In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd |  | Author: Ana Menendez
Publisher: Grove Press
Category: Book
List Price: $23.00
Buy New: $8.60
You Save: $14.40 (63%)
New (4) Used (7) from $4.34
Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 2235807
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 229
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.3 x 0.9
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
ASIN: B000VYJW36
Publication Date: May 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Maximo, a Cuban immigrant, passes his days in Miami's Domino Park refining his elaborate jokes - like the one about a mongrel who comes to the States looking for love and luck. His sleepless nights he spends struggling to recall the precise shade of his dead wife's eyes, and reliving the hardships he and she faced together on their arrival in America. In these interlinked tales, Ana Menendez introduces us to a cast of characters young and old, and to the island with its fragrant streets, passionate music and fields of cane that compels their imaginations. Richly sensual, full of observations that catch at the heart, this is writing of rare distinction and storytelling power, and marks the arrival of a major international voice.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...
 Beautifully written, but repetitive December 12, 2005
dephal (California)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a collection of short stories, all of which involve Cuban expatriates, and many of which have characters in common. All the stories have a tone of melancholy or even desperation, and all deal with themes of loss--loss of husbands, wives, parents, and children, and especially, loss of a homeland. Each story makes beautiful use of language, but they are mostly the sort of stories in which nothing much really happens: a husband can't sleep because he imagines that his wife is unfaithful, a woman waits to see if her husband will survive the raft trip from Cuba, and so on. While I enjoyed each story, I found the collection as a whole repetitive. By the end, I didn't think that the stories had anything new to say.
A Varied Collection of Variable Quality March 1, 2005
Robert Carlberg (Seattle)
These eleven short stories with recurring characters range from the comic opener to the darkly sinister "The Perfect Fruit" to the almost Argentine magical realism of "Miami Relatives." There are many flashes of brilliance, such as this from "Miami Relatives":
"The Aunt Julia climbs to the top of the table and holds her arms out for silence. 'Today I ate the sun,' she says. 'The darkness was delicious.' We sit staring at her until she opens her mouth and blinds us."
Or the story "The Last Rescue" which is a fevered depiction of insomnia.
However these moments arrive as flashes precisely because the surrounding text is less bright, less interesting, less illuminated by insight. Long stretches seem strained or uninspired. Perhaps, not being Cuban-American, I cannot relate to the experiences related by the author but my general impression is that the book was somewhat uneven.
 Not my kind of book July 13, 2003
Amanda Bennett (Ottawa, ON Canada)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
I can definitely see how some people would enjoy this book, but it didn't do much for me. I felt some stories were too long winded, especially the one where the husband is having a sleepless night and keeps worrying about his wife's faithfulness to him. It was torture trying to get through that and other stories. Sure, the author could write beautifully, but I didn't feel like I learned anything from the stories or the novel as a whole. A disappointing read.
 Amazing Imagery January 10, 2003
Andrea (Littleton, CO USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book completely caught me off guard with its beautifully still scenes of intense imagery. I can't recommend this book enough to people who love authors who have almost a lyrical style. The plot is complex and many of the chapters seem to suspend time in the air. Not arrogant or showy at all, the book is intricately beautiful and a phenomenal piece of art.
A voice for a people of exile December 12, 2002
Michael Lopez (Tallahassee, Fl United States)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Ana Menendez does a fantastic job expressing life as an immigrant. Through humor and uncanny examples and spanish phrases any Cuban is all too familiar with, she brings a sense of nostalgia with her words that reach and communicate not only to the Cuban people but to any group of people anywhere in the world. Fantastic read!
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