FICTION

King of Cuba

by Cristina Garcia
Scribner. May 2013. 256p. ISBN 9781476710242. $25; ebk. ISBN 9781476714530. F
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In her sixth novel (after The Lady Matador's Hotel), Garcia alternates between El Comadante, a fictionalized Fidel Castro, and Goyo Herrera, a Cuban exile living in Miami who dreams of killing the dictator. The two have more in common than they would likely admit. Both are beset by old age and illness, both have regrets as they ponder the past and cope with the present, and both struggle to deal with family members: the dictator with his brother, who has taken over running the island, and Goyo with his two adult children. There are shocking scenes describing the dictator's cruelty (e.g., with regard to hunger strikers), but Garcia's humor comes through clearly. Mostly, though, this is a story of two old men nearing the ends of their lives in two Cubas.
VERDICT Although not entirely gripping, this story holds one's interest, especially in its portrait of El Comadante and his brother and comes to a satisfying conclusion. Recommended for fans of Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban. [See Prepub Alert, 11/26/12.]
Reviewed by Evelyn Beck, Piedmont Technical Coll., Greenwood, SC , May 01, 2013
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