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Title details for Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner - Available

Telex from Cuba

A Novel

by Rachel Kushner
Lloyd James
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction

The debut novel by New York Times bestselling author Rachel Kushner, called "shimmering" (The New Yorker), "multilayered and absorbing" (The New York Times Book Review), and "gorgeously written" (Kirkus Reviews).
Young Everly Lederer and K.C. Stites come of age in Oriente Province, where the Americans tend their own fiefdom—three hundred thousand acres of United Fruit Company sugarcane that surround their gated enclave. If the rural tropics are a child's dreamworld, Everly and K.C. nevertheless have keen eyes for the indulgences and betrayals of the grown-ups around them—the mordant drinking and illicit loves, the race hierarchies and violence.

In Havana, a thousand kilometers and a world away from the American colony, a cabaret dancer meets a French agitator named Christian de La Mazière, whose seductive demeanor can't mask his shameful past. Together they become enmeshed in the brewing political underground. When Fidel and Raúl Castro lead a revolt from the mountains above the cane plantation, torching the sugar and kidnapping a boat full of "yanqui" revelers, K.C. and Everly begin to discover the brutality that keeps the colony humming. Though their parents remain blissfully untouched by the forces of history, the children hear the whispers of what is to come.

Kushner's first novel is a tour de force, haunting and compelling, with the urgency of a telex from a forgotten time and place.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 2, 2019

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781508294368
      • File size: 372324 KB
      • Duration: 12:55:40

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 17, 2008
      Kushner’s colorful, character-driven debut succinctly captures the essence of life for a gilded circle of American expats in pre-Castro Cuba, chronicling a mélange of philandering spouses, privileged carousers and their rebellious children. K.C. Stites and Everly Lederer are raised among the American industrial strongholds of the United Fruit Company sugar plantation and the Nicaro nickel mines. As adolescents, they are confronted by the complexities of local warfare and backstabbing politics, while their parents remain ignorant of the impending revolution. Meanwhile, in Havana, burlesque dancer Rachel K and her former SS officer companion become entangled in Castro’s revolution. Toward the end of 1957, K.C.’s brother, Del, joins the rebels, and within a month the United Fruit Company’s cane fields are ablaze. Throughout the following year, the attacks on U.S.-operated businesses intensify; political and personal loyalties are shuffled and betrayed; and the violence between the rebels and Batista’s forces escalate. The action, while slowed at times by Kushner’s tendency to revisit plot points from multiple points of view, culminates in a riveting drama. Given the recent Cuba headlines, Kushner’s tale, passionately told and intensively researched, couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Brimming with complex characters and political drama, TELEX FROM CUBA, a 2008 National Book Award Finalist, is a significant audio undertaking. The story explores pre-Castro Cuba from the viewpoints of various characters--from American ex-pat children to their self-involved parents to the central players in the rebellion. Narrator Lloyd James is understated and smoothly professional as he delivers the dense prose. When dialogue emerges, Lloyd doesn't miss a beat in the animation of the characters' voices as he takes on accents and emotions alike with verve. This story is epic in scope, with copious descriptions and a wide range of characters, both fictional and otherwise. TELEX FROM CUBA is best listened to with one's undivided attention in order to appreciate the gorgeous writing and Lloyd's subtle performance. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      December 22, 2008
      This stunning debut novel tells a truly inspired and unforgettable tale of two young children, Everly and K.C., who live and work on a sugar farm in Cuba during an uprising led by the Castro brothers. Filled with rich imagery, loathsome characters and unyielding passion, Kushner’s plot and prose are refreshing and original. Lloyd James’s spirited reading captures every aspect of Kushner’s story; he can easily tug at listeners’ heartstrings and guide them on a remarkable journey. James reads with wisdom and confidence, never second-guessing his delivery or interpretation of the work. A Scribner hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 17).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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