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Fabian's Reviews > Before Night Falls
Before Night Falls
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Perhaps the single best memoir I've EVER read, this work of art is excruciating. There is no doubt that everything that occurred to Arenas happened and that here is testament of how the new wave of Cuban writers, lingering between Batista (incited by him and his regime) & entering into the holocaust that is Communist Cuba by Castro, struggled & died. This voice was not extinguished, however.
Arena's life is full of missteps, amazing accomplishments & plenty of sex. He's proud of himself, never apologizes. His nemesis is not himself (most writers are so full of inner demons- Arenas is a rock of certainty and is so self-aware) but Castro. Always effenCastro.
It is sad that after all this, the Plague in NYC finally claims this intelligent, articulate and overly creative man. It seems that all good things come to an end, but that is no reason to dismiss everything that exists in between.
Arena's life is full of missteps, amazing accomplishments & plenty of sex. He's proud of himself, never apologizes. His nemesis is not himself (most writers are so full of inner demons- Arenas is a rock of certainty and is so self-aware) but Castro. Always effenCastro.
It is sad that after all this, the Plague in NYC finally claims this intelligent, articulate and overly creative man. It seems that all good things come to an end, but that is no reason to dismiss everything that exists in between.
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Reading Progress
Started Reading
August 3, 2009
– Shelved
August 3, 2009
–
Finished Reading
February 9, 2011
– Shelved as:
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I love the feeling. I love how you are transported there and how you land upon the quintessential story of stunted genius... I can relate to the obnoxious, and yet endearing (I think of a Cartman from South Park prototype) protagonist... he is stuck in Ordinaryness (though it isn't). I can talk hours about it. I find the tragic overtone of it all, that the writer died before the work got published... mirroring Ignacious. Posthumously, it did get recognized by the Pulitzers. But, c'mon: maybe that year saw no innovations. "Confederacy" reminds me of waking life: no work, dry environment, silly lemmings that take up space on the panorama. It really doesn't hurt that the panorama is Pirate's Alley in the quarter (I have like 3 incredible memories from that one silly street strip)... see what thinking about the novel segues into? Nostalgia.
ok-I get it now. i wish i could write like you. This is REALLY insightful. Thanks.
and WHERE are YOUR reviews?????Actually I love Middlesex as much as Confederacy. Try that one next--- and you recommend one (c'mon- I read "Thorn Birds"--- does anyone, anymore?).
No. I just read "Ham on Rye" by Bukowski. I liked it alot-its unusual to have a Depression Era memoir set in Los Angeles. I want to read his poetry next. Right now I'm reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie. Its really well written. Its off of my son's adolescent lit list. I'm going to read his John Green books too.
I'm not a memoir person, but this one sounds interesting.
Great review! Thanks, I’m sold. 😊
Why did you love Confederacy so much? Because the protagonist is so obnoxious? Because it is so outlandish? HELP ME on that one! I'm not an English person. I enjoyed it for its nostalgia about a New Orleans that is no longer there, but I don't see why it won the Pulitzer. :(