'I was born in 1934 in a little lost village near San Cristobel de Torondoy eleven months after my brother. Unlike him, who was astonishingly handsome, I was astonishingly ugly. I was covered in black hair from head to foot like some kind of monkey. For some reason my ear-drums burst within days of my birth. The local doctor told my mother "This little boy is not going to live, and if he does, he's going to be daft or half-witted". But against all the hopes of the family, it was my brother who died, and I survived.' This extraordinary novel is based on a true story of a revolutionary who was advisor to Castro, friend of President Salvador Allende, and married to a woman who became one of the leaders of the Kurdish rebellion in Iran. There is a poignancy in his life, forever underlined by the leading roles thrown on him - like hoopla rings at a fair. Code-named Otto, he became an enemy of both the KGB and the CIA and all by chance, by a twist of fate, or by someone else's design. From the mountains of Venezuela, to the streets of Paris, from the heart of Cuba to rain-drenched London, this is a fabulous and picaresque journey of the lives and loves (plenty of those) of an astonishing man.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
This fictional autobiography of one of the 20th century's more colorful, if obscure, revolutionaries presents a delightful ramble through five decades of international political intrigue while connecting the dots among dozens of armed revolts. Narrated by Oswaldo Barreto Miliani, a Venezuelan intellectual, Communist revolutionary and social philosopher, the book—part apology and part corrective—follows Barreto from his birth in San Cristobal in 1934 up to the present. His ostensible purpose is threefold: to set the record straight about his exploits, to offer his view of post–Cold War communism and world revolution and to present an entertaining narrative, rife with irony and good humor, but marked by the ultimate loss of ideals. Although he remains a committed Marxist, Oswaldo loses faith in the practical application of communism. Terán (The Hacienda) renders Oswaldo as an erudite, candid, witty commentator as she unspools a narrative that reads like a who's who of world revolution. Cameos of Che, Castro, Lukás, Ben Barka, Allende and many others propel the story forward, and Barreto's on-and-off romance with his Persian wife, Vida, keeps his personal life lively. Although dense and sometimes redundant, the narrative entices and fascinates with its breadth and scope. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
Review
Reviews for SOUTHPAW: 'The collection contains some of St Aubin de Teran's most satisfying work to date ... An absorbing storyteller, St Aubin finds other people's life stories even more enchanted than her own' INDEPENDENT 'A jubilant sense of place pervades the stories, together with the smell of woodsmoke, acacia blossom and the day's baking' SUNDAY TRIBUNE
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cervantes meets Castro and other revolutionaries.,
By
This review is from: Swallowing Stones: A Novel (Paperback)
I had never heard of the author or the book, but bought it as one of three books to sustain me on a two-week trip in Asia. On more than one occasion, I was asked by strangers what I was reading that made me lol. This is, quite simply, one of the best books that I have ever read. There is a sadness over the failures of human nature with a sweetness and lyrical humor. More than once, I thought of Cervantes. Only here, you get Castro and a whole, wide, cast of characters. A classic.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
silya the translator::),
By celia zz (istanbul-turkey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Otto (Hardcover)
hi:) this is my first time writing a review... and I am so proud that I am writing this review for the book I am translating from English to Turkish:) I can say that this book is fascinating. Teran has made her best efforts for writing this book. Otto is a great character, who has a very very different life than you would imagine... I am laughing and I am crying at some pages... but I am really having fun while reading and translating:) so, what I can say is that you really have to buy and read this book and have a journey throughout in otto's life which passed on the WORLD:)
5.0 out of 5 stars
incredibly good, funny, interesting,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Swallowing Stones: A Novel (Paperback)
Can this book really been written by a woman? Lisa St. Aubin de Teran must have had a lot of information from people like Oswaldo, the narrator in this book, to be able to tell his story. It is all so believable, I caught myself trying to figure out who this person could have been!There are a lot of very funny and amusing things going on in Oswaldo's life, but the overall message is almost scary. I'm not going to reveal anything, you have to read it for yourself. It surely helped me understand a little more about guerillas, terrorists and people who are dissatisfied with life in their country or the world. A nice extra is the information about things that have been going on in the world only a few decades ago. It can make you remember -if you're a little older- or wondering -if you're still young-. It took me some time to finish this book, because once in a while I wanted to read something simpler, but finishing it was worth it. Excellent book choice for serious readers!
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