July 21, 2008

Discussion of Waiting for Snow in Havana

It's now time to discuss Carlos Eire's Waiting for Snow in Havana. I must admit: I hadn't even realized this was a true story when I picked it for discussion. I thought it was a novel. Do you think it's good to have variety?

I'm not going to say any more, and let someone else have the first say. A few discussion questions in case they are needed:

1. Did Eire do a good job of painting the picture of his childhood?

2. What did you think of his characterization of his parents, "Louis XVI" and "Marie Antoinette"?

3. And what about those lizards?

4. Was there any political/cultural event in your childhood that affected who you became in a similar way to Fidel's takeover of Cuba affect on Carlos?

5 comments:

  1. I'm only halfway done, but I'll answer anyway.

    1. Did Eire do a good job of painting the picture of his childhood? I think so. I kind of wonder if he made up a lot of it because it's just amazing to me that anyone could remember so much.

    2. What did you think of his characterization of his parents, "Louis XVI" and "Marie Antoinette"? I could see his father a lot more clearly than his mother. But I enjoy his descriptions of them and his memories of them.

    3. And what about those lizards? I think in a way the lizards are a symbol of Cuba, he has a sort of love-hate relationship with them, and he seems to relate them to each other a lot.

    4. Was there any political/cultural event in your childhood that affected who you became in a similar way to Fidel's takeover of Cuba affect on Carlos? Mine had more to do with religion than with culture or politics.

    Overall, I'm having a love-hate relationship with this book. It's both interesting and boring, structured and rambling. I think he goes on too much, goes off on too many tangents, etc. Otherwise I find it very good.

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  2. I really wanted to like the book but overall I didn't really care for it. While it is suppose to be a true story, I don't know that I believed it 100%.

    He did a great job of describing his childhood. I especially like the part where he got bit by a monkey! I just found it extremely funny for some reason that he would get bit by playing hide and seek in a backyard (zoo?) full of exotic animals. The image I come up with in my head is just too funny.

    I agree with Memarie Lane that at parts it was very boring and he seems to ramble a lot.

    Not something I would want to read again.

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  3. I agree, Marie, that the lizards symbolize Cuba. He sure doesn't seem to like them very much!

    I did like this book, though it's not one of my favorites. He can be rambly at times. I think he did an excellent job of helping an American reader understand what it would be like to grow up as he did, and to have everything change practically overnight.

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  4. Dr. Eire's description of his childhood rings true to me.
    I was born in Havana in 1948 and left the island in 1961 to the care of an aunt that had already left the island. Eventually the vast majority of the family came to the U.S.
    We grew up in the same neighborhood, Miramar, and attended La Salle, although I attended the one in Vedado, where most of my family had attended.
    His stories are typical of Cuban kids growing in Miramar during that time. I have as many detailed memories as the author does which I will cherish until the day I die. When you lose something as precious and beloved as your homeland, you hold on to every little memory...
    By the way, I also blew up lizards with cohetes and never thought of the alledged symbolism.

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  5. I, too, grew up in Havana and left in 1961, although I was 24 years old. I grew up in Santo Suarez and my brother also attended La Salle in Miramar. I don't know if my brother blew up any lizards, but I wouldn't be at all surprised. However, I did grow up with pinatas at parties and the traditional 3 hour wait after the middday meal before swimming in the ocean. All the memories Dr. Eire describes ring true to me; I lived it so I know. His stories reflect a very Cuban-flavored sense of humor - I laughed heartily, despite the rambling style, which is also very Cuban!! I loved the book!

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