Es Cuba: Life and Love on an Illegal Island (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The first new word I learned in Cuba was sobornar, to bribe..." (more)
Key Phrases: illegal island, fiancé visa, louvered blinds, Hotel El Bosque, Centro Habana, Animas Street (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Love is the operative word in journalist Aschkenas's intimate, detailed memoir of 10 months spent exploring life in Cuba—love for a young Cuban man whose devotion largely defines her journey. In February 2000, shortly after the Elián Gonzalez custody battle became the cause célèbre for nationalists, Aschkenas goes to Cuba for a language program with an American social justice organization. As a tourist, she is housed in an exclusive hotel in a wealthy Havana neighborhood, removed from the dirt-poor, hand-to-mouth struggling Cubans, whose average monthly salary is $12. She soon meets Alfredo, a black-skinned stage technician who teaches her to eschew "la vida plastica" in order to learn about the "real Cuba" of argot, bribery (a dollar gets her practically anything she needs), machismo, El Bombo (the visa lottery that allows Cubans to immigrate to the U.S.) and racism. Aschkenas gradually moves to a shared house in Centro Habana (inner-city Havana) run by several generations of Cuban women who enlighten her on feminist revolutionary history. Throughout, she and Alfredo learn to readjust their assumed ideas of nationality and politics as Aschkenas continually confronts the lesson "of how little in Cuba is as it appears on the surface." (Jan.)
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Product Description

Es Cuba is a poignant and passionate travel memoir about falling in love with a country and one of its compatriots. Aschkenas never strays from her acute awareness that there is no way to separate her foreignness (intensified by U.S.-Cuba relations) from the complex mix of emotions, devotion and rejection, enrapture and apprehension that she develops toward the country.

Her tale is filled with beautifully woven descriptions of Cuba and the customs and habits of its people. Aschkenas is a discerning observer, taking in the innocence, isolation, contradictions, and resolute optimism of a people who have persevered against the collective disappointment bestowed upon them by a government that has been unable to deliver the utopia promised by socialism. Aschkenas, already a seasoned traveler by the time she arrives in Cuba for the first time in 1999, is overcome by her own passion for Cuba and her unraveling affection for Alfredo as she comes to appreciate his naïveté, sincerity, and ability to live for the moment, something she comes to realize is the effect of growing up in a culture where nothing is ever certain.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Seal Press (November 29, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580051790
• ISBN-13: 978-1580051798
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #412,728 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book!!!!!! , February 7, 2006

By	LF (USA) - See all my reviews

If you want to find the truth of the every day life in Cuba, go deeper than what the regular news, a tourist catalog or a 3 day trip there can show you, then, you really need to read this book. It is written in a very fresh, easy-to read way that you will enjoy all through. It'll give you laughs, sadness and you'll be impressed all at the same time.
As a difference with the majority of the books you will find about the island, this is not strictly touristy nor politic but it will show you both of those aspects as they directly affect the central history, which is the love between an American traveler (the writer) and a Cuban resident.
I am Cuban and the descriptions and events on the book were so tangible, so real, that I felt leaving back there again!! I recommend it, enjoy your "reading travel!"

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfuly Insightful and Entertaining, June 1, 2006

By	Katherine A. Valentine "Katerv22" (Manchester, VT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book to be a fantastic interpertation of life on a curious island. Well written and definitely informative, I now find myself seeking out more information on Cuba. It forced me to ask myself 'why do I know so little about life there?'. In addition, I would highly recommend it to any young traveler or international student. Read this book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read!, March 28, 2006

By	LEW - See all my reviews

Lea Aschkenas opened a window into the daily life of the Cuban people and portrayed them with dignity. Before reading this book - Cuba only meant Castro to me. Now I think of the people who passionately love their country. Lea's story about her time spent in Cuba - finding love and living in this illegal island -was compelling. I highly recommend this beautifully written book. A sequel should follow!