Filed under: book reviews, fiction | Tags: achy obejas, catholocism, cuba, cuban american families, cuban american women, cuban revlotion, days of awe, fidel castro, judasim, lambda award, language, quotes, spanish, spanish inquisition
“Revolutions happen, I’m convinced, because intuition tells us we’re meant for a greater world. If this one were good enough, we’d settle, happy as hens, and never rise up. But we know better: We feel the urge, ardent and fallible as it may be, for a kind of continual transcendence” (italics from the original text).
Alejandro San Jose was born the day Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba and her family, like many others, left the country. And in Achy Obejas’ Days of Awe we experience Alejandro’s struggle to comprehend her family, her past, her culture, and herself as a cubana. The story covers a somewhat vague period of time in Alejandro’s adult life as she travels back and forth from Cuba and in and out of relationships.
The second book for my Lambda Challenge and, well really, just wow. Days of Awe is beautifully written and Obejas Some of my favorite passages were Obejas’ explanations of the Spanish language such as American’s use of the verb love versus the Cuban use of the verbs querer, amar, and gustar. Days of Awe explores a gamut of complexities from imperialism to Cuba’s revolution, Judaism and Catholocism, as well as thematic issues of secrecy. Obejas’s latest book Ruins is due out March of 2009.
Conclusion: Keeper.
Filed under: thoughtful | Tags: candidates, fidel castro, granma, ohio, right to vote, voting, women's suffrage
This image from Married to the Sea, a hilarious source of amusement, has been a long time favorite of mine. Within the United States of America, women have only had the right to vote since 1920, not even a full century. However, it’s shocking how little appreciated that right to vote is. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of thoughtful reasons not to vote, but if you didn’t vote today out of laziness and you’re a legal citizen of the U.S. of A. I have to ask – what’s up with that?
I voted without too much trouble today. I moved in November of last year and believed my new home, only a block away, was within the same precinct, but I was wrong. (I totally should have checked this out beforehand.) Without too much hassle I found my official voting headquarters and voted. I even arrived home and found the long lost pin I had requested from the candidate of my choice, which I’m currently wearing.
And for those interested, a thoughtful article and an outsider’s opinion: Fidel Castro on the candidates.
Adventures in Reading 