Havana Dreams, Wendy Gimbel
Havana Dreams, Wendy Gimbel
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Havana Dreams
A Story of Cuba

Author: Wendy Gimbel

Narrator: Anna Fields

Unabridged: 6 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/01/1999

Synopsis

This is the fascinating true story of four generations of Cuban women whose personal lives are woven with the story of their nation. At its center is Naty, a socialite born in 1925, who becomes intoxicated with Castro and his revolution. Here, published for the first time, are the letters they exchanged while Castro was in jail. Naty raises Castro’s unacknowledged daughter, who in turn bears her a granddaughter before immigrating to America to join protests against her father’s regime. Naty’s mother, an unregenerate reactionary, completes the family picture.Each woman is irrevocably marked with the story of their home island. This is a powerful story of the profound consequences of Cuba’s contemporary history for the ordinary lives of its people.

About Wendy Gimbel

Wendy Gimbel made many childhood visits to the family of her paternal grandmother in pre-Castro Cuba. She went on to receive a PhD in English literature and author a scholarly book on Edith Wharton. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, Vogue, Mirabella, Nation, and other publications. She has two grown sons and lives with her husband in New York City.

About Anna Fields

Anna Fields (1965–2006), winner of more than a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award in 2004, was one of the most respected narrators in the industry. Trained at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, she was also a director, producer, and technician at her own studio, Cedar House Audio.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Owen on January 10, 2017

Well written, well thought out account of a Havana that was and what the Revolution did to one family closely connected to the island's power brokers. A tale of bourgeois insensibility on the one hand and the difficult times that developed once the tyrant Baptista was gone and, according to the book......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on April 10, 2016

"In the best of times, history is gentle; in Cuba, it has been severe." Although fascinating in its use of memoir and family ethnography to tell the history of Cuba, it is perhaps more interesting (compelling) in its explanation of the exile experience: "The myth of exile runs something like this. W......more

Quotes

“Gimbel…tells a mesmerizing story, and she knows of what she speaks, which adds an authentic ring to her words. Anna Fields does an excellent job of reading Havana Dreams, changing voices to match her characters and speaking in fluid Spanish as the narration dictates.” Library Journal

“An astonishing, true tale.”   San Francisco Chronicle

“An enjoyably dramatic family-based tale…Gimbel rejects dogma to tell an intensely personal story about how the revolution changed everything.” Kirkus Reviews

“Anna Fields’ warm voice and vigorous delivery are a good match for Gimbel’s perceptive account of Naty’s betrayal…A caustic edge to Fields’ voice drives the anger in Gimbel’s account and leaves us with no affection for Castro, but a better understanding of Cuba’s history and people.” AudioFile

Awards

  • New York Times Notable Book
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