The Distant Marvels

Author/Guide: Chantel Acevedo

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1880s to 1963: Cuba’s fight for independence against Spain – told from now Castro controlled Cuba

ISBN: 978-1609452520
Genre: Fiction

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What you need to know before your trail

In an historical mansion in Cuban, several women hide from the 1963 hurricane as they have been evacuated to and so pass the time by telling stories. María Sirena, a former cigar factory lettora is well versed as a storyteller thus entertains her fellow evacuees with her personal history during the Spanish revolution. Notwithstanding an intriguing tale, the novel derives its strength from its female characters, the most prominent one being Maria. Acevedo employs Maria and her mother—Lulu—to tell the story of the revolution from the women’s perspective.

At different points in the story, both are imprisoned, become a mistresses, nurture and actively participate. Lulu murders one of her lovers and joins Jose Marti’s rebel forces. María Sirena also becomes involved in the revolution and relates her wartime experiences with imprisonment in a Spanish concentration camp.

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Travel Guide

Cuba 1963

This is the Cuba of its many wars – wars for independence, the Spanish-American war, and the birth of Castro’s Cuba.

In 1963 there was a hurricane which devastated the Cuban island. In one old mansion, many people take refuge and several women pass the time by telling stories. These stories take the reader back to the Spanish revolution and most importantly from the women’s perspective. They are all part of the revolution and of being there in the thick of the action – Lulu even murders one of her lovers and joins Jose Marti’s rebel forces. María Sirena remembers the Spanish concentration camp in particular. There is a statue of Jose Marti in the centre of Havana.

1963 Hurricane

Hurricane Flora was one of the strongest and deadliest hurricanes in history. It blasted through the Caribbean in September and October, 1963 and left over 7,000 people dead in Haiti and Cuba, making it one of the five deadliest hurricanes in Atlantic history.