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6993533
Posted May 18, 2011
a must read
this book transports the reader to Cuba and all of its wonders of yesteryear. it is beautifully written. i highly recomend reading it and a book by Dede Mirabal re: las hermanas mirabal 'vivas en su jardin'
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Interesting Story, but a cumbersome read.
I found Dreaming in Cuban to be a cumbersome effort to read. Almost from the start I was beginning to lose track of the characters and I was beginning to think that I would need a score card to keep track of who was who. In this novel the author did create interesting scenes that centers around the Cuban family, and culture but there were so many loose ends when I finished reading the book that the overall story just didn't connect with me. It's not a terrible read, maybe just an entertaining story.
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Anonymous
Posted December 2, 2007
Magical and exotic!
I read this book for the first time at the age of 15. Since, I have read it over and over again....this recount of generations of immigrant women is not what you expect. The story turns into a magical and at times erotic recount of 3 generations of women. It is enchanting and mysterious and at times causes one to ignore what we know to be true about reality...
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Anonymous
Posted December 4, 2007
A reviewer
I noticed most reviews are from possibly Cuban American readers or students of Latin American literature classes. I found this book after my first cruise which was to the Caribbean. I decided to read translations of Caribbean authors. This is a wonderful book. I agree particularly with the reviewer who mentions how fantasy is a coping mechanism for these characters. This book is bizarre because so much of the time it is the constantly ticking internal dialogues of people. This book increased immensely my understanding of the Cuban American plight and opened up the closed world of those left behind.
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Anonymous
Posted May 16, 2007
sick but enhancing
This novel displays a love for writing but a lack of understanding of the priniciple of captivation. Caveats apply to the naive, as sickening images are juxtaposized to beautiful words. Not for all yet all for some.
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Anonymous
Posted September 18, 2006
Not what I expected. I liked it!
With Castro so much in the news lately, it's no wonder this book has taken off--again! And don't think for a minute that it's just a 'chick' book---it's not. It's funny, warm, intelligent, and a great way to spend some time with a writer from whom I hope we'll hear more.
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Anonymous
Posted October 14, 2003
Interesting
I got interested in this book because in my history class we were learnig about Fidel's Cuba. This book has showed me how people from Cuba feel about Cuba and what they do in Cuba.
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Anonymous
Posted September 2, 2003
what a book
i loved this book so much it tells about women and what they go through it's like a book recommended for all the women on earth
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Anonymous
Posted June 12, 2003
Wow!
I bought this book with out knowing anything about it, and by the time I finished it, I was captivated by the author's writing skill! This is the type of book you just can't put down! I have told all of my friends about it, and I have re-read it about four times. This book was great from start to finish, the characters were totally believable. I felt as if the author could have been spying on my family when she wrote this. I can't give this book enough praise, just go out and read it already!
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Anonymous
Posted April 23, 2003
A wonderful book to read!
I just finished this book for a multicultural women's literature class and I have to say it is now one of my favorites. The way that Garcia weaves her story is simply amazing. The different relationships in this novel are great, you really feel like you are a part of the del Pino family while reading. Garcia makes you really feel the characters you are reading about. I couldn't put this book down, I love it and recommend it to everyone!
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Anonymous
Posted July 11, 2002
Excellent Novel
This novel by Julia Garcia is great because it reveals real life situations and how a Dominican family adapts to life in the United States of America after basically being raised in their homeland. The story mostly consists of four sisters, (Carla, Sandi, Yolanda, and Fifi) and their parents Carlos and Laura. The adjustment for the family was relatively harsh, due to the fact that they came from having everything in their homeland to basically trying to survive in this new environment they now tried to call their new home. The novel is very interesting since it is not narrated in chronological order so it makes the reader further analyze the story and put it together after finishing the book. Coming from a Hispanic family and being able to relate to these kinds of situations makes the story more interesting in my eyes. The novel is excellent and is a great paperback for any reader¿s collection.
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Anonymous
Posted July 15, 2002
Blood of many chickens
In Julia Alvarez's 'Dreaming in Cuban' she gives a fictional account of a generation full of solace and heartbreak among social and political lines. Each character encounters some form of self-observation as each member of the Del Pino family learns to understand and deal with each other miles away from each other before any bloodshed is made. Unfortunately the story's flashbacks and difficult time frame loses the reader's interest. The design of each character's leaves me for one almost uninterested and the focal point of religion, as a backdrop is unrealistic and at times annoying. I for one had problems feeling anything for any of the characters especially Lourdes and Celia so called 'grudge' based on political ideology a socialist and a exile butting heads is enough to make you cringe. Pilar is the only character worth reading as she pushes her mother's button and questions everything that Lourdes has given her enough to make the old witch go nuts from communist books to running away to see her forgotten grandmother. No this is what family is really like.
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Anonymous
Posted July 20, 2002
Dreaming in Cuban
I recommend this book because, is an excellent story full of vivid imagery, which delves into complicated family dynamics and cultural identity. ¿Dreaming in Cuban¿ tells the story of the Cuban Revolution from the point of view of three generations of women. In this book there is violence, murder, passion, birth and death, but all told in a sort of lyrical and mystical way. I really enjoyed reading this book and I think it is a good novel.
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Anonymous
Posted July 20, 2002
FOUR WOMEN, ONE 'LIDER'
Three generations and four women dominate this story of a bewitched family. The setting for Cristina Garcia's first novel is Cuba and New York, where she was born and raised. Celia del Pino is the protagonist, a loyal follower of 'El Lider'. Thru her love letters to an old Spanish lover we find out much about the family. Her oldest daughter, Lourdes, is a fervent anti-communist, who immigrated to Brooklyn and realized the American dream of owning her own business. She is a traumatized rape victim, who feels her ony ally is her father. Thru magical realism she spends several years in conversation with him after he died. Only after he fades away can she finally pay a visit to her aging and dying mother in Cuba. Her daughter, Pilar, was born in Cuba the very year Castro took over. Raised in Brooklyn, punk artist and musician, yet longs for Cuba and her grandmother, who she maintains in psychic contact with. Felicia, the youngest daughter, remained in Cuba, even though she is apolitical. She suffers from bouts of insanity, is divorced, and has three dysfunctional children. Felicia's interest in Santeria, a Voodoo-type religion, gives us the opportuity to learn about it in a colorful and vivid fashion. The author uses an interesting twist of words that keep the reader amused, though melancholic and confused at times. The characterization is superb. Each character demands your attention and their complex relationship makes for good reading
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Anonymous
Posted July 12, 2002
Real Fiction
Dreaming in Cuban is the story of a Cuban family that is divided by politics, religion, ideals, and a beautiful sea. Writer Cristina Garcia transmits the feelings of three generations of Cuban women, First of all by Celia whose consuming passion is for El Lider ¿Fidel.¿ Lourdes; she is an immigrant living in New York City, and a proud proprietor of the Yankee Doodle Bakery. Felicia; She can not stay away from man and black magic and Pilar; she is the youngest generation of these three women, she is in a never ending fight with her mother. These character are the most important ones in the story, each of them represent a different prospective of life. The novel is set between Cuba and New York. The character of Celia is a very important one, in the sense of integrity for her believes and the way she hopes for a better tomorrow. Pilar is the future. She wants to go back to her land and also see her Grandmother ¿Celia¿ before she forgets both of them. I recommend reading the book. It will help you understand the power of love.
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Anonymous
Posted July 19, 2002
Revolutionary Made
Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia is an intriguing look into a family torn by Fidel Castro's political hold on Cuba. Taking place in both Cuba and the United States the story explores political, geographical, religious, and generational divides among family members. Readers will meet Celia del Pino the matriarch of the family and ever loyal to Castro. Celia's daughter Lourdes living in New York staunchly opposes Castro and has little more warmth for her mother. Pilar, the artistic rebel and third generation, feels a connection to her grandmother and a life she remembers. Readers will travel with the family members dealing with insanity, religious curiosities and even attempted murder/suicide. Garcia's book is definitely worth reading as she is able to capture many of the issues Cuban families experience in this compelling novel.
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Anonymous
Posted July 13, 2002
A family's struggle
Dreaming in Cuban is an intricate story about a Cuban family¿s struggling with their devotion to their country, their family, and their lovers. Significant messages are creatively exposed through love letters. Cristina Garcia really did a remarkable job on this novel. A must read for all.
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Anonymous
Posted July 21, 2002
Jenilyn Martinez LIT2480 VIRTUAL COLLEGE
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia links the lives of three generations of Cuban women: the grandmother, her two daughters, and the granddaughter. Each character escapes reality by some form of fantasy: the grandmother devotes herself to communism, one daughter to Santeria, the other to a bakery in New York, and the granddaughter to punk painting. The book has a great illustration of the Cuban religion: Santeria, using it to show the revolution of the Cuban communism. I highly recommend this book it is a great way to get a truthful knowledge of the Cuban life.
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Anonymous
Posted July 19, 2002
A detectives EYE for LIT 2480
¿Dreaming in Cuban¿ is one of those books that are excessively fun to read. The book tells the story of three parts of one family. This family is divided by their own make-shifted beliefs of what is wrong and what isn¿t. Cristina Garcia¿s style of writing drags the reader to understand what a Cuban family feels. How it is to live in a family that are drawn by their beliefs to go forward and not look back. Three different women reacting differently to the revolution is what Garcia successfully explains. That along with how and why they chose the paths they took and the outcome to their decisions. Wonderfully written giving a unique perspective on what happened in the revolution.
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Anonymous
Posted July 19, 2002
Odd yet interesting story
¿Dreaming in Cuban,¿ a novel written by Cristina Garcia is at first glance a bit bizarre and hard to follow, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it is an excellent book. The difficulty is in trying to understand the myriad of oddball characters. For the average reader who is not from Cuba or perhaps one of the other Caribbean island countries, it would probably be difficult to understand some of the symbolism this book uses. The story is heartbreaking and sad. It captures some of the problems that families struggle through such as different political and religious beliefs and the emotional baggage we carry that interferes with the relationships we have with our family. There is no doubt that it is a sad book, but I am glad I read it and recommend it to everyone. Just remember to keep an open mind.
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