Playing With Light: A Novel [Paperback]

Beatriz Rivera (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2000

Rebecca Barrios, a well-to-do Miami housewife (and she hates being called that, by the way), has decided to revive the old Cuban tradition of the tertulia - a women's get-together.

Buying some beautiful white wicker rocking chairs for her porch is the easy part. Convincing old friends to congregate from all over town every Friday is more difficult, until the resourceful Becky hits upon the idea of a reading group. The book that las girlfriends finally settle upon is an obscure historical novel set in nineteenth-century Havana. Its title? PLAYING WITH LIGHT.

Oddly, as the friends progress ever deeper into the story, strange things begin to happen to them, one by one . . .

Two worlds - the fictional and the real, the American and the Cuban, the living present and the (supposedly) dead past - begin to intertwine in unsettling ways. As what once seemed a light-hearted, even comic, fantasy builds slowly to a powerful and disturbing climax, Rebecca Barrios can't help but wonder what kind of story they've all gotten themselves into.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Havana-born RiveraAauthor of the well-received Midnight Sandwiches at the Mariposa ExpressAreaffirms her reputation with this innovative allegory on the pitfalls of human vice and the redemptive power of literature. The story takes place in two settingsAone in present-day, upper-class Miami, where Rebecca Atkins, n?e Barrios, decides to start a book discussion circle with several women friends (a character from Rivera's previous novel makes an appearance here), and one in the past, in historical 19th-century Cuba among the wealthy Santa Cruz family, factory owners in the lucrative garment industry and their toiling workers. The various Cubans immerse themselves in books as a means, depending on their circumstances, of transformation, amusement or escape from harsh realities. The expertly handled twist is that the historical characters are reading the story of the Miami characters and vice versa. Eventually, the two worlds collide, leaving the reader dazzled by the implications. This clever device allows Rivera to present sharp social satire and expose a variety of ethical issues ranging from slavery and exploitation of workers, to sexism, adultery, eating disorders and the destructive search for bodily perfection. Unraveling and exploring the parallels among the sets of characters adds an entertaining dimension to the narrative. As the characters endeavor to reconstruct themselves (changing names, dieting and bingeing, etc.), Rivera also makes an incisive statement about the constructed realities and projections of authors and readers. At times, Rivera tries too hard to reinforce links to time and identity, bombarding readers with heavy-handed clues; at other times she succeeds by introducing chapters with intriguing quotes from literary and political figures. An inventive, provocative oddity, this is a tantalizing work that draws readers into an engrossing twilight world. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Fans of the Cuban-born Rivera's Midnight Sandwiches at the Mariposa Express will be delighted with her latest novel. Set alternately in contemporary Miami and Havana a century ago, the story interweaves the lives and fates of several generations of women. Using the idea of a tertuliaDa women's gatheringDRivera captures the energy and confusion of dozens of voices talking at once. She also catches the essence of the frustration and restlessness that briefly pulls a group of Cuban American women together for a reading group and ultimately pushes them apart again. As the Miami women wish for the passions found in a story of 19th-century Havana, their fictional counterparts dream of the bright future world of Miami. Jealousy, revolution, resignation, and hope leap between the centuries, bringing no new answers but still changing lives. Recommended for fiction collections of all libraries.DJan Blodgett, Davidson Coll. Lib., NC
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Arte Publico Pr; 1st edition (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558853103
• ISBN-13: 978-1558853102
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,587,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The photo is courtesy of the Abington Journal/Joan Mead-Matsui.
I was born in Cuba, raised in Miami, finished high school in Switzerland, spent the next ten years of my life in Paris, France, where I earned a master's degree in Philosophy. After that I moved to New York, then New Jersey, then back to New York and in the meantime I earned a PhD and had several novels publised. Now I am an Associate Professor at Penn State University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YUCA!!, June 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Playing With Light: A Novel (Paperback)

"Playing With Light" is a wonderful novel set in the modern back drop of the lives of YUCA's in Miami. Rebecca, the main character, decides to lead a tertulia on Fridays at her house, an old Cuban book reading held outside by women. As she plans to gather her old friends, memories of growing up Cuban in Miami flood her mind and mingle with the lives of the characters in the book they choose. Written in a super charged Spanglish, often in chain of thought fashion. Beatriz Rivera has created a delicious book that is sure to be inlcuded in Hispanic literature classes.