Havana Real

Starred review from June 20, 2011
In 2004, Sanchez returned to native country Cuba from Switzerland and made herself a promise: " live in Cuba as a free person, and accept the consequences." She started Generation Y, a blog chronicling the island's "collective asphyxiation." Collected and translated here for the first time, Sanchez's award-winning blog is an example of raw journalism at its best, poignantly documenting country in which everything is scarce, from meat to Krazy Glue ("People are shouting from balcony to balconyâ¦they have Krazy Glue at the little shop"); a country in which everything is broken, from the education system to her crumbling apartment. But the wry humor she uses to cope with the lack of basic necessities is shockingly undercut when the Ministry of the Interior puts her under intense surveillance: "I feel a terror that almost doesn't let me type." Ultimately, she is kidnapped, beaten severely, and dumped in the street: "I am thinking about Teo⦠How am I going to tell him that we live in a country where this can happen? ⦠his mother has been beaten up on a public street for writing a blog?" Enlightening, engaging and brave, this is a must-read for anyone with an interest in Cubaâor for anyone who nurses romantic notions about this tiny, brutal communist state.

May 15, 2011

Sanchez is a Cuban who walks the walk--currently residing in Havana, she defies the nation's leadership with her acclaimed blog, Generacion Y, about life in Havana and around Cuba. This book represents four years' worth of entries she has struggled to post online in a country mostly devoid of Internet access. She was named one of Time magazine's most influential people of 2008, among many other international citations. Her insights collected here reveal daily life in Cuba, a life focused on waiting--for food, electricity, medical care, and freedom. Most telling is one post from 2010 when word spreads that Krazy Glue, vital for fixing things, is again available in one of Havana's shops; yet it cannot fix the daily lives of Cubans so used to dealing with shortages, empty stores, and empty promises. VERDICT Other books offer a glance at Cuba still under a Castro, but none can compare with this remarkable diary of a life most can only imagine. Although her blog has been available online translated into several languages, including English, for some years, this cumulative collection is unequivocally highly recommended not just for all who are interested in Cuba today, but for fans of memoir, non-U.S. women's perspectives, and all who are concerned with human rights.--Boyd Childress, Auburn Univ. Lib., AL

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