Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy by Carlos Eire Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
Book Review: Waiting for Snow in Havana
Summary: 5 Stars
A great true story of life in Havana before and after Castro and the journey to the U.S. A wonderful look into life in another culture only 90 miles from the U.S. Well written and a joy to read. A must read for all ages.Book Review: Heartwrenching love letter to a vanished world
Summary: 5 Stars
Carlos Eire was one of the many people whose lives were irrevocably changed when Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959. His memoir, written 40 years after the fact, is almost 400 pages of amazing detail of his life as a boy in Cuba and then some of what happened to him once he entered the United States. You get the idea that these are just a fraction of the memories he carries around with him. (I don't know whether to feel sorry for him, or to be envious; I too was removed from an island I loved as child, in vastly different - and less violent - circumstances, but I fear my memories would barely fill a teacup, while his are as vast as the ocean.)
The writing is vivid, transporting you to a different world, one that does not exist anymore. You can practically see, hear and smell their home, the sea, the firecrackers they exploded with gleeful abandon. It's all so heartwrenching, so hopeful, so sad, so beautiful.
As stated by another reviewer, the voice does vary - from an exuberant youth when talking about playing as a child, to a rueful adult, ashamed of some of his actions as a child. He is still puzzled over what happened and how he ended up where he is, partially thinking he doesn't deserve his life now, partially thinking he deserves more than he got. There's a lot of unspoken "What If?s". What if his cousin had succeeded in killing Castro? What if the Bay of Pigs invasion had been successful? What if his mother hadn't joined them in the US? What if his father had? What if it had never happened at all?
This is not told in a straight, linear fashion, but closer to stream of consciousness, except each chapter seems to have a theme. One chapter is about his first love; one is about his cousin's revolutionary activities; one about church and religion; one about luck. Of course, some of the ideas show up throughout the book - love and longing, religion and god, family and forgiveness (or lack thereof, in some cases) - universal themes that we can all relate to.
Book Review: Paradise Lost
Summary: 4 Stars
Carlos Eire recalls in detail his privileged and pampered boyhood in Cuba with absolutely eccentric parents before Castro's revolution. Sometimes the writing is just overly dramatic and sometimes the tone is even whiny but by relying heavily on magical realism the author does effectively convey the extent Castro changed life in Cuba for so many - and not for the better as he promised. Eire also conveys a sense of loss - not only of boyhood and all its pleasures but of a culture, a way of life that was needlessly destroyed and replaced by something so much inferior. Many of the images in this book are sensitive and poetic and yet so many others are equally ugly and violent, perhaps reflecting the emotional and spiritual damage of an upheaval such as a revolution. In any case, Waiting for Snow in Havana gives the reader much insight into the thoughts and memories of another exile unjustly deprived of his homeland and family and any sense of connectedness and congruity with the past.Book Review: A memoir of days gone by
Summary: 5 Stars
I first discovered this book when I saw the author at the National Book Festival in DC last year. I decided to read his book because I didn't know much about Cuba before Castro came into power. By means of entertaining and emotional childhood experiences, Eire gives the reader a touching journey through his carefree days in pre-Communist Cuba. Eire's descriptions of his neighborhood as well as Havana's natural settings are written in simple language, yet are very clear and calming. I sometimes felt that I was walking along the streets of Havana with the turquoise sea whispering in the background. I experienced the same kind of emotions I felt while I read "Angela's Ashes": sadness, appreciation for what I have, and incessant laughter. Eire may be a professor by trade, but this book exemplifies his ability to create a work of literature from his own childhood experiences. I pray that one day Mr. Eire will be able to visit his native country.Book Review: Moving Memoir
Summary: 5 Stars
Carlos Eire wrote an extremely well written memoir. He write's about his childhood in Havana. He gives us vivid pictures of Havana at the time and of the colorful inhabitants of his neighborhood. The world of Havana through the eyes of a child.
The wide eyed wonder in which we see this marvelous world called Havana, makes us stop and wonder. Is this a memoir or novel. The writting of child like innocence is so real. How can we remember it. Of course, this is about Mr. Erie's childhood, during the 50's and 60's. So we also get to see the growing darkness and fear brought about by the great revolution brought about by Fidel Castro...and how all their lives were changed.
It will also let you see why so many Cuban's fled that beautiful island for the USA. Most hoping it would only be a temporary seperation from family and homeland. I not only understood what life was like both before and after Castro...I could actually understand the emotion he felt as a child. And now as an adult looking back upon his past. This is a great read.