Before Night Falls, Reinaldo Arenas

This was probably the most detailed account of a slow, meticulous dehumanization that I've ever read. Arenas details his youth, socio-political background, and awareness of his sexuality during the tumultuous politics of Revolutionary Cuba, and leaves no stone of his experiences unturned.

Having taken many classes for my anthropology major dealing with issues of culture/human rights, I still wasn't adequately prepared for Arenas' experience. I can't believe that someone went through all of that and kept on, had the power to lecture and write once free of Cuba. Beware, though. This book isn't for the faint of heart. It can be rude, crude, and explicit. Arenas leaves nothing to the imagination. Understand that a generation of open minded youth had so many freedoms taken away, and lashed out for a sense of joy and truth wherever they could get it.

Books like this bring to the forefront the sad state of the American educational system; as a child, most of what my generation was taught and exposed to was from the American perspective (at least until college, of course). Seeing the Communist Revolution in Cuba as Arenas tells it shows how little understood these issues really are. Countries like Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, and Mexico have undergone such turbulent political forces in the past century, that have systematically torn to shreds every small piece of humanity people could hold onto. This memoir shows us how ill-informed we can be and reminds us why human rights world wide still have a hell of a fight ahead of them.

Before Night Falls, Reinaldo Arenas
ISBN: 1852428082 

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt

This book didn't really impress me as a travelogue or true crime. In fact, the pairing of the two felt forced. Amidst trying to incorporate so many different facets of the town, Berendt seeks to show so many varying characters, that sometimes they come across as a bit unreal.

The portrait of Savannah as an eccentric, unmodernized time capsule of Southern heritage is very accurate; I read this book during the whirlwind of family drama and preparations for a weekend in... Savannah, GA. I'm that person. 


"The book," as locals now refer to this piece of non fiction, attempts to focus on the trial surrounding Williams' shooting of his employee/lover, and does air on the side of journalistic prose when detailing the court case and investigations. The asides about other Savannah folk never seem to fit well with the drama surrounding the shootings; a voodoo priestess and a poison-toting insect expert? It's almost too random to be real. I love that Berendt wanted to show the glory of so many people that feel like they could only come out of Savannah, but the problem was it didn't come together for me.

I loved the scene at Williams' Christmas party after the shooting, when all of the rich white people are gossiping and ruminating on what they think happened and why; that's the South I know. Voodoo and mass murder by poison though? Not so much. Sometimes whimsy can lead you astray or off track, and it definitely kept this book feeling a little too choppy, and less like a realized whole.

As for our trip to Savannah... it was amazing! Having some of the history and geography of the area detailed truly enhanced the experience! We roamed the Riverwalk, took a carriage tour with horses named Murphy and Guinness (Irish-haven that Savannah is) through Historic Downtown, creeped around Bonaventure Cemetary, and relaxed at Wormsloe State Historic Site, Saturday alone! Sunday had us cruising up the Island Expressway to the picturesque Tybee Island and Lighthouse! I'd love to go back, but I won't be reading anything else by Berendt any time soon!

Anastasia: The Lost Princess, James Blair Lovell

I've recently gotten a bit upset at myself for not having read much history or non fiction. It's a new goal to read one non fiction title a month. Seems reasonable, right? A week ago, I figured what better way to attain that goal starts on the correct footing than with one of history's mysteries... hopefully the previous sentence also maintained my History Channel cliche quota!

I realize that Lovell's research may seem irrelevant. Our more modernized, conclusive means of verifying bodily remains has proven that all the children of Czar Nicholas were killed with he and his wife, a scene rendered as quite harrowing within the early chapters of this particular book. However pointless nearly five hundred pages may seem with that in mind, the life of this woman and the struggles she faced surely makes for an interesting analysis of all of the historical research and legal proceedings that centered around Anna Anderson's lifelong journey to have herself recognized as the lost Romanov Princess, Grand Duchess Anastasia.

Lovell truly did this woman's life story justice, without ever really taking for granted that her story may not be the truth. He may seem to be taking Anderson's story as gospel, but what he's doing is merely presenting the facts as they could be interpreted. He painstakingly researches all of Anderson's correspondents, allies, contributors, and supporters.

There were decades of arguments with varying Romanov relatives and Bolshevik officials, votes of authenticity from the whole range of different European royals that could qualify for an opinion about Anastasia's fate. It's quite dry reading at times, but easy to keep up with thanks to Lovell's clear, concise prose. There's a fascinating barrage of characters, coloring the whole scope from perfectly malicious maniacs (Youssoupov, anyone) to former servants of the house of Romanov that remain loyal to Anderson their entire lives (Gleb Botkin).

The most disturbing part of this book is that so many relatives, friends, and Russian emigres did in fact believe Anderson; the whole world watched her while her case was argued over decades, and as she suffered numerous breakdowns. Onlookers were desperate to believe that the Revolution would not have so violently murdered the entire royal family, and clung to the image of this confused and lost young woman for solace in a war-torn, socially demoralized world.

Lovell died before the DNA test results came through, yet fully believed he had done the right thing in telling this woman's story. It is truly a revealing look at the process of untangling a historical mystery. Beware, though: sometimes the details of all the proceedings can seem a bit repetitive!

Anastasia: The Lost Princess
ISBN: 0312111339