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A review by whatannikareads
Before Night Falls by Reinaldo Arenas, Dolores M. Koch
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
3.5
3.5ish rounded up to a 4
This memoir was a roller coaster! Arenas recalls his life story under the Castro regime from the '40s up until his death in 1990. Arenas had a highly challenging life, being openly gay, a writer, and openly critical of Castro's government, especially in regards to how gay people were treated there. He recalls his childhood, his sexual relationships, his time in prison, and his eventual exile to the US.
Arenas's life is jam-packed with so many anecdotes and notable people. It was interesting to get a perspective of the Castro regime from someone who lived during it in real time and was also somewhat openly queer. He was very critical of communism, but also of capitalism once he got to the US towards the end.
This book is NOT very PC, just as a heads up lol, so go into it with an open mind. I was really hooked for a lot of the book, but overall it was jam packed with information (it's not divided into chapters, just sections one after the other). I struggled to keep up with all of the names of people introduced (he said he had sex with probably over 5,000 men!). I think also sometimes the tone changed especially towards the end.
I think it was an important story and paid homage to Cuban writers who may have been forgotten, because they died not having been able to publish their works and because the Cuban government may have banned their works in the country. It's great insight into a culture and time period I had no previous knowledge of!
This memoir was a roller coaster! Arenas recalls his life story under the Castro regime from the '40s up until his death in 1990. Arenas had a highly challenging life, being openly gay, a writer, and openly critical of Castro's government, especially in regards to how gay people were treated there. He recalls his childhood, his sexual relationships, his time in prison, and his eventual exile to the US.
Arenas's life is jam-packed with so many anecdotes and notable people. It was interesting to get a perspective of the Castro regime from someone who lived during it in real time and was also somewhat openly queer. He was very critical of communism, but also of capitalism once he got to the US towards the end.
This book is NOT very PC, just as a heads up lol, so go into it with an open mind. I was really hooked for a lot of the book, but overall it was jam packed with information (it's not divided into chapters, just sections one after the other). I struggled to keep up with all of the names of people introduced (he said he had sex with probably over 5,000 men!). I think also sometimes the tone changed especially towards the end.
I think it was an important story and paid homage to Cuban writers who may have been forgotten, because they died not having been able to publish their works and because the Cuban government may have banned their works in the country. It's great insight into a culture and time period I had no previous knowledge of!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual content, and Suicide