Caribbean Books

Cosette Alves was one among 13 millions Cubans, slaves under Fidel Castro's evil regime. She has seen it all: the schools (in fact concentration and labour camps), the policy of indoctrination, the lack of any freedom of expression... She went through brainwashing and her life was not easy, but she made it out and told all she had to tell. An amazing account of how this young yet extremely mature girl saw Cuba and her repressive regime, how she lived it in her everyday life. The book is thrilling, exciting, explosive !

THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK DUE TO THE CAPACITY OF TIME AND KNOWLEDGE FROM THE WRITER. BASED ON A REAL TESTIMONY, THE WRITER TAKE THE READER THROUGH THAT UNIQUE SPACE OF LIFE. IT'S STRONG, WEAK AND REAL. IT'S LIFE. THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS SHOWING HABITUAL CONDITIONS. PEOPLE THAT WE CAN BE SOMETIMES IF WE LET THE MINDS GO WITH SPACES. AND, THE END, HOPE AND LOVE, WHAT MATTERS TO KEEP IN TIME.

"Miriam's Daughters: Jewish Latin American Women Poets," edited by Marjorie Agosin, is an impressive anthology. This book is a bilingual edition; the Spanish or Portuguese originals and their English translations are on facing pages. Twenty-nine poets from all over Latin America are represented here. Among the authors included are Jacqueline Goldberg (Venezuela), Sarina Helfgott (Peru), Alicia Kozameh (Argentina), Teresa Porzecanski (Uruguay), Leonor Scliar-Cabral (Brazil), and Ana Maria Shua (Argentina).

Editor Agosin contributes a fascinating forward (in English) in which she reflects on the "Babel of whispers, songs, prayers, and languages" she encountered growing up in Chile. Some of the subjects explored by the poets in this book include family ties, multi- and bilingualism, Jewish ritual, and the legacy of the Holocaust. Figures from Jewish history, myth, and legend often appear: Anne Frank, Ruth, Lilith, the Golem.

There are many fine poems in this anthology, but my favorites are the following: Schlomit Baytelman's "My Name is Schlomit," Diana Anhalt's historically allusive "That Jewish Crusader," Rosita Kalina's Whitmanesque "I Am of the Tribe of Yehuda," and Angelina Muniz Huberman's mystical "The Cabalists." This book is a wonderful resource for those interested in multiculturalism, Jewish studies, Latin American literature, or contemporary poetry.

Agosin has done it again---provided an insider's tour of Jewish Latin America through the eyes of the poets. Here is poetry that is lively, poetically accomplished, and in a much needed bilingual format. What a treasure! Strongly recommended.

I really enjoyed sharing this book with my mother who was born on Montserrat and is related to the author. It was fun listening to her remember the old days and her friends. being a first generation American, it was a good way for me to connect to a place that I've visited, but didn't really know. Thanks Dorrine and Mags says hello!!

This is a collection of stories about Montserrat, a tiny Eastern Caribbean island. It was beautiful. I laughed out loud, I cried flowing tears, I read it cover to cover in one sitting, and as a Montserratian I wanted so badly to go Home. I'm now trying to plan a trip....
The stories are well written and I think they will be enjoyed by anyone who reads this book.

This is an exceptional book on the history of Queen Nanny. This book provides a great account of Queen Nanny in Jamaica from the perspective of the Maroons, Jamaicans, and British. There are plenty of historical references sprinkled throughout the literature so that the reader can do their own research. I have a sense that she was the original "Wonder Woman" as she lived on a true "Paradise Island" and could not just stop bullets but also "catch" them. The book goes into detail about the metaphysical importance of an Obeah woman and how her power kept the strong African spirit alive within the Jamaican Maroons. It is empowering to read how such few people were able to defeat the British in so many battles. The book is brief but packed with informative information on this little known person. As a man descended from the Akan, I felt proud how the African rituals were continued in Jamaica for those that escaped human bondage. This is a great read for both men and women.

This is a small book, 119 pages, that cuts a big swath. It is about an interesting period and a lively woman of the early 18th Century, someone who never made it into any of my history books. I certainly know about her now. Gottlieb pulls together threads from many sources into one rich fabric. This is a progressive book about colonialism, racism, feminism, about military srategy, about the West-African-rooted religious traditions and the use of supernatural powers that made their way into the Maroon Culture. Gottlieb obviously has great respect for her subject -- this remarkable woman, Nanny, part historical figure, part legend -- who represents a courageous struggle against oppression. The book is well-researched, illustrated, and spirited reading. Some of the historical documents can be bypassed if not interested. One is impressed with its relevance to the very same "isms" that continue to torment us in the 21st century.

While for some a bicultural background might be a bother, for Kathleen Alcala it is a blessing. Her Latin-American background has helped her complete a collection of short stories that is both funny, and magical. Her prose is very poetic and captivating, much like other Latin-American author such as Puerto Rico's Rosario Ferre, and of course, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Each story is short, told by several first-person narrators, all of them struggling to come to terms with strange, funny, sometimes heartbreaking events of daily life, made even more sorrowful by the conflict of trying to deal with two different cultures, each of them striving to be the dominating one. As a collection, each story could be described as a precious individual pearl, capable of standing on its own, but string them all together and you have a stunning necklace. I highly reccomend this book

While for some a bicultural background might be a bother, for Kathleen Alcala it is a blessing. Her Latin-American background has helped her complete a collection of short stories that is both funny, and magical. Her prose is very poetic and captivating, much like other Latin-American author such as Puerto Rico's Rosario Ferre, and of course, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Each story is short, told by several first-person narrators, all of them struggling to come to terms with strange, funny, sometimes heartbreaking events of daily life, made even more sorrowful by the conflict of trying to deal with two different cultures, each of them striving to be the dominating one. As a collection, each story could be described as a precious individual pearl, capable of standing on its own, but string them all together and you have a stunning necklace. I highly reccomend this book

It's been 102 years since the United States invaded Puerto Rico in 1898, and perhaps more telling that Puerto Ricans are no more sure of their future today than they were in 1898. Anne Nelson's book is an extremely good read which reveals much of the complexities of the Puerto Rican existance under two flags, the root causes of the independence movement in Puerto Rico, and provides a telling example of the mainland's perception of Puerto Ricans over the last 100 years, mixed in with the scenes of a brutal murder of two young idealists at the hands of the Puerto Rican police, with, some say, the knowledge of the FBI. Ms. Nelson has done her homework well, I found her assessment of what we Puerto Ricans call the "Ay Bendito!" to be right on the mark. She writes: "Puerto Rican... have a gentle note of self-deprecation to their national humor; if anything, their stories involve the smallest farm, the slowest horse, the shortest tree." If you like U.S. History, then you will enjoy the first half of this book as it relates to the Spanish-American War, if you like true crime stories, then you will enjoy the second half of this book. It's a keeper, five stars just for the history portion alone.

"Murder Under Two Flags : The U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Cerro Maravilla Cover-Up," by Anne Nelson, was the inspiration for the 1990 film, "A Show of Force," and is an interesting, disturbing case study on the ugliness politics can be in Puerto Rico. The book, which revolves around the "Cerro Maravilla" incident that occurred on July 25, 1978, was the biggest political scandal to rock the U.S. Commonwealth ever. In the incident, two young independence-sympathizers were ambushed and brutally murdered by police forces. The police claimed that the two so-called "terrorists" were going to blow up a broadcast tower, while others doubted this claim.

After a heavy investigation, a senate hearing was held in Puerto Rico, where it was determined that a political cover-up was involved here. The pro-statehood governor at the time, Carlos Romero Barcelo, had been implicated of planning the murder of the two youths, in order to boost his sagging popularity two years before he was up for re-election. What was uncovered shattered the reputation of Romero Barcelo, Puerto Rican police, the FBI, and especially that of the New Progressive Party (also known as PNP in its' Spanish-acronym) who favors statehood for the island, even though statehood has been rejected in each and every political referendum since the U.S. took over.

Author Anne Nelson. first begins her book with a discussion of Puerto Rican history before the Spanish-American War of 1898, when Spain ceded the island to the United States. She goes on to discuss early U.S. relations and policies, a discussion and history on each of the island's main parties, and finally the "Cerro Maravilla' incident, which is a very disturbing chapter in the democratic history of the Americas. The use of photographs were interesting, and the chart showing the damage one of the bodies suffered (over 40 bullets and massive swelling due to continuous beatings) show that this was both a unusual and cruel way for two people to die, especially if they were unarmed.

Ms. Nelson, unbiased look at this scandal did open many eyes to the injustice many political-minorities not only in Puerto Rico but elsewhere (the PAN party in Mexico is a great example, especially after their rising star and presidential candidate Donald Luis Colosio was assassinated in 1991, reportedly by henchmen hired by the PRI party, who had ruled the country for over 70 years without any opposition). It would have been more interesting to see the actual photographs of the bodies at the murder scene, seeing that they had already appeared on the front page of the island's newspapers the day after the incident. In a turn of events, Romero Barcelo who had served as the island's non-voting representative in the U.S. Congress during much of the 1990's was defeated for re-election in the fall of 2000. People cited he Cerro Maravilla incident and his party's (PNP) massive corruption and cover-ups during the administration of PNP governor, Pedro Rosello, as the reasons he lost.

Overall, Ms. Nelson has written an excellent book on a topic that needed to be discussed. Americans must be aware that this scandal took place under a colony that is under the U.S. flag for the last 102 years. If democracy can exist on the mainland, why can't it in Puerto Rico. That is a question that must be answered, and after reading this book, you will probably come up with an appropriate answer.

This enchanting introduction to Caribbean biodiversity invites children to visualize relationships between the islands, animals, plants, sky, and sea. How did animals and plants first get to the islands? How do they live together? For ages 4-8 (summmary by the Association of American Publishers's *Publishing Latino Voices for America Task Force *
Latino Recommended Reading List)
This enchanting introduction to island biodiversity allows children to visualize relationships between Caribbean creatures and with the water and sky--and to see how we, too, are one with each island.
This innovative design shares 36 original watercolors of island nature and accommodates forthcoming island-specific editions, personalized in the many languages of the Caribbean.

Written by Caribbean naturalist Alfonso Silva Lee, My Island And I: The Nature Of The Caribbean is a colorful children's picturebook about the natural ecology of an island - from fallen trees becoming food for fungi and termites to the thoughts of lizards and the interaction of fish. The watercolor-style illustrations by Alexis Lago bring to life the festive, multifaceted wonder of natural life. A highly recommended and educational book for young readers, My Island And I is highly recommended for school and community library picturebook collections. My Island And I is also available in a Spanish/English bilingual edition; a Spanish edition; and a bilingual French/Kreyol editions as well.

Even for a non-sailer, this is an easy, entertaining, fast and well-crafted read. I enjoyed it immensely.

EXCELLENT! Couldn't put it down!

Every student of Latin American literature should read this book, which is the most compelling critical perspective in the field today.

This is a fascinating reshaping of the academic discussion [or to use the current jargon, "discourse"]on Latin American literature. To read Gonzalez Echevarria is to be dazzled by erudition and his true passion for Latin American letters and culture. Aficionados of Latin American literature who study this work will undoubtedly be humbled by Gonzalez Echevarria's scholarly stamina and provoked by his insights.

The insights themselves are worth careful consideration. Distancing himself from the traditional, chronological approach to Latin American narrative, and expressly by-passing a few "milestone works" that are perhaps less significant to the development of Latin American letters than is traditionally posited (e.g "Amalia", "Maria"), Gonzalez argues that the greatest shapers of Latin American narrative have been a few key works that in form and rhetoric embody the trends of the "hegemonic discourse" that dominated Latin America at different periods in the region's history. During the colonial era, Gonzalez argues, the predominant form of writing in the region was the legal document. Correspondingly, he argues, the salient literary texts of the period took on the forms, rhetoric and tones of legal discourse (e.g Bernal Diaz' "Historia Verdadera de La Conquista de Nueva Espana," El Inca Garcialaso's "Commentarios Reales,"). During the 19th Century--his so-called 2nd Conquest of Latin America--the "hegemonic discourse" was scientific observation; more specifically, the travel writings of Europeans and Americans who viewed Latin American flora, fauna, and customs through a scientific lense. Correspondingly, Gonzalez argues, the salient Latin American works of the period (e.g. Sarmiento's "Facundo," or Euclides da Cunha's "Os sertoes")seek to define phenomena in their respective societies while using the structures, form and rhetoric of the predominant scientific-travel writing. In the 20th Century, he argues, works are shaped by the concerns and observations made by anthropology and ethnography. Here he cites Gallego's "Dona Barbara" and Carpentier's "Los Pasos Perdidos", as well as Miguel Barnet's testimonial novels.

Gonzalez suggests that thematically Latin American narrative has consistantly sought the region's cultural legitimacy and ownership of a mythic origin, a source of Latin America's true identity. This search for a mythic origin has generally been conducted through the hegemonic discourses that he describes. Gonzalez illustrates his point through key modern works by Borges, Carpentier, and Garcia Marquez--works which he shows are entirely conscious of the shifts in hegemonic discourse and the search for origins/identity.

The work is generally a joy to read, and makes the lone, lay reader long for an animated discussion of Gonzalez' ideas around a seminar table. There are times, however, when the author lapses into the worst forms of academic obfuscation and post-modern excess, and when he does so he undermines the goodwill that his work engenders. A case in point-- in a discussion of Facundo, Gonzalez states: "What Sarmiento has found in his voyage of discovery and self-discovery is a present origin, one that speaks through him, hollowing out the voice of his scientific language. His authority will not be attained by it, but by the tragic sacrifice of his protagonist, which he re-enacts in the text. This tragic fusion is a reflection of the linear time introduced by the evolution of nature, which brings everything to an end, inexorably, so that it will be reborn in a different guise." This passage, while not representative of the whole book, is simply preposterous, wound as it is in obscurity and the solipsism of contemporary academic criticism. Passages such as this are particularly frustrating given that, in this instance, Sarmiento's "protagonist" is a historical figure, and the notion that Sarmiento is "reenacting" Facundo's fate is entirely a construction of the critic. Such analysis plays well in academia, but it is entirely removed from probable "authorial intent." [And yes, I acknowledge that the concept of "authorial intent" is now considered antiquated and naive in literary circles. But historians who have studied Facundo would be maddened by this passage.] In other works (i.e. "Celestina's Brood"), Gonzalez has argued that the Baroque is the most suitable mode for Latin American cultural expression. Perhaps in keeping with this conclusion, he himself occasionally engages in "gongorismo" that, while arguably culturally consistant, adds little to a sense of understanding.

Ultimately, however, these lapses are only intermittent, and they do not spoil the insightful treasures and the intellectual thrills that Gonzalez provides. This book is a joy.

dr.christ has written the single best explication of borges i have come across to date .he is a fine scholar whose style is accessible to all readers.borges is not an easy writer to comprehend,but after reading christ's book i understand him far better than before.i highly recommendTHE NARROW ACT.DR.JAMES F.MULLAN

This study was the first book- length one of Borges work in English. It was highly commended by Borges himself.
The author goes to the roots of Borges creative process, traces his aesthetic from his early days as poet and linguistic theorist through his creation of the 'Ficciones' for which he is most well- known.
At the heart of the Borges' doctrine is an idea of poetic concision, of creating works of essential metaphor without embellishments and decorations. The ideal of Borges is that the work should be stripped clear of verbiage and vagueness. The elaboration of this aesthetic leads to a discussion of how Borges' transformed his original ideas in time into great works of Literature.