Rating: 
Summary: Different than, but equally as good as, the film
Review: Reinaldo Arenas, Before Night Falls (Penguin, 1993)Arenas' memoir of life in Cuba has recently been made into one of the finest films extant by Julian Schnabel. Schnabel did an excellent job with the book; while his interpretation of the text was loose in places, he managed to capture in images the style of Arenas' writing. In other words, if you saw the movie before reading the book, you're going to be somewhat surprised. Some of Schnabel's more memorable scenes are mentioned in passing (if at all) in the book, and one of the film's central sequences, the balloon escape, gets one sentence. Where Arenas and Schnabel intersect is in the lushness, the ability to find celebration and remarkable beauty inside the ugliness of the Castro regime (and, for a few years' worth, the Batista regime before it). Arenas' memoir is also likely to shock more than a few in its sexual explicitness (another aspect Schnabel rather shied away from, which I found a tad surprising while reading the book), but so be it. There is nothing gratuitous about either Arenas' promiscuity or his literary descriptions of it; it's no different than using the language of excess to describe the beastliness of a life that involves hand-to-mouth poverty and political censure. And throughout, more than anything (and perhaps this is what makes the book so powerful), Before Night Falls is a celebration, both of Arenas' life and the lives of many other Cuban writers persecuted as dissidents in the latter half of the twentieth century. **** 1/2
Rating:
Summary: A brutal look at our modern world
Review: Arenas is neither a fan of capitalism nor communism, but don't let his political views temper your reading of this amazing memoir. Beginning in Cuba when he was just a child who licked dirt, this story takes us on a ride from the downfall of Batista to the rise of Castro, and the oppression suffered by gays, artists, women and all those who did not fit into Castro's Cuba. Arenas' tale is a powerful one, and not for the faint of heart. I am not referring here to the homosexuality in the book, I am referring to the graphic descriptions of life in prison that Arenas underwent. That alone is enough to make one put down the book for a while, and take a stroll. In the end, this book is a wonderful, untempered look at rebellion, and escape. Arenas is not the sad, gentle soul telling a tale. rather, this book is full of fire and anger, and makes it that much more satisfying. I highly recommend this book to anybody who has taken freedom for granted (and that includes me).
Rating:
Summary: Before Night Falls
Review: It is sad to read how a human being is treated in a communistic
country. When freeom is taken away from your soul the body
disintegrates and fortunate for Reinaldo Arenas writing was a gift from above. If you put aside his homosexuality, this mans
literacy will touch everyone that reads it. It's hard to imagine
how many Arenas have been destroyed by Coummunisum. Unfortunately
this still goes on today.
Rating: 
Summary: 'Before Night Falls' is a beautiful eulogy
Review: 'Before Night Falls' is a beautiful eulogy to a man who was uncompromising and singular in his artistic vision. Reinaldo Arenas is a hero in my opinion.
The Cuban writer had a gift of storytelling. He knew when to mix reality with the mystical world of fantasy without a passage sounding unrealistic. He lived in a harsh reality, but his writing is full of magical passion.
Arenas suffered incredible hardships under the Castro regime and yet still made it out alive to tell his tale. I can't possibly fathom half of the experiences he had from his childhood on a farm, his adholescence as a Rebel, the disillusionment of Communism and dictatorship, and his many attempts for freedom.
I saw the movie before I read this autobiography, and the film couldn't possibly capture every moment of this book (it would be too long.)
Eroticism is greatly discussed, which I found a bit alarming, but those sexual experiences were a part of his life and were small acts of rebellion.
This novel opened up my eyes to the horrors of living under the dictatorship of Fidel Castro. Betrayal was a true occurence, Arenas lived in a world where no one could be trusted (especially relatives).
I am an adholescent, yet to experience the pains & pleasures of this world. Reading 'Before Night Falls' has affirmed my belief that life is an adventure, full of possibilities. I can only hope to experience a tenth of what this intelligent man lived.
Rating:
Summary: Going back
Review: It is most reassuring to see that a film based on Arenas' extraordinary book "Before Night Falls" is gaining the kudos and exposure this underrated (in this country at least)author deserves. I first read this book when it was translated and released in 1993 and seeing the film only made me hasten to return to the original book. Time has aged the eloquence of this memoir but has not marred the impact of the brilliance of the writing. Arenas wrote with a degree of truth and keen observation that makes his moments of antics with his characters like comic relief in a Shakespearean play. For obvious reasons the film (brilliantly directed by Julian Schnabel and acted by Javier Bardem as Arenas) could not dwell on some of the elements that make the book so unique: the extended description of life in Cuban prisons is only touched on. But the single most significant rediscovery in reading "Before Night Falls" again is Arenas' poetry. He had a gift of distilling Magical Realism, transforming even the radical ugliness of Castro's Cuba into the topical paradise so beloved by Cubans everywhere. See the film, but let that experience introduce you to the rich literary output of one of the most exciting writers of the last century.
Rating:
Summary: hot homo-sex
Review: Reinaldo Arenas' Before Night Falls is a sexually driven account of the author's life which encapsulates the journey of a homosexual artist and the violent opposition to his very existence, as well as how he survives such opposition. Arenas gives a fascinating perspective concerning masculinity, Castro, and artistic purpose. His style is simple, honest, and detailed. In addition to Arenas' straightforward approach he has a great ability to place the reader in his shoes. Considering the tale is given with such a personal angle the reader can understand the complications and contradictions of homosexual masculinity. Morever, for anyone who is curious about the artistic and political experiences of a homosexual in Cuba this memoir will serve them like a well-balanced meal. You will fall in love with Reinaldo and the way that he experienced life.
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Summary: A bold memoir of oppression and defiance
Review: "Before Night Falls," the autobiography of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas, is an astonishing book. Arenas notes that he dictated part of the book into a tape recorder, and it was later transcribed by a friend. This format probably accounts for the book's intimate tone; I could imagine Arenas sitting in front of me and telling the whole story over coffee. The book has been translated into a forthright English by Dolores M. Koch. "Before Night Falls" begins with Arenas' childhood in rural Cuba. It details his life as a writer, his many sexual exploits as a gay man, and his sufferings under the regime of Fidel Castro. It is amazing to read how Arenas had to struggle to exist as a writer in a police state; he tells how he was forced to hide manuscripts and how friends smuggled his writings out of Cuba for publication in foreign countries. The book contains many shocking and painful episodes, such as his accounts of his own imprisonment and exile. But his life story also contains moments of humor and hope. Particularly interesting are Arenas' accounts of his friendships with other gay Cuban writers, such as Virgilio Pinera and Jose Lezama Lima. Overall, the tone of the book reflects Arenas' many moods: sensuous, angry, joyful, outraged, wry, melancholy, and--above all--defiant. His writing is rich in colorful personalities and fascinating anecdotes. An interesting companion volume to Arenas' autobiography would be the book "Eminent Maricones: Arenas, Lorca, Puig, and Me," by gay Colombian-born writer Jaime Manrique. Manrique knew Arenas personally, and "Eminent Maricones" contains an account of Arenas' last days as he worked to complete "Before Night Falls" while dying of AIDS-related complications. Having read that book made me appreciate Arenas' achievement even more. At one point Arenas recalls advice given to him by Jose Lezama Lima: "Remember that our only salvation lies in words: write!" Reading this book, I get the sense that Arenas achieved his own personal "salvation" through his literature, and in particular, through this autobiography. "Before Night Falls" is an amazing human testament that moved me deeply. If you are interested in Latin American literature, gay studies, the art of autobiography, or human rights issues, I strongly recommend this book to you.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful novel
Review: I found this to be an incredibly moving journey through Arenas's fascinating life, terrible persecution and tragic death. While you know throughout the book what is going to happen to Reinaldo, you feel so much for him as a person that you wish you could go back and change history. The most tragic part is that this beautifully written book is a true story.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING!!!
Review: Very simply...this is an amazing book. Both informative and compelling, Arenas draws you in like few can and doesn't let you go until long after you've devoured the last page. I couldn't put it down!!!
Rating:
Summary: Negotiating Identity
Review: Reinaldo Arenas' autobiographical novel, Before Night Falls, is a fusion of reality and impressionism in which he negotiates his own identity in the face of violent political repression. In a country in which homosexuality it not illegal, Arenas explores a culture that demands public conformity but permits private deviation. The novel interweaves his personal journey from his country home through his revolutionary teenage years to his subsequent political persecution and imprisonment and his eventual escape from Communist Cuba in the Mariel boat-lift of 1981. His description of his childhood paints a portrait of open sexuality in which no partner, neither relative nor animal, is exempt from sexual exploration. Leaving his country home as a young adolescent, Arenas moves to Havana where he finds himself swept up in the revolution and joins a circle of writers and artists. The parallel excitement of his intellectual and sexual growth is both restrained and intensified by the political repression that threatens to end them both.
The most striking element of Arenas' narrative is the Cuban conception of both sexuality and homosexuality. Living under a government that brutally represses those it considers deviate, Arenas suggests that he had sex with as many as 5,000 men while still a young man. Arenas himself classifies four sides of homosexuality in Cuba: the dog collar gay, the common gay, the closet gay, and the royal gay. From his adolescence until his daring escape from Cuba to America, Arenas encounters many masculine appearing and masculine-identified men who wanted him to play the active role in the relationship, and yet he continues to identify as the passivo. This is just one example of the way in which Arenas constantly negotiated his own self identity, as is evident when Lt. Victor "erases" him while in prison only to be recreated later
Arenas was an incredible writer, and the richness and complexity of the Cuban culture is evident in the wonderful imagery used throughout the novel, especially during his time in hiding. More of a series of scenes than a continuous story, the novel presents a detailed look at the way in which all Cubans, not just homosexuals, negotiated both a public and private identity. There is a gay machismo in the tone of Arena's prose; every trip to the beach, every walk down the street is a chance for sex. Arena clearly reveals the erotic and the literary are intertwined, as the vision of beauty and subsequent destruction is a constant throughout the novel and is reflected in his personal life as well.
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