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Footnote Reviews
, September 10, 2013
(view all comments by Footnote Reviews)
This novel brings to life Cuba in the late 1950s, when Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are fighting the forces of Fulgencio Batista, a ruthless dictator with some very wicked ways. Many who oppose Batista’s regime are tortured, killed or simply disappear. Fidel promises freedom from this nightmare and is planning to re-install the Catholic church to its former status once he takes over.
Our story centres around the life of Pedro Villanueva, a priest who feels he has been forced into his ‘calling’ my his mother. He questions his faith and suitability for the priesthood then circumstances place him on the side of the rebels and his life is turned upside down. He meets two very different women - one that wants him for the revolution, the other befriends him and he sees a future with her away from the priesthood.
Pedro is asked to minister the last rites to an inmate at La Cabana, the notorious prison run by Batista’s henchmen. He is shocked at what he finds there and is drawn to the rebel cause more and more. A family tragedy increases his desire to aid the rebels and bring freedom to the Cuban people. He attended the same school as Fidel Castro and, through his ability as a sailor, is called upon to work for the rebels and is re-acquainted with his old schoolmate at his hideout in the mountains. Pedro saves the life of one of the rebel leaders and is lauded as a hero of the revolution, a plaudit he is keen to distance himself from. When he returns to Havana, it is a very different place. The rebels are now running the town and their methods seem as brutal as the previous regime, and Pedro seeks an escape with the woman he has grown to love, but his drastic plan leads them into more danger.
Interesting novel from a historical viewpoint but I felt let-down by the ending.
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