Next book

APPROACHING FREEDOM

AN EXILE'S QUEST FOR A NEW SELF

A stylish and eloquent examination of Cuban identity and outsiders.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT

A Cuban political refugee recalls her arrival in 1960s America in this debut memoir.

Nodarse and her mother were chatting on their front porch in Havana when the family received a telegram saying that Loren, the author’s brother, had absconded with equipment from the Georgia Military Academy. He intended to join Fidel Castro’s rebellion against Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. As a 12-year-old, Nodarse had a sense that tensions were rising in Cuba, with exploding Molotov cocktails becoming a regular occurrence. With Havana “on the brink of open warfare,” the family spent Christmas 1958 in Mexico and on New Year’s Eve learned of Batista’s overthrow. Nodarse and her family returned to Havana, but when her father lost his job, they left Cuba for Miami, later relocating to New Jersey. The author struggled to assimilate, was marked as an outsider, and heard malicious questions such as “Did you wear shoes in Cuba?” Growing older, she attended Columbia University and, rebellious in nature, became a political activist. She also became fixated on her identity and the possibility of reconnecting with her homeland. Nodarse has a zesty narrative style, which is immediately endearing. On receiving the telegram about her brother, she notes that the “tall scrawny” delivery boy “could have punched me in the stomach. I’d seen enough World War II movies to know telegrams were bad news.” She also employs dialogue to great effect, weaving it seamlessly into the narrative. Here she recalls her first encounter with her future partner, Bernard: “ ‘Do I detect an accent?’ he asked as he draped his trench coat over his arm. It must have been the way I pronounced ‘Nodarse.’ ‘I’m Cuban,’ I said, with hauteur.” This passage also reflects the author’s keen eye for detail and elegant word choice. While well written, the memoir would have benefitted from more precise signposting regarding exact locations and dates—this information is communicated vaguely throughout, although this misstep does not detract greatly from the text. Nodarse’s story may not have the suspense and scope of similar works, such as Finding Mañana by Mirta Ojito, but it remains a valuable first-person account of a pivotal moment in Cuban history.

A stylish and eloquent examination of Cuban identity and outsiders.

Pub Date: Nov. 16, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-73289-290-3

Page Count: 382

Publisher: Self

Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020

Categories:
Next book

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE

50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...

Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.

Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").

Pub Date: May 15, 1972

ISBN: 0205632645

Page Count: 105

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972

Categories:
Next book

NUTCRACKER

This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:
Close Quickview