Singing to Cuba [Paperback]

Margarita Engle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

a novel by Cubano-American Los Angeles native

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The narrator of this pleasantly rambling first novel is a Cuban-American poet raised in Harlem who returns to Cuba to visit relatives and to let them know that they are remembered by their family in exile. When a cousin, fearful of the Castro regime, requests that she not use his name in writing about the experience, she responds, "I'm just a nature poet. I write very small, insignificant little things about trees and flowers, birds, insects, things like that." In fact, the novel deals with human nature: the "Maximum Leader" and his tyranny, the ways in which people adjust to shortages, and the nostalgia that the narrator feels for the summers she spent in Cuba as a girl. There is no plot per se, but it is a joy to travel along with Engle's narrator as she observes the way Cubans blow kisses to tourists who are virtually stealing food out of their mouths, and as her cousin explains how subversive songwriters find ways to encode anti-Castro lyrics, like the tune in which William Tell's son grows tired of holding an apple on his head. The title refers to "Singers to Cuba," a group that travels around singing (forbidden) religious songs and asking for guidance from God.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Although technically a work of fiction, this volume by the author of Smoketree (High-Coo Pr., 1983) is based on her recent trip to Cuba to tell relatives they had not been forgotten. The result is a less subjective tale than one might ordinarily expect to find in a novel. Engle's stories about relatives, both living and dead, impart a lot of Cuban history; in the present day, she finds captive towns, ubiquitous informers, and severe shortages. Her choppy writing style, perhaps intentional, frequently gives the book a journalistic tone that makes it resemble a news bulletin. Sharp volleys between this style and passages dominated by poetic images (such as angels and demons struggling over possession of the island) can be quite jolting, but so can a country in which idealistic young singers try to uplift the people as human rights violations pull them down. Recommended for general readers.
- Susan M. Olcott, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., Ohio
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: Arte Publico Press (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558850708
• ISBN-13: 978-1558850705
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,250,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Singing to Cuba, August 22, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing to Cuba (Paperback)

I am also a Cuban-American who was very touched by this story......the feeling of pride and exultation at the resilience and ingenuity of my people....the lump in the throat and sadness at the same time as my spirit soared as I immersed myself in the book. Things I remembered as I read the book: the indomitable spirit of my Cuban grandmother, the music, dancing and singing, the stately royal palms, the legend of Guanaroca. My beautiful hometown, Cienfuegos, "the Pearl of the South". Trinidad, that exquisite centuries old jewel encased in the Escambray Mountains. The smell of guayaba and taste of mamonsillo. The do or die attitute of the guajiros. The sound and beautiful plumage of the tocororo.....El Sabor de Cuba. So many memories held against my heart. This story is the story of every Cuban family. Those who stayed and those who left....and those who have been torn apart.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative, truthful story of the situation in Cuba ., November 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Singing to Cuba (Paperback)

As a Cuban American, I found this book to be sensitively written. I identified with the characters, learned a little of my native country's history and much about her heritage and culture. I was moved by the plight of the characters,since I know that the story is very close to reality. I recommend this book to anyone wishing to know the truth about Cuba. It is beautifully and imaginatively written, a pleasure to read and experience, as is the author's other novel, Skywriting.