11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beutiful fictional documentation of historical conumdrum, February 6, 2002
By A Customer
I was very dissappointed to read a recent review from an reader in W. VA, I believe, referring to the lack of plot and character development in Obejas' "Days of Awe." The book is, in fact, a historical documentation, beautifully portrayed through the difficult realizations of a young woman with regard to the rich, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic complexity that all Cubans must face with regard to their cultural identity. I, personally, was awed by this booked that so lovelingly and gently depicts a story that touches on the cultural identity of the Island of Cuba, rather than its political confusion and turmoil. Obejas manages to take us on a reflective journey, maintaining a clear through line, that may not be linear, but certainly carefully crafted, with characters that personify the very essence that is the diverse and complicated result of Cuba's wealth of humanity and cultural history.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting, October 31, 2001
DAYS OF AWE is written beautifully, the work of a skilled author. An enormous amount of research had to have gone into this novel, and it shows. There are multiple sets of historical detail, any one set of which would have been sufficient for a compelling manuscript.
First, there is the background of life in Cuba before Fidel Castro came to power. There is the conflict of those who made their escape from Fidel's Cuba and the report of life in Cuba today. And there is the story of the life of the Cuban immigrant to the United States. All of these subplots are revealed skillfully by the author.
Additionally, there is the far lesser known history of the "Marranos," the Jews of Medieval Spain who pretended to become Christians to escape the Inquisition. Five centuries later, some of these Marranos yet have descendants who are practicing, still in hiding, their version of the Jewish religion. Some of those persecuted in 1492 made their ways to Cuba--even on the ships of Columbus--and the father of the heroine of this novel is descended from one of these very refugees.
So this is a book that comes close to greatness. The main characters never succeed in engaging the reader, however. And, ultimately, the story arc itself seems pointless. Still, the virtue of DAYS OF AWE is in the details.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
an "encanto" of a book!, October 1, 2001
"Revolutions happen, I'm convinced, because intuition tells us we're meant for a greater world (a better life) ... I've got my own revolution," -- so begins Alejandra San Jose, the novel's narrator, and Achy Obejas in the opening lines of this literary feast, as writer and storyteller bring their stories to life.
Obejas, at one point in her paragraphs, enlightens her uninformed readers with the awareness that the "Days of Awe" (the title of her book) refer(s) to the calendar span of time between the Jewish Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement); and, although the novel is filled with religious and Cuban Revolutionary references, I have had NO CHOICE in my interpretation of the title as, more importantly, giving reference to Alejandra's life - the span of days from her timely and important, significant birth (New Year's Day - January 1st) to her own present-day "atonement" for her sin of having turned her back on her other/Cuban self and life. A betrayal which has led to an ongoing internal struggle and exhausting search for an identity -- "an overwhelming feeling produced by that which is grand, sublime."
As an adult, Alejandra comes to realize that her ex(iting)-lovers are not the only ones who see a stranger when they look into her eyes; and she learns that she must first "find herself" if she is ever to "be found" (loved) by another. Thus, she goes off in search of a recognizable reflection -- an encounter with an "unmasked, vulnerable self" who dwells deeply submerged in the waters of a past that has been "echado en el olvido" of another time.
We hear Ale ask herself: "Who am I ...?" -- then answer her own question, "I'm a stranger ... when I stand alone before the mirror ... who will see my naked beauty, who will love me now?"
"Not an expert swimmer (water = emotion?), when (Ale is) submerged completely, (she recognizes) a longing to belong" -- to Cuba/to a past/to someone/to anyone!? --- to Celina(?), "the extraordinary, stunning, beautiful girl with caramel-kissed skin" -- (who teases Obejas's readers as much as she does Alejandra!) -- Perhaps Celina represents that which is unattainable/elusive/out of Ale's pre-reconciled reach --- perhaps she represents (the promise and fulfillment of) love (?) -- At the very least, she is Ale's "fantasy" .... maybe even Ale herself ... (after all, she muses loudly and clearly to an "awakening" Ale near the novel's end: "I was wondering when you'd show up.")
For Celina/Ale, once the past has been explored and a better understanding reached ..... "esta escampando" -- the gray skies are clearing up!
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A thoroughly engrossing and engaging narrative -- filled with historical and religious references, and sprinkled with playful verbal (untranslatable) ponderings -- a true "encanto" of a book!
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