Compelling and vivid, this memoir presents an intimate portrait of Castro’s Cuba through a wide-eyed and eager boy growing up in the 1960s. At the naïve age of 10, Luis M. Garcia, embarrassed by his anti-revolutionary parents, pledges his allegiance to Lenin, Marx, and the mythical Che Guevara, knowing that this is the only path to become a better revolutionary—and to get out of school early. Told with a detailed intimacy and a gentle humor that conveys the richness and warmth of Cuban life, this memoir illuminates the uncertainty, fear, and political force that tore families apart as Castro sought to destroy capitalism and establish Cuba as a world superpower
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Born in 1959, journalist Garcia spent his first 12 years in Cuba, plenty of time to pile up grievances against the Communist regime. His parents owned a small haberdashery whose business dried up with the gradual suppression of commerce after the revolution, until it was taken over by the state. When his parents applied to emigrate, his father was sent to a labor camp to cut sugar cane, and the family was meticulously divested of their belongings before being allowed to leave. Garcia's is an emblematic story of the dispossession and exile of Cuba's middle class, leavened with bittersweet reminiscences of his warmly convivial extended family, which comprised both Communist officials and disaffected partisans of the prerevolutionary past. As well, it's a study of the downside of Cuba's revolution—skimpy food rations, endless queues for shoddy goods, beady-eyed busybodies in the neighborhood Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, all justified by strident propaganda in the classroom and media. Garcia's rancorous score-settling with communism can be intrusive; "it's not a very revolutionary thing to do, but... even communists need toilet paper," he gloats about a common unauthorized use for the works of Lenin. But he does offer an intriguing corrective to romanticized accounts of socialist Cuba. (May)
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From Booklist
Garcia was 12 years old in 1971 when his family at last received permission to leave Castro's Cuba, and in a series of immediate, present-tense, first-person vignettes, he tells how it was from the child's bewildered viewpoint. He remembers the idiocy of the indoctrination (he wants to be "a good little communist," but his parents are not good revolutionaries, and that scares him); the hardship when his father is sent to labor camp to cut sugarcane for nearly three years; the boredom of Castro's speeches (six hours without even a toilet break). The kid wants to listen to the Beatles, not revolutionary songs, and his idea of summer camp is not picking lemons for the revolution. His sharp childhood memories are mixed with adult commentary. Looking back now, the propaganda feels "Orwellian," and being forced to leave his close-knit extended family remains painful. All the detail sometimes gets repetitive, but the young boy's coming-of-age brings the forced-immigration story up close. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reservedSee all Editorial Reviews
Product details
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Allen & Unwin; 1st Printing edition (April 1, 2007)
Language: English
10 customer reviews
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Top Reviews
FJP
5.0 out of 5 starsLife of a Cuban middle class child in the early years of the revolutionJuly 4, 2018
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I left Cuba in 1960 at age 11. Luis left when he was 13, in 1972. Reading his experiences as a child growing up in Castro's Cuba gave me a glimpse at what my life could have been like had my parents had decided to stay instead of leaving when we did.
Leaving was a bureaucratic and logistic ordeal. Once you announced you were leaving everyone in the family was ostracized by the regime. Luis' father had to spend 3 years in compulsory agricultural work far away from his family. Because they were from Banes, they had to travel to Havana to catch their flight. Breakdowns of these buses were commonplace, so they left Banes a few days earlier. They had to find someone who would put them up for a few days before leaving. His uncle, a high ranking official in the Cuban government had the means to do it, but could not do it for fear it might get him in trouble with his superiors. They ended up in uncomfortable quarters thanks to the generosity of another family member. On the day they were scheduled to leave, they were told "there were no seats on the plane." Up to the time when they were scheduled to leave, they were in fear the government might find a reason to stop their departure.
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LRR
5.0 out of 5 starsAn eye-opening book.October 8, 2018
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If only high school and college students could be required to read this book for a history or literature class. The Cuban revolution is seen through the eyes of a child who saw his once wealthy country reduced to poverty. People had to stand in line for food where there had been an abundance before. His parents lost their small business. His father was forced into years of servitude when he applied to emigrate. And worst of all, "the Americans had taken all the hairspray with them."
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Francisco "Paco" Sabin, Author, Around the World in 70 Years
5.0 out of 5 starsChild of the RevolutionAugust 21, 2012
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I am a Cuban-American who has just published my own memoir, and an avid reader of books by Cubans who were impacted by the Castro Revolution in their childhoods. Luis Garcia's took is extraordinary, and he captures his family's difficult passage in the Revolution's turbulent first decade with great humor and heart warming sincerity. I found it particularly interesting to see developments from the perspective of a "guajirito" in Banes. As I wrote in my autobiography, Cuba lost most of its best people in a Revolution that brought so much pain to all Cubans: Luis is one of many of these children now writing about their journeys, and I will ensure that my entire family reads this excellent book. It will help them understand the challenges many encountered to flee their tropical "paradise."
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Sema
5.0 out of 5 starsReminiscesMarch 12, 2010
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This was a wonderful book to read as it so vividly described the feelings I too had as a child fleeing from Cuba.
My family were there as dad was working for Philips and after the company was nationalized we had to 'take' a 'pretend holiday' to Dutch Guiana in order to escape.
We too literally left with the clothes we were wearing!
It was great to read what actually happened in Cuba during and after the time we left, written from the perspective of a child.
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B.E.
5.0 out of 5 starsWELL-WRITTEN, and VERY ENJOYABLEJuly 7, 2009
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I loved reading this book! It's well-written, engaging, and an easy read. The author wrote it from the point of view of a child, as the title suggests, but he is an excellent writer, so the finished product appeals to adults who are seeking a different perspective on life in Castro's Cuba. Having just toured in Cuba, I was especially interested in getting an inside viewpoint, and the author did not disappoint.
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WomenOnGuard
5.0 out of 5 starsA sincere, funny & sad autobiographic must read!January 27, 2011
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This book reads like a friend sitting next to you, telling you his childhood experiences. Accurate information about families living in Cuba at the time. Ironic, heartwarming incidents and thoughts and worries that ran through this child's mind while the island of Cuba was controlled by Fidel Castro. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in knowing how it was in Cuba. Unfortunately very little has changed since then...
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Gus Venegas
5.0 out of 5 starsGarcia's Child of the RevolutionJune 5, 2010
Format: Paperback
This book is by Cuban Australian author Luis Garcia, who tells us of his family and of his coming of age under the first few years of the Revolution in Banes, a small rural town in eastern Cuba. Although lacking a perspective of life before Castro coming to power in 1959, the author tells his story in a colorful and humorous way. His description of a communist's relative winning an apparently rigged beauty contest is hilarious. The fear of been set up for a black market buy of pork meat from a government soldier is evident. His narrative of his parents losing their mom and pop tailoring business in 1968 is painful. Life after that seems to get harder as his parents become government employees at the newly confiscated industries of Cuba, whether mom sorting coffee beans or dad at a factory. Garcia goes on to describe the last few months before leaving Cuba for Spain (later to Australia), when his dad was required to be an agricultural worker for plantation master Castro prior to exiting Cuba. I found the book easy to read, enjoyable, and descriptive of life by a typical family in Castro's Cuba. It was one of thirty plus books I read prior to publishing my own (Memories from the Land of the Intolerant Tyrant) and I found it interesting, humorous, and informative about life in Castro's Cuba.
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Henry L. Gomez
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent Companion to Waiting for Snow in HavanaFebruary 28, 2007
Format: Paperback
Luis M. Garcia is a gifted Cuban-Australian (you read that correctly, Cuban-Australian not Cuban-American) author. In his book Child of the Revolution we see what it was like to grow up in the 60s in Cuba. Since it's told from the perspective of a young boy, the story is reminiscent of the excellent book "Waiting for Snow in Havana" by Carlos Eire. Where the books are different is that Eire saw the changes from pre-Revolutionary Cuba to Revolutionary Cuba and describes them in great detail. Garcia, on the other hand, was born in 1959, the same year Castro took power, and thus had no knowledge of that pre-Castro Cuba other than what his parents told him. In fact Garcia describes that period in his life as "a battle between Castro and my parents for the mind of an 11 year old." With this book and his blog Luis M. Garcia proves that Castro's critics aren't just in Miami. Cubans have been scattered around the globe thanks to Castro's brutal dictatorship.
Highly recommended.
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Sep 05, 2010Robin rated it did not like it
A mostly imagined memior by a conservative. He imagines what thoughts and decisions his parents made - strange that in his lifetime they never told him about the pivotal events of his family's life or that he never asked, leaving him to imagine what an official might have said to his father about migrating to Australia and so on. Even more incredible given that Garcia also became a journalist, before a political advisor to a conservative politician. Even at this stage Garcia could have shown the manuscript to his parents and corrected imaginings with actual memories and events. He doesn't. It is impossible to believe he is unaware of what his parents might have told him, and the fact he never once cites them for a single conversation or incident, suggests his main purpose is not to relate a truthful account but fabricate a fictional narrative that serves his conservative and agenda. It's obvious in fact.
His critique of Castro's Cuba is undermined by his numerous "imaginings" in place of actual conversations and events and his constant snide remarks. If one is already a Castro hater, such comments may need no explanation, but if you are reading the book to gain some insight then these comments are just plain irritating.
There are glimpses of real life - some memories of school - which ring true and which he could have used more to bolster his critique, but I think Garcia tries to turn a memoir of a boy into an adult political critique, but relies on cold war cliches in place of research. It's reduced to a conservative preaching to fellow conservatives; Castro is bad, communism is bad, Lenin is bad, the Russians are bad - and I know because I can IMAGINE what my parents thought, though I never actually asked them. (less)
His critique of Castro's Cuba is undermined by his numerous "imaginings" in place of actual conversations and events and his constant snide remarks. If one is already a Castro hater, such comments may need no explanation, but if you are reading the book to gain some insight then these comments are just plain irritating.
There are glimpses of real life - some memories of school - which ring true and which he could have used more to bolster his critique, but I think Garcia tries to turn a memoir of a boy into an adult political critique, but relies on cold war cliches in place of research. It's reduced to a conservative preaching to fellow conservatives; Castro is bad, communism is bad, Lenin is bad, the Russians are bad - and I know because I can IMAGINE what my parents thought, though I never actually asked them. (less)
Feb 16, 2018Vladimir rated it it was ok
As far as its documentary value goes, I gave it two stars (literary value is non-existent). Entertainment value - three stars. It's obviously written by an anti-Castrist and it this sense it's actually a more balanced portrayal of the early revolutionary years than I expected and that many other books written by members of the Cuban emigration offer. Why only two stars, then? Well, whereas I found it interesting to read because it was written from a child's perspective, this is precisely why it's unreliable as a document of the times. Another reviewer point out that most of it is imagined, and in a sense I agree - the author attributes a lot of opinions and beliefs to his parents and through how he sees them, he tells much of the story of the changes that took place after 1959. Whereas I enjoyed reading it, I would never judge Cuban society pre- or post-1959 by the information, fantasies and tales told in this book. To give an example - there is an episode near the beginning that touches on flagrant racism of pre-revolutionary Cuba told almost as an anecdote. On the other hand, other forms of oppression post-1959 are not as funny to the author. (less)
Nov 05, 2018Filip rated it really liked it
Zanimljiva knjiga sa dosta interesantih informacija o Kubi pisana kroz oči deteta od 10-tak godina. Književni stil je slab pa zato dajem slabu četvorku, ali simpatično i humoristički opisuje život pod Fidelom.
Apr 24, 2018Augusto Venegas rated it really liked it
This book is by Cuban Australian author Luis Garcia, who tells us of his family and of his coming of age under the first few years of the Revolution in Banes, a small rural town in eastern Cuba. Although lacking a perspective of life before Castro coming to power in 1959, the author tells his story in a colorful and humorous way. His description of a communist's relative winning an apparently rigged beauty contest is hilarious. The fear of been set up for a black market buy of pork meat from a government soldier is evident. His narrative of his parents losing their mom and pop tailoring business in 1968 is painful. Life after that seems to get harder as his parents become government employees at the newly confiscated industries of Cuba, whether mom sorting coffee beans or dad at a factory. Garcia goes on to describe the last few months before leaving Cuba for Spain (later to Australia), when his dad was required to be an agricultural worker for plantation master Castro prior to exiting Cuba. I found the book easy to read, enjoyable, and descriptive of life by a typical family in Castro's Cuba. It was one of thirty plus books I read prior to publishing my own (Memories from the Land of the Intolerant Tyrant) and I found it interesting, humorous, and informative about life in Castro's Cuba. (less)
Nov 17, 2007Margie rated it it was amazing
I was impressed at how vividly Luis Garcia brought the Cuba of his childhood to life. And also by how skillfully he balanced the knowledge he has as an adult authoring this tale with the naivity and innocence he possessed as the child depicted in this book.
I only wish there was a second volume, to continue the story of his family as they deal with their new life as Cuban refugees first in Spain and then later in Australia.
I only wish there was a second volume, to continue the story of his family as they deal with their new life as Cuban refugees first in Spain and then later in Australia.
Aug 08, 2008Julian Gallo rated it really liked it
A very interesting look at a childhood in post-revolutionary Cuba. Written from a boyhood perspective. Interesting in a historical way as well and shines a light on what actually happened there, dispels any myths people may have as well. A great read.
Jun 26, 2016Lauren Strickland rated it really liked it
A very informative read which provided me with a deeper insight into life under Castro's communist rule, told through the eyes of a child.
May 11, 2009Leanne Costantino rated it liked it
Really easy reading. It's a 12 year olds view of growing in Cuba and becoming a good little Revolutionary. Kim I will post it to you if you want something to flick though on a lazy Saturday arvo?
