A collection of 11 densely written, impressively imagined, and detailed stories depicting the colonial history of several...

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A collection of 11 densely written, impressively imagined, and detailed stories depicting the colonial history of several Latin American countries, by the Cuban author of Sea of Lentils (1990). Ben'tez-Rojo's variously militant or guilt-ridden narrators and protagonists comprise a colorful multinational gallery of soldiers, slave-traders, clerics, peasants, and miscellaneous unaffiliated adventurers. The best of his provocative, packed stories include the delirious (title story's) ordeal of a Cuban soldier billeted in a malarial swamp during his country's 1898 war of independence; the confession of a self-serving priest allied with colonialist exploiters (""Windward Passage""); and a microcosmic tale (""Marina 1936"") of class warfare at sea, enriched by ironic echoes of Treasure Island and The Tempest. A brilliant book.

Pub Date: May 1, 1998

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 216

Publisher: Univ. of Massachusetts

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1998

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