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Conversations with Cuba takes place during the height of the "special period," the ambiguous name given to the years of hardship following the end of the Soviet Union's vital aid to the country, isolated by the U.S.-led embargo, and preceding Cuba's as yet unrealized revitalization. Ripley guides us on a first-person journey through this bustling economy now reduced to soap shortages, one meal a day, and desperate attempts to locate an economic salvation in foreign tourism. He shows us people with a faith and pride in their nation and its revolutionary ideals that is as frequently conflicted as it is fierce. We come to know Pedro, a plumber and black marketeer; Roberto, who introduces Ripley and his companions to the enforced discrimination behind Cuban tourism; and Neddie, a schoolteacher whose early confidence in the Revolution is later seriously challenged by the harsh realities of the "special period." Ripley's most involved relationship is with Paulo, a college student turned black marketeer who becomes Ripley's guide and friend during his travels. Paulo's discontent with his country and his own circumstances is tested through the course of the book, and, guided in part by his foreign guest, he ultimately experiences a drastic transformation, trading his desire to leave Cuba for a new dedication to his heritage and a persistent hope for Cuba's revolutionary future. These individuals and countless others encountered in Conversations with Cuba reveal a moving portrait of a country and an uncommonly civil society shaped by “patria,” courage, tenacity, and a simultaneously critical and optimistic belief in their revolution, within an ambivalent reality of tension and change.
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By Norman Goldman (Montreal)
Good travel writing must encompass an author's ability to leave a good deal of his preconceptions and certainties at home and view everything from a different perspective. Conversations With Cuba, authored by C. Peter Ripley does not disappoint the reader in presenting Cuba in an impartial and unbiased light that for many of us will be quite a revelation.
As the title suggests, the book is based on a chronicle of conversations the author held with several Cubans during the course of his six trips to Cuba from 1991 until 2000. The first trip commences in 1991 and as the author states "a book about Cuba wasn't part of the plan when I began scheming to travel to Fidel Castro's embargoed island." It was moreover a need to satisfy a romantic curiosity that had occupied the author's mind since the age of fifteen. The opportunity presented itself when Ripley convinces a writer friend to tag along with him when the friend had been assigned by a magazine to write an article concerning Castro's emerging tourism trade.
From the very onset of his travels in 1991, Ripley is able to make personal contact with ordinary Cubans who are very eager to converse and express their feelings and perceptions. In fact, as the author states, "whatever the problems, whatever the politics of this place, no one, no one, refused to talk with us, about anything. Who is going to believe that back home."
Subsequent trips to Cuba reveal a kind of roller coaster ride in the sense that unlike the initial contact with Cuba, there were periods of extreme anxiety when basic necessities such as food, fuel and electricity were rationed. As for consumer goods, they were out of bounds for the average Cubans, although they were available in stores where foreigners frequented. There was also a prohibition imposed on the Cubans from being permitted to frequent hotels where foreigners vacationed.
This period was followed by a kind of loosening when a sliver of Capitalism peeks out from the clouds and Castro permits farmers to sell their produce for dollars in various markets. Unfortunately, this does not last too long, and the brakes are applied, putting an end to the so called "good times."
Ripley is very effective in revealing to the reader the spirit and soul of Cuba. As he states, "whatever Cuba was or was not, whatever she might become, she was not an island where a single opinion prevailed, however much some claim or hope." This is evidenced in the many towns and villages Ripley visits and as he asserts, Havana is not Cuba. To understand Cuba you must travel throughout the country and in particular to Santiago, the birthplace of the revolution. It is in all of these towns and hamlets where you will feel, taste, hear and smell what Cuba is all about and perhaps where it may be going in the future.
Although the book is not meant to be a scholarly text, it certainly serves as an excellent introduction in understanding Cuban history prior to and after the revolution.
Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures
By R. Roosa (Miami Beach, Florida)
It is hard to put one's finger on just what it is about this guy that is so damn annoying. Maybe it's the way he spouts off "facts" about Cuba that would appear to have been gleaned from Reader's Digest. Maybe it is the way he reminds one of that pesky "authority" sitting next to you on an international flight who deems it his responsibility to enlighten everyone else in coach. Or maybe it is just that he appears to be so damn american. Whatever it is, it is creepy. Pick it up at your library and give it a quick read some afternoon, but only after you have read works by more credible authors. There are scores out there with more credibility on this subject.
By A_2007_reader (Vladivostok, Russia)
This book blows. Buy the book by Christopher Hunt, "Waiting for Fidel", which is funnier and more accurate (albeit also flawed by a no-fun author). This book tries to be ponderous, serious, weighty, but with no analysis, just postering. The author is an ... (or at least claims to be) when Cuba is in fact crying out as a place to have fun. The author tries to engage in seditious conversation about politics at every turn, when most people (and I have visited Cuba) just want to get on with life. What a bore and waste of money. I almost think the author threw together this book so he can claim that he is a professor who has published. By the way, the author should educate himself when railing against the U.S. embargo as the root of Cuba's ills--according to the Cato Institute, the embargo is not that disruptive--the fault lies in communism. But again, I don't care about politics, just trying to point out how limited in scope the author's views are....braying about politics, never having fun...on and on and on and...well, I've made my point.
By John E. Mercurio (El Cajon, CA USA)
I agree with the reviewer who noted that this book gives a different perspective than the typical Cold War paranoid view of Cuba. The changes in Cuba from trip to trip were evident in the author's descriptions. Clearly, the book is slanted toward the Cuban people and away from the Castro regime. However, it did give a nice view of daily life for the ordinary citizen. After a while, though, the book seemed to drag on. Overall, though, it was nice to have a new view of Cuban life, and it clearly showed how the embargo is only hurting the Cuban people.
By Julian S. Brown (Arlington, VA United States)
Superior work that puts the reader on five tours of Cuba and allows you to talk to Cubans who stayed and to experience the wonderful island paradise. The writer admits that he idealized the Revolution and wants it to work but still shows the numerous ways that it hasn't work and that the island is in trouble. I enjoyed his conversations with Cubans and the Cubans' resilent nature. Great background information for a novice to Latin American relations like myself who only recently gained interest in the island due to its recent commercial musical success. Conservatives and Castro haters will dislike Ripley's point of view, which may be unfair -- the work seems intellectually honest.
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