myself.
This book is not really a book. It’s is a compilation of blog entries done by the author. And I do mean a compilation. When you open the book it reads just as if you had printed off her archived blog from the internet. Entries are various lengths, haphazard in content and tone and demarked by what I assume is their original blog title. There is no rhyme or reason to the entries, no great epiphanies or stunning descriptions just…a tiring ramble of blog entries. Somewhere in there I think that a story might exist but it needs a good editor and perhaps a ghost writer to bring it out. In this age of internet writing, this book stands as a firm reminder that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
(ARC Galley Proof)
This book is not really a book. It’s is a compilation of blog entries done by the author. And I do mean a compilation. When you open the book it reads just as if you had printed off her archived blog from the internet. Entries are various lengths, haphazard in content and tone and demarked by what I assume is their original blog title. There is no rhyme or reason to the entries, no great epiphanies or stunning descriptions just…a tiring ramble of blog entries. Somewhere in there I think that a story might exist but it needs a good editor and perhaps a ghost writer to bring it out. In this age of internet writing, this book stands as a firm reminder that just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
(ARC Galley Proof)
July 28, 2014
Fascinating about life in Cuba today, based on her blog. "To post her entries she had to dress as a tourist and pretend to speak only German so she could sneak into hotel internet cafés, at a time when burly bouncers enforced the law barring Cubans from tourist hotels."
Sarcastic and tragi-comical episodes for the life in the Cuban communism.
«A ham-and-cheese roll with a soft drink is the reason thousands of Cubans are still at their jobs. Without the earnings from the resale of this refreshment, many would have abandoned their positiions. In fact, one of the first questions when looking for employment is not salary – equally symbolic and inadequate everywhere – but rather, is there a snack? Selling it for twenty Cuban pesos allows workers to double their income, though it means not eating.»
Sarcastic and tragi-comical episodes for the life in the Cuban communism.
«A ham-and-cheese roll with a soft drink is the reason thousands of Cubans are still at their jobs. Without the earnings from the resale of this refreshment, many would have abandoned their positiions. In fact, one of the first questions when looking for employment is not salary – equally symbolic and inadequate everywhere – but rather, is there a snack? Selling it for twenty Cuban pesos allows workers to double their income, though it means not eating.»
July 10, 2011
This book was provided as a free copy by the publisher for review purposes.
Havana Real is a collection of blog posts by Yoani Sanchez. Yoani currently lives in Cuba where she posts on her day to day life there. Since internet restrictions are so tight, just her ability to post at all is a major achievement. Since the blog posts occur over a few years, each post is detached from the post before it. Each post can be taken on its own. The book was an eye-opener for me since I had no real knowledge about the plight of Cubans. Her posts are raw and real. There is little to no editing for the book format, so little of her emotion put into each post is lost. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick read.
Havana Real is a collection of blog posts by Yoani Sanchez. Yoani currently lives in Cuba where she posts on her day to day life there. Since internet restrictions are so tight, just her ability to post at all is a major achievement. Since the blog posts occur over a few years, each post is detached from the post before it. Each post can be taken on its own. The book was an eye-opener for me since I had no real knowledge about the plight of Cubans. Her posts are raw and real. There is little to no editing for the book format, so little of her emotion put into each post is lost. Overall, I enjoyed the book and found it to be a quick read.
February 11, 2016
If you want to try to understand everyday life in contemporary Cuba - read this!
If you want to understand how blogging, tweeting, etc. is having the profound impact it has in the 3rd world - read this! If you want to meet a very brave, strong, outspoken woman who writes with force, humor, and grace - read this!
Heck, even if none of those things appeal to you - read this book!
If you want to understand how blogging, tweeting, etc. is having the profound impact it has in the 3rd world - read this! If you want to meet a very brave, strong, outspoken woman who writes with force, humor, and grace - read this!
Heck, even if none of those things appeal to you - read this book!
Read
June 21, 2012This week I took Einstein, Blossom, and Ladybug in for their annual portraits. A toy store sits right next door to the portrait place. In the window sat Ladybug’s bliss: a giant plush Sesame Street Abby Cadabby doll. Abby easily stands four feet tall. Ladybug has talked about it for three days straight, and she has a birthday coming up. I love the idea of her opening a huge box on her birthday, finding Abby, and flinging her arms around Abby’s fairy wings, so I stopped to ask the price.
Well. It was prohibitive, at least when weighed against our usual spending range for birthdays. Plus, there’s no telling with kiddos. Maybe she would love it for years; maybe she’d ditch it in the corner after a few days. Either way, the cost was more than I was willing to pay.
In contrast, for the three authors whose books I’m reviewing this month, the costs faced could not stop wholehearted pursuit of a passion. In fact, paying the price left each of the women in a freer place than before. Anne Lamott, Yoani Sánchez, and Lauren Redniss delineate the workings of hearts entranced in their respective books Some Assembly Required, Havana Real, and Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout.
Anne Lamott, whether you find her infuriating or delightful, never shies away from facing up to her own faults. By her own admission, she loves to helpfully meddle in the lives of her people, and she ruefully confesses her realization that “helpful” often sounds like “interference.” However, Anne encounters, early in this account, a love she can’t ignore or resist: love for her newborn grandson, Jax, a baby whose pull is almost magnetic in its involuntary force.
In the wake of her love for Jax, Anne gives up (for the most part) something she might otherwise have justified, even to herself: her “right” to meddle with her son, and co-author, Sam and his girlfriend, Amy. Jax’s parents. Anne finds, to her astonishment, that as her love for Jax grows, so does her ability to allow Sam and Amy to parent as they will, to relate as they wish, to decide on their own future, and Jax’s, without her input. Or at least without all of it.
This ability allows her to embrace a shared moment with Sam at a Hindu meditation gathering. On a later trip to India, Anne receives a conference call arranged by the leader of that gathering. The ensuing conversation, mostly shouts from the leader, punctuated by bursts of affection from Sam, Amy, and Anne, leaves her laughing, crying, and grateful.
In true Lamott fashion, an irrepressible faith and sink-into-able love win out. Anne and Sam Lamott light the way for many who, as grandparents, will need to pay the cost of such an overwhelming love – the cost of keeping out of the parents’ finding their way. And Anne does this in a mostly gracious, always humorous, way when she writes, “Because I’m human, which is to say crazy in some respects, and some people who shall remain nameless tricked me into loving them too deeply and ruined my life.”
Though the humor is wryer in Havana Real, Yoani Sánchez’ collection of posts from her popular (and banned in her native Cuba) blog, Generación Y, Sánchez’ indelible optimism and determination comes through clearly. Sánchez, a native of Havana, moved to Switzerland in 2002, but returned to Cuba – against the advice of family and friends – in 2004. Determined to live freely, Yoani started her blog to tell her own story of her experience as an everyday Cuban facing difficulties under the longstanding Castro regime. Since then, as her book details, she has been blocked from her own blog when it was removed from public servers available in Cuba. But beyond that, officials keep her under surveillance, refuse her entrance to public gatherings, and have abducted and beaten her.
Still, Yoani blogs on, and not only writes her own blog, but trains other Cubans to begin their own blogs. From her efforts, dozens of Cubans are telling their stories to the world.
Why would she risk everything to do this? Why would she come back from living in comfort and freedom in Switzerland, putting herself in danger and by her own admission, giving her beloved son Teo a rockier childhood than he otherwise might have had? As I read, one main reason impressed itself on me: Yoani Sánchez loves her country and longs for its freedom more than she values her comfort. As she writes, “I have indeed committed a heinous offense: I have believed myself to be free… I refuse to accept the systematic swatting at my ‘rights as a citizen’… [T]hough I have never stolen anything from others, they want to ‘steal’ again and again, that which I believe belongs to me: an island, its dreams, its legacy.”
The legacy left by the subject of Lauren Redniss’ visually stunning book Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout, Marie Curie, is almost incalculable. Marie, born in Poland, emigrated to France to pursue a career in science. The first passion that caused her to leave something else behind was her love for Pierre Curie. Their work-and-love affair achieved an importance to Marie that even overrode her deep desire to return to Poland. Pierre, Redniss writes, “saw a woman who would not fetter his scientific ambitions but rather act as collaborator, muse, and guide.”
In a mix of haunting artwork, explanations of the Curies’ work, and modern-day uses and consequences of their discoveries (inkjet printers use technology that Pierre Curie invented), Redniss argues that the Curies’ devotion to their scientific careers gave them deep satisfaction. “With the constant companionship that accompanied their research, the Curies’ love deepened. They cosigned their published findings. Their handwritings intermingle in their notebooks.”
The Curies discovered radium and polonium (named for Marie’s beloved Poland), and spent years observing their effects. “The Curies had demonstrated the existence of radium and polonium through their radioactivity, but fellow scientists remained skeptical. It was as if the elements had been grasped only by shadows, and so could be considered no more definitive than, say, the word of a Spiritualist medium. Chemists in particular wanted to see them, to touch them. Only concrete evidence would be persuasive.”
It took the Curies four years to distill 1/10 of a gram of radium chloride from raw materials.
Passion for science, and their work with radium, cost them a great deal of time, but more importantly, it began to cost them their health. Marie was too ill to travel to Stockholm to accept their first Nobel Prize. She suffered miscarriages and developed fibrous lesions. Pierre grew so ill he had to resign his post at the Municipal School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry at the Sorbonne. Redniss writes, “Radioactivity had made the Curies immortal. Now it was killing them.”
Still, in the face of health concerns, Marie’s passion for scientific discovery allowed her to view her own symptoms as information, her own mortality useful in her pursuit of scientific advancement. She “chronicled her own deterioration as laboratory data,” including on her charts her temperature, color and amount of urine, and amount of pain.
Marie Curie died of anemia due to radiation exposure. She, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, had won two when she died. Her professorship at the Sorbonne was the first time in 650 years of the university’s existence that a woman earned one. Her daughter Irène won a Nobel Prize with her husband. Her granddaughter Hélène became a nuclear physicist, her grandson Pierre a biophysicist. The work she did with her husband has had lasting effects on our lives. Radiation is still used to fight cancer, to give one example, and of course atomic bombs come to mind.
For all of these women, a love stronger than their love for themselves caused them to consider what price this new love was worth. Thankfully, all three of these authors chose to chronicle devotion, to give us the chance to learn how to calculate and navigate those choices for ourselves.
Well. It was prohibitive, at least when weighed against our usual spending range for birthdays. Plus, there’s no telling with kiddos. Maybe she would love it for years; maybe she’d ditch it in the corner after a few days. Either way, the cost was more than I was willing to pay.
In contrast, for the three authors whose books I’m reviewing this month, the costs faced could not stop wholehearted pursuit of a passion. In fact, paying the price left each of the women in a freer place than before. Anne Lamott, Yoani Sánchez, and Lauren Redniss delineate the workings of hearts entranced in their respective books Some Assembly Required, Havana Real, and Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout.
Anne Lamott, whether you find her infuriating or delightful, never shies away from facing up to her own faults. By her own admission, she loves to helpfully meddle in the lives of her people, and she ruefully confesses her realization that “helpful” often sounds like “interference.” However, Anne encounters, early in this account, a love she can’t ignore or resist: love for her newborn grandson, Jax, a baby whose pull is almost magnetic in its involuntary force.
In the wake of her love for Jax, Anne gives up (for the most part) something she might otherwise have justified, even to herself: her “right” to meddle with her son, and co-author, Sam and his girlfriend, Amy. Jax’s parents. Anne finds, to her astonishment, that as her love for Jax grows, so does her ability to allow Sam and Amy to parent as they will, to relate as they wish, to decide on their own future, and Jax’s, without her input. Or at least without all of it.
This ability allows her to embrace a shared moment with Sam at a Hindu meditation gathering. On a later trip to India, Anne receives a conference call arranged by the leader of that gathering. The ensuing conversation, mostly shouts from the leader, punctuated by bursts of affection from Sam, Amy, and Anne, leaves her laughing, crying, and grateful.
In true Lamott fashion, an irrepressible faith and sink-into-able love win out. Anne and Sam Lamott light the way for many who, as grandparents, will need to pay the cost of such an overwhelming love – the cost of keeping out of the parents’ finding their way. And Anne does this in a mostly gracious, always humorous, way when she writes, “Because I’m human, which is to say crazy in some respects, and some people who shall remain nameless tricked me into loving them too deeply and ruined my life.”
Though the humor is wryer in Havana Real, Yoani Sánchez’ collection of posts from her popular (and banned in her native Cuba) blog, Generación Y, Sánchez’ indelible optimism and determination comes through clearly. Sánchez, a native of Havana, moved to Switzerland in 2002, but returned to Cuba – against the advice of family and friends – in 2004. Determined to live freely, Yoani started her blog to tell her own story of her experience as an everyday Cuban facing difficulties under the longstanding Castro regime. Since then, as her book details, she has been blocked from her own blog when it was removed from public servers available in Cuba. But beyond that, officials keep her under surveillance, refuse her entrance to public gatherings, and have abducted and beaten her.
Still, Yoani blogs on, and not only writes her own blog, but trains other Cubans to begin their own blogs. From her efforts, dozens of Cubans are telling their stories to the world.
Why would she risk everything to do this? Why would she come back from living in comfort and freedom in Switzerland, putting herself in danger and by her own admission, giving her beloved son Teo a rockier childhood than he otherwise might have had? As I read, one main reason impressed itself on me: Yoani Sánchez loves her country and longs for its freedom more than she values her comfort. As she writes, “I have indeed committed a heinous offense: I have believed myself to be free… I refuse to accept the systematic swatting at my ‘rights as a citizen’… [T]hough I have never stolen anything from others, they want to ‘steal’ again and again, that which I believe belongs to me: an island, its dreams, its legacy.”
The legacy left by the subject of Lauren Redniss’ visually stunning book Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout, Marie Curie, is almost incalculable. Marie, born in Poland, emigrated to France to pursue a career in science. The first passion that caused her to leave something else behind was her love for Pierre Curie. Their work-and-love affair achieved an importance to Marie that even overrode her deep desire to return to Poland. Pierre, Redniss writes, “saw a woman who would not fetter his scientific ambitions but rather act as collaborator, muse, and guide.”
In a mix of haunting artwork, explanations of the Curies’ work, and modern-day uses and consequences of their discoveries (inkjet printers use technology that Pierre Curie invented), Redniss argues that the Curies’ devotion to their scientific careers gave them deep satisfaction. “With the constant companionship that accompanied their research, the Curies’ love deepened. They cosigned their published findings. Their handwritings intermingle in their notebooks.”
The Curies discovered radium and polonium (named for Marie’s beloved Poland), and spent years observing their effects. “The Curies had demonstrated the existence of radium and polonium through their radioactivity, but fellow scientists remained skeptical. It was as if the elements had been grasped only by shadows, and so could be considered no more definitive than, say, the word of a Spiritualist medium. Chemists in particular wanted to see them, to touch them. Only concrete evidence would be persuasive.”
It took the Curies four years to distill 1/10 of a gram of radium chloride from raw materials.
Passion for science, and their work with radium, cost them a great deal of time, but more importantly, it began to cost them their health. Marie was too ill to travel to Stockholm to accept their first Nobel Prize. She suffered miscarriages and developed fibrous lesions. Pierre grew so ill he had to resign his post at the Municipal School of Industrial Physics and Chemistry at the Sorbonne. Redniss writes, “Radioactivity had made the Curies immortal. Now it was killing them.”
Still, in the face of health concerns, Marie’s passion for scientific discovery allowed her to view her own symptoms as information, her own mortality useful in her pursuit of scientific advancement. She “chronicled her own deterioration as laboratory data,” including on her charts her temperature, color and amount of urine, and amount of pain.
Marie Curie died of anemia due to radiation exposure. She, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, had won two when she died. Her professorship at the Sorbonne was the first time in 650 years of the university’s existence that a woman earned one. Her daughter Irène won a Nobel Prize with her husband. Her granddaughter Hélène became a nuclear physicist, her grandson Pierre a biophysicist. The work she did with her husband has had lasting effects on our lives. Radiation is still used to fight cancer, to give one example, and of course atomic bombs come to mind.
For all of these women, a love stronger than their love for themselves caused them to consider what price this new love was worth. Thankfully, all three of these authors chose to chronicle devotion, to give us the chance to learn how to calculate and navigate those choices for ourselves.
February 14, 2018
Amazing account of what life was like in Havana about ten years ago - by a woman who decides she will not be intimidated into silence. The book is made up of blog posts that each tell a story of daily life - the shortages of food, repression of dissent, impacts of new ways to communicate over the Internet, restrictions on travel and other opportunity, corruption in government, the necessity of having a black market to survive, and disappearance of hope for a better future that leads the best and brightest to leave. A great account of what it's like to live in a Communist dictatorship after the thrill of the revolution gives way to rule by a new elite.
September 14, 2022
I would honestly still recommend this book even though I gave it a low rating. It is a valuable read, and there is so little to read about life in Cuba (I welcome any recommendations). I just didn’t love the style and format of the book. I still value the information inside.
July 22, 2023
interesting firsthand account
The book made me grateful to live in a country known for its freedom. I don’t think I could be as brave as Yoani Sanchez, and I appreciate that quality about her, reflected in her blogs.
This book is easy to read and understand.
The book made me grateful to live in a country known for its freedom. I don’t think I could be as brave as Yoani Sanchez, and I appreciate that quality about her, reflected in her blogs.
This book is easy to read and understand.
November 26, 2017
Sobering reality of everyday life in a broken state. Communism i leads to inward finger pointing then destructive deconstruction of human flourishing.
March 29, 2019
Actually, the blogs are good, but dated. It did encourage me to find the current blogs on-line.
August 9, 2025
#全球作家阅读计划# 之古巴。作为一个全网真名上网的女权主义者，感叹作者真的好勇敢呀。回到古巴、写古巴的政治、写古巴的日常，并出版了这些书。实在是很能和某段时期的老中相联系，或许所有的xxxx国家都比较类似吧。哎。
December 11, 2020
Review to come (hopefully). However, for now I will say that if you are interested in learning about the lived experiences of Cubans on the island, read this book. While Yoani's blog posts in the book cover 2007-2010 many of the problems she discusses are still felt today.
December 4, 2018
Yoani Sanchez portraits the day to day life of a Cuban with honesty and beautiful descriptive narrative. Thru Yoani's writings we learn that the average Cuban not aligned with the regime often faces shortages of water, food, and quality housing and medical care. The mood in her story varies from the yearning compassionate grief for the company of a dissident friend in prison to the indignation for the use of children as agricultural laborers and to the boring conforming indifference to the constant bombardment of the Castro regime's propaganda machine in television and other media. Thru her pages we become aware of the lack of freedom of expression and media that has resulted in an insensitive and repressive regime that is not accountable to anyone. Whether it is he reliance on the black market for basic food items and services, the poor housing conditions and medical care, there is much corruption and lack of accountability within the Castro government and this makes day to day life for the average Cuban a real challenge.
July 6, 2012
Havana Real includes some of the texts that Yoani Sánchez, the most famous Cuban blogger, have posted on her blog over a long period of time, and which in a very direct I’d dare say way, manage to dissolve the illusions of all those people in the west, especially Europe, that still think that Cuba is a socialist paradise of sorts.
Sánchez is, even though it would be unfair to label her, the voice of generation Y (the Greek Y and not the Latin as she’s fast to point out), as far as her homeland is concerned, since through her posts in the internet she has managed to shine a light on the other side of her country, the one the hordes of tourists never see and the comrades of faraway lands choose to ignore.
She writes about the oppression of the people by a ruthless regime, the widespread poverty, the corruption, and the intimidation tactics that are often used against the opponents of the state, the collapse of the health and education systems and the lack of critical for survival supplies in the markets. And she invites or rather dares all those people who claim that they sympathize with the hardships of the Cuban people to: “Come here and live as Cubans for a week. Then we can talk.”
Her mantra is, paraphrasing president Obama: “Yes, we want.” And they want nothing more but the basics: bread, education, freedom, in a country where someone can end up in jail for being predisposed to commit a crime.
1984 is there, and it really looks bad.
Sánchez is, even though it would be unfair to label her, the voice of generation Y (the Greek Y and not the Latin as she’s fast to point out), as far as her homeland is concerned, since through her posts in the internet she has managed to shine a light on the other side of her country, the one the hordes of tourists never see and the comrades of faraway lands choose to ignore.
She writes about the oppression of the people by a ruthless regime, the widespread poverty, the corruption, and the intimidation tactics that are often used against the opponents of the state, the collapse of the health and education systems and the lack of critical for survival supplies in the markets. And she invites or rather dares all those people who claim that they sympathize with the hardships of the Cuban people to: “Come here and live as Cubans for a week. Then we can talk.”
Her mantra is, paraphrasing president Obama: “Yes, we want.” And they want nothing more but the basics: bread, education, freedom, in a country where someone can end up in jail for being predisposed to commit a crime.
1984 is there, and it really looks bad.
June 17, 2014
This book took me almost a year to read. Not because it was particularly tedious, but because the book is a selection of blog posts that can stand alone. While the posts sometimes are related, for the most part each post is a sort of one-shot. I am inspired by Yoaní's bravery as a person, however whether due to the writing (or translation), she often seemed extremely naive. There were many interesting scenes and thoughts, but at times it seemed impractical and, occasionally self righteous (which she may be entitled to be).
I think that this book would be better in its original form, as a blog, with posts corresponding timewise with the events to which they are related. The book has a very clear bias and is what I would call activist literature, whereas for my personal interest I was hoping to have a more comprehensive history.
To end on a positive note though, I'll share my two favorite lines/food for thought from the book:
"He still has nightmares about boats that take him back to Cuba in handcuffs, smelling of salt and oil. He wakes up and looks around to confirm that he is still in the little apartment he rented with a girlfriend. 'Once a rafter, always a rafter,' he muses, turning his pillow over and trying to dream on solid ground." (P. 194)
"Language can validate or bury any utopia." (P.150)
All in all an interesting topic, but her ideas would be better served in smaller pieces, rather than as a part of a book.
I think that this book would be better in its original form, as a blog, with posts corresponding timewise with the events to which they are related. The book has a very clear bias and is what I would call activist literature, whereas for my personal interest I was hoping to have a more comprehensive history.
To end on a positive note though, I'll share my two favorite lines/food for thought from the book:
"He still has nightmares about boats that take him back to Cuba in handcuffs, smelling of salt and oil. He wakes up and looks around to confirm that he is still in the little apartment he rented with a girlfriend. 'Once a rafter, always a rafter,' he muses, turning his pillow over and trying to dream on solid ground." (P. 194)
"Language can validate or bury any utopia." (P.150)
All in all an interesting topic, but her ideas would be better served in smaller pieces, rather than as a part of a book.
December 17, 2011
Yoani Sanchez is a brave woman. She is a woman who believes in speaking her mind in any way that she can, to let the world outside know what things are really like in her home country of Cuba.
She has a blog that she updates when/if she can in all kinds of clever ways (including disguising herself so she can use internet cafes). This book is a collection of her blog posts and they weave themselves together to paint a picture of a country in serious trouble.
People hunting all over town for something like dish soap, others having to rely on the black market in order to get some of the few things that they need to make food. People who only are able to bathe once a week out of a bucket, since their home only gets water once a week.
The government tried to stop her not just through intimidation and the revoking of privileges, but they go so far as to kidnap her and beat her up before dumping her on the side of the road.
Things are hidden so well from the outside, I'm sure that we all have ideas as to what things are like there, but Sanchez finally sheds light on some of the really sad things that the Cuban government is doing to its people.
Sanchez is a revolutionary and this book is very interesting and heartbreaking to read.
*** 1/2 = glad I read it, I enjoyed it
Copy provided by NetGalley
She has a blog that she updates when/if she can in all kinds of clever ways (including disguising herself so she can use internet cafes). This book is a collection of her blog posts and they weave themselves together to paint a picture of a country in serious trouble.
People hunting all over town for something like dish soap, others having to rely on the black market in order to get some of the few things that they need to make food. People who only are able to bathe once a week out of a bucket, since their home only gets water once a week.
The government tried to stop her not just through intimidation and the revoking of privileges, but they go so far as to kidnap her and beat her up before dumping her on the side of the road.
Things are hidden so well from the outside, I'm sure that we all have ideas as to what things are like there, but Sanchez finally sheds light on some of the really sad things that the Cuban government is doing to its people.
Sanchez is a revolutionary and this book is very interesting and heartbreaking to read.
*** 1/2 = glad I read it, I enjoyed it
Copy provided by NetGalley
February 4, 2012
Havana Real by Yoani Sanchez is a collection of her posts from Generation Y, a blog she maintains through the help of friends in Spain. Cuba is none to keen on allowing internet access, especially blog access, so maintaining a blog under these conditions takes a certain amount of creativity and a hell of a lot of gumption.
The Melville House book presents Sanchez's blog posts in chronological order and they are left to stand for themselves. Sanchez outlines how things work, or more often than not, don't work in her neighborhood, and in Cuba as a whole. There are a number of entries devoted to keeping the apartment building working, including the cranky elevator which hasn't seen proper maintenance in years. There are some universal posts about being a parent.
What's missing, though, is editorial comment. The blog is well written but it is still a blog. Printing a blog in book format doesn't automatically make it a book. Some extra commentary to bring in the big picture, either as side bars or footnotes, would have make this an extraordinary book. As it stands, it's a collection of blog posts made under usual circumstances, that taken out of that context, read not all that different from any other blog.
Read via NetGalley
The Melville House book presents Sanchez's blog posts in chronological order and they are left to stand for themselves. Sanchez outlines how things work, or more often than not, don't work in her neighborhood, and in Cuba as a whole. There are a number of entries devoted to keeping the apartment building working, including the cranky elevator which hasn't seen proper maintenance in years. There are some universal posts about being a parent.
What's missing, though, is editorial comment. The blog is well written but it is still a blog. Printing a blog in book format doesn't automatically make it a book. Some extra commentary to bring in the big picture, either as side bars or footnotes, would have make this an extraordinary book. As it stands, it's a collection of blog posts made under usual circumstances, that taken out of that context, read not all that different from any other blog.
Read via NetGalley
August 17, 2012
I read this collection of essays, or rather this collection of blog posts, before traveling to Cuba. It gave me a Habanera perspective without the Neverneverland idealism associated with socialism. Not the most compelling writing in its style, diction, or tone, but the sense of urgency is palpable. To post, to be heard, and to assert one's voice are the goals here.
My recent visit confirmed that public spaces are highly regulated in Cuba; Cubans cannot, as you may have gathered from Sánchez’s posts, enter hotels to visit their foreign colleagues. The government also restricts who can frequent the various eateries: paladars, cafeterias, and other venues. My friend and I went to Coppelia, the well-known heladeria and we were guided to the tourist, CUC section. The two currency system seems to only benefit the government and limits (disingenuously) what tourists can experience—at a higher price. We should have been advised to exchange our dollars into pesos, something I would advise any traveler to do.
Sánchez’s posts confirm that life in Cuba is hard. And while the billboard and painted slogans aim to instill hope and patience, how much longer are Cuba’s citizens expected to sustain their faith in the revolución ?
My recent visit confirmed that public spaces are highly regulated in Cuba; Cubans cannot, as you may have gathered from Sánchez’s posts, enter hotels to visit their foreign colleagues. The government also restricts who can frequent the various eateries: paladars, cafeterias, and other venues. My friend and I went to Coppelia, the well-known heladeria and we were guided to the tourist, CUC section. The two currency system seems to only benefit the government and limits (disingenuously) what tourists can experience—at a higher price. We should have been advised to exchange our dollars into pesos, something I would advise any traveler to do.
Sánchez’s posts confirm that life in Cuba is hard. And while the billboard and painted slogans aim to instill hope and patience, how much longer are Cuba’s citizens expected to sustain their faith in the revolución ?
January 13, 2014
I bought this book from Melville House publishers at ALA Annual 2013, because I wish to know more about Cuba and I've been trying to read more nonfiction. Its an unusual book since its put together from Yoani Sanchez's blog entries over the course of three years. This made it hard for me to get into the book, because it jumps around the way that blog entries do at times going from a personal story to a record of activism and other issues in between. The writing was good and her story of what it means to be living in Cuba and fighting for a better future is important. I wish that I knew Spanish so I could read her words in her own language.
This is a book I would recommend to anyone who's curious about Cuba. Its a fast read and a good one to dip into and out of due to how its organized.
This is a book I would recommend to anyone who's curious about Cuba. Its a fast read and a good one to dip into and out of due to how its organized.
August 23, 2012
Wow! On my recent tour of Cuba, my tour guide told us "You will learn much about Cuba this week, but you will not understand." I speak Spanish, was able to talk to the people, and I thought I had gotten a pretty good idea of what was going on there. My jaw dropped on every page as I read about what you don't see, what you don't hear, and what you have no possible way of understanding in this communist nation. I was absolutely fascinated by the honesty of this writer who still lives in Cuba risks her life every day while she writes a dissident blog in which she peels back the facade and tells it like it is. If you want to know what is really happening in this beautiful but crumbling nation, this is the book for you!
June 13, 2014
I am Cuba obsessed lately so this was another piece of the puzzle. I am seeking an overall understanding of this island, not sure that is possible but it's my goal. This book is a collection of blog entries translated to English. Blog entries are just that, not a book. There wasn't a plot or even a cohesive wholeness to the various posts.
But it did provide another view of Cuba, one that was unrelentingly sad. I was glad to finish the book as it was sobering to read about the lives of deprivation that this woman and her family live.
If you are a Cuba nut, you will probably find it interesting, otherwise probably not.
But it did provide another view of Cuba, one that was unrelentingly sad. I was glad to finish the book as it was sobering to read about the lives of deprivation that this woman and her family live.
If you are a Cuba nut, you will probably find it interesting, otherwise probably not.
July 8, 2011
A young woman in Cuba writes abut daily life in Cuba as it really is not as the official version says it is. The Internet has aloud her to voice her ideas, frustrations and stories in her blog Generation Y. She talks about food shortages, lack of housing, shortages in every aspect of life but more importantly the lack of freedom to speak without intimidation and retribution. This is a fascinating book by a very courageous woman. I'm only part way through but it's a must read.
Just finished this book, I'm overwhelmed with the courage of this woman.
Just finished this book, I'm overwhelmed with the courage of this woman.
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