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Summary: before night falls
Review: I have just discovered this book as a result of viewing the dvd
adapted from it. I note that your review rating is four and one half stars. This is well short of an accurate rating. It should be five out of five stars or if it was possible better. The author states that after finally reaching Florida his proposed to set up a publishing house for Cuban writers was not taken up by wealthy Cubans living there. This was very short sighted as this man's work should have been openly avaible to the world as early as possible. Maybe, I have not looked hard enough but it is only just now I am discovering writers like Reinaldo. It is a great loss that Mr Aneras passed away and that the world does not continue to receive his contributions however I, at least, can read his books that I have not already read.
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Summary: Survival in Cuba
Review: "Before Night Falls" is the compelling story of Reinaldo Arenas's life in Cuba, and his flight from that country to the USA. It's an account of personal and political oppression - Arenas was persecuted for his homosexuality as well as for his opposition to the Castro regime.Arenas's accounts of his childhood and youth are extraordinary, even shocking: animal, vegetable, mineral - nothing appears to have been free from the sexual attentions of the male Cuban peasant. The sections of the book devoted to Arenas's imprisonment and the conditions in Cuba's jails are a harrowing and disturbing read. This is not a totally uplifting story - Arenas's eventual fate, and his failure to find contentment as an exile, militate against that - but his survival of the treatment he received in Cuba is impressive. G Rodgers
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Summary: To The Public:
Review: To the public: My name is Lázaro Gómez Carriles. I am the heir to Reinaldo Arenas' Estate. I once regarded Julian Charles Schnabel with the utmost respect for having depicted cinematically, in the film, Before Night Falls, Reinaldo Arenas' literary screams of terror committed against the Cuban people. The whole world stood up crying, and applauded Julian's heroism: his contribution to Cuba's fight for freedom. Now, I am morally stricken with grief, but I am responsible to you, as well as my fellow Cubans still living in terror, to state the truth: Julian Charles Schnabel is a fraud! And I stand by my words firmly, as we know Reinaldo has always done in moments like this, despite of the consequences that, undiscerningly, Julian Schnabel is attempting against my person. Apparently, Schnabel has misinterpreted the integrity of my long time friend, Reinaldo. I have wrote two poems, Soneto Para Una Dama Opulenta, and Como Picasso, for my book of poetry, entitled, Intuición Campesina, and these poems, one dedicated to Julian Schnabel, and the other to Olatz Schnabel, along with my paintings, and a documentary made about my work, entitled, Membranofonismo, Birth of a Movement, has infuriated Julian so: he has fired me, canceled my family's health insurance, and has refused to speak to me, and the only way I can have any further communication with Julian Schnabel, is through his lawyers. And now, I have very few months left to enjoy the peace of my home, because he has generously extended me four months, to vacate the domicile where I now reside, provided that I never write anything about him again. I am about to lose everything I ever owned, again! But I am tired of having to start over, and over, every time my poetry angers someone. Among all the people in the world, Julian is the last person I could think of, being the recipient of the "Human Spirit Award", that would want me to spend the rest of my life regretting, that I used my privilege to write a poem. But he gave me so much inspiration, that I could not ignore such gifts. Please Julian, I am begging you: you don't have to like my poems; you don't have to like my paintings, but do not make me regret my bad taste in art. Make me regret that I have stated that you are a fraud.
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Summary: Loved the movie and LOVED the book!
Review: I saw the movie first and decided I'd read the book that it was based on. I'm so glad I did. The book, of course, goes into much more detail and is very rich in its description. The author gives us a vivid account of what it was like growing up under the Castro regime as a gay man. It is sad to see how such a talented writer was treated, all because of his sexual orientation. I want to read more of Arenas' books as this one has only whet my appetite for his works. I recommend this book highly. Read it and then enjoy the movie too. Javier Bardem's performance is incredible (and he received an Oscar nomination for it).
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Summary: BEEN THERE,AND BACK
Review: LOVE THIS BOOK ITS A TRUE LIFE STORY AND iVE BEEN THERE AND FEEL WHAT HE WENT THOUGH,IN LIFE. GREAT BOOK
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Summary: An Extraordinary Journey that gets to the spirit of Humanity
Review: Not only is the book an engaging journey of a gay Cuban man it is also a personal account of Cuban history that you will never see in any History book. I learned more about Cuba after reading the late Mr. Aremas book then I ever did in school! The discusssion and debate this book has generated in local book clubs I've attended has been fierce! (See: The four Categories of Gays) Mr. Arenas had interjected the harshness of Cuban life with humor so strong I was laughing everytime I read this book. (His personal "sexcapades" are worthy of the cost-Although I don't believe all of them!) Do yourself a favor read this book!(and then see the movie if you haven't already.)
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Summary: A great read, especially after seeing the movie
Review: It's always interesting to check out a book *after* you've seen the movie. And Arenas' book feels like a completely different experience than Julian Schnaebel's equally fine film. The film takes some of the most colorful episodes of the book - however brief they may be (some worth no more than one paragraph of Arenas' time) - and stitches them together to form a pastiche of Arenas' life. The book is even more powerful because of its intense and lengthy passages detailing Arenas' *very* humble beginnings, his struggles to evade capture by the secret police, and his physically and mentally debilitating lengthy stay in just about the most vile prison setting you could ever imagine. There's an obvious urgency in this book. Arenas is dying of AIDS at the time, and the book is the result of a lot of sessions of him speaking his recollections into a tape recorder. And the book, even in this English translation, maintains that informal, conversational, "pull closer, friend" type of feel. Another noted difference between screen and paper versions: while the movie certainly does not hide Arenas' lifestyle choices and his noted promiscuity, the book is on a different level entirely. He leaves no stone unturned in describing a no-holds-barred personal sexual history replete with lovers, animals, cousins, friends, enemies, prisoners, transvestites, government officials, informants, army recruits, teenage ruffians, hired help, etc. It's jaw-dropping. Arenas lived life with the same urgency that comes through in his writing.
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Summary: Great, but prepare for how graphic it is
Review: Now, let me start with this disclaimer: While I am not gay, I also do not have a problem if that is the life style you choose. With that being said, this book has ALLOT of homosexual content, and its great because it shows that side of Cuba. How homosexuals were treated and regarded. He gets VERY detailed about his sexual escapades and the homosexual theme is about 75% of the book. However, durring all that, he manages to paint a great picture of a pre and post Fidel Cuba. One last thing, if you read this book, DO NOT SEE THE MOVIE. It leaves so much out and is very disappointing. I know the books are usually better, but this was not even close.
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Summary: Not his full potential, but still excellent
Review: Reinaldo Arenas' autobiography is a stunning, daring and striking account of the writer's years as a young boy to his very last days in New York. The most notable thing about the book is its brilliant honesty, an early Arenas is more subtle, but as this book was finalized in his last years of life, he reveals it all. Secrets and thoughts expected to be hidden in the catacombs of the mind are described with ease and a passive lightness. We learn about the political history of Cuba and his personal experience as a homosexual man. However, this is not Arenas' best writing..Possibly because it is an autobiography it lacks the certain beauty contained in fictional writing. It often times seems a bit rough at the edges-- If you plan to see the movie, the book is a prerequisitive.
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Summary: ¡Absolutely Incredible!
Review: First, this book is a great book, gripping from the very beginning! I fell in love with this man while reading his story and so many times wished I could reach out and hold him! This story is different from most coming stories because of the context of the local: CUBA, where being gay is just not accepted. I cannot give this book a high enough rating, as well as his others; it is truly a shame that his light no longer shines, but he shall live on in all who read this!
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