Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood [Hardcover]

Pablo Medina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1990

A happy, middle-class childhood lived in the shadows of sweeping social change and oncoming revolution -- such was the experience of novelist Pablo Medina. In this memoir, Medina revisits his curious double world, recalling the pre-revolutionary Cuba of his first twelve years, 1948-1960. His recollections move easily from his childhood adventures to warm remembrances of family and friends to his growing awareness of the social conflicts that would ultimately send his family into exile in the United States. Medina also draws on the memories of his elders to extend his memoir back to the Cuban War of Independence and forward through the twentieth century to the fall of the Batista regime, the victory of the Revolution in 1959, and the family's growing disillusionment with the Castro regime. This first paperback edition also includes a new Epilogue describing Medina's visit to Cuba in 1999.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Medina left Cuba with his family at the age of 12. In this short, personal memoir, he depicts a happy, middle-class childhood in pre-revolutionary Cuba in brief vignettes. He also shares the experience of being transplanted to the United States. He writes from the heart, seeking to recapture the essence of being Cuban despite the 30-year effort of Castro to transform Cuba. Medina's style is filled with telling detail and humorous, insightful anecdotes. With the rapid changes in the Communist world in the past year, Cuba may again before too long be seeking its pre-revolutionary past. This volume provides one person's view of what that life was like. For general readers.
- James Rhodes, Luther Coll., Decorah, Ia.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Medina writes from the heart, seeking to recapture the essence of being Cuban... telling detail and humorous, insightful anecdotes. -- Library Journal

Medina...has a prose style as clear and fresh as a newly split mango. -- Houston Chronicle

Scenes, situations, and anecdotes splash from the pages... -- Trenton Times --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 119 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Texas Pr; 1st edition (October 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292776365
• ISBN-13: 978-0292776364
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,587,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pablo Medina is the author of 13 books of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and translation. Until the age of 12, he lived in Havana, Cuba, then moved with his family to New York City, where his culture shock was softened by snow and by countless visits to the New York Public Library. His work has appeared in major periodicals in the United States and abroad. Currently, he lives in Boston, MA, and teaches at Emerson College.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Gift, September 26, 2011

By 

Alayne - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood (Paperback)

This book is incredible! It is everything a book should be. It will take you to another place and another time. It will make you laugh and cry and think. Pablo Medina shares from deep crevices of his heart and delves into memories that can only be wrapped in his very soul while unveiling some very real universal truths. It was a true pleasure to read. Each word and sentence is saturated in a way only such a master poet could be capable of. Buy this one for friends and family and anyone who has ever lived anywhere other than the U.S., anybody who has ever yearned to go home, and for those who are not even sure where home is.

5.0 out of 5 stars No Complaints, September 25, 2011

By 

Lori Ann Valek (Apache Junction, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood (Paperback)

The book was brand new so there were no issues with condition and it arrived exactly on time. I had to purchase this book for a class. In the context of the class, it was an informative short book but not one that I would have read if it weren't for the class.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read, July 10, 2000

By 

Moray Maxwell (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exiled Memories: A Cuban Childhood (Hardcover)

Pablo Medina's memoirs of growing up in Cuba are so engaging that the reader imagines he, too, has grown up on that tropical island in the 1950's.