MYSELF FOR DUMMIES II

A computer-savvy Cuban expatriate recounts his personal experiences and offers reflections in this debut book.

Rey may have been born in Cuba, but he has little good to say about the country. He, along with his wife and daughter, defected to Canada on May 26, 1987, when the plane they were on stopped to refuel in Gander, Newfoundland. The author explains: “I ran away from both the Capitalist Cuba with the Dictator Fulgencio Batista and the Communist Cuba with Emperor Castro the First.” His memories of Cuba involve terrible conditions with rationed food, gross inefficiency, and a lack of free speech. By contrast, he found his life in Canada and later the United States to be a time of great possibility. Though he and his family fled to a foreign country with just the clothes on their backs, they were able to make something of themselves. The author often expounds on his love of his new homeland. He also insists he should not be doubted just because his language is not perfect: “The accent is present in my English, but not on my knowledge or in my feelings, they are pure.” Later portions include an extended ode to Rosa Parks, some gripes about his life in the U.S. (particularly with the “City of Medicine,” Durham, North Carolina), and some of his letters to various newspapers. The last are usually meant to refute any starry-eyed reports that Cuba is anything but a brutal dictatorship. As he wrote to the Toronto Star in 2001 of politics in Cuba, “There is only one party in the island, as far as I witnessed during 25 years, the other choices are to become a fulltime silent person or to go to jail.” While it is clear the author has an ax to grind regarding his native land, his sincerity is never in doubt. For example, Rey points out that, although he worked with technology in Cuba, he “couldn’t have a personal computer, practically couldn’t even dream of having one.” He also manages to mix well-known events, such as the Mariel boatlifts, and relatively obscure tidbits, like the Cuban programming language LEAL. While such a breadth of material gives the book a very personal depth, some topics tend toward the bizarre. For instance, readers will learn more about the author’s views on prostitution and gay sexuality than they may have bargained for. Rey also includes feedback he received on his stories from a writing website. One section even features steps for creating beer. Nevertheless, in most discussions, a sense of humor shines through. He is at once cranky, passionate, and comical. For instance, the author explains that when becoming a U.S. citizen, he was asked if he would defend the country during a war. Though he said yes at the time, he would now alter his answer to include the caveat that if some companies he felt had wronged him were attacked, he would “gladly step aside instead and allow” the enemy “to conquer those places!” Taken together, this collection of memories, opinions, reflections, poetry, and miscellanea makes for a truly unique, if meandering, experience.  

While brazenly honest, this blend of autobiography and ruminations takes some distractingly strange turns.