Waiting for Snow in Havana - Carlos Eire

Waiting for Snow in Havana

By Carlos Eire

  • Release Date: 2003-02-05
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4
4
From 102 Ratings

Description

“Have mercy on me, Lord, I am Cuban.” In 1962, Carlos Eire was one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Havana—exiled from his family, his country, and his own childhood by Fidel Castro’s revolution. Winner of the National Book Award, this stunning memoir is a vibrant and evocative look at Latin America from a child’s unforgettable experience.

Waiting for Snow in Havana is both an exorcism and an ode to a paradise lost. For the Cuba of Carlos’s youth—with its lizards and turquoise seas and sun-drenched siestas—becomes an island of condemnation once a cigar-smoking guerrilla named Fidel Castro ousts President Batista on January 1, 1959. Suddenly the music in the streets sounds like gunfire. Christmas is made illegal, political dissent leads to imprisonment, and too many of Carlos’s friends are leaving Cuba for a place as far away and unthinkable as the United States. Carlos will end up there, too, and fulfill his mother’s dreams by becoming a modern American man—even if his soul remains in the country he left behind.

Narrated with the urgency of a confession, Waiting for Snow in Havana is a eulogy for a native land and a loving testament to the collective spirit of Cubans everywhere.

Reviews

  • I had a hard time understanding where this was going

    2
    By Judge2016
    Too much jumping around.
  • Simply awesome!

    5
    By Joelu
    This book is a "must read" for any Cuban who had to leave our beloved island. I also recommend it to anyone interested in acquiring first hand knowledge of the ordeal we endured and continue to endure. Mr. Eyre has done a beautiful job putting into words the sadness and longing that have been a part of me for the 41 years I've been away from Cuba. Although I am fiercely proud o my American citizenship and my accomplishments in this country, this book made me realized how much was taken from me at the tender age of 14. Additionally, it confirmed the belief that there are many others who like myself will never stop loving our "Perla de las Antillas" where we left our hearts.