Leaving Glorytown: One Boy's Struggle Under Castro

by Eduardo Calcines Narrated by Eduardo Calcines

Overview

Eduardo F. Calcines was a child of Fidel Castro's Cuba; he was just three years old when Castro came to power in January 1959. *After that, everything changed for his family and his country, and over the next few years, it was hard for Eduardo to understand why soldiers now stood on every street corner, food was strictly rationed, and adults weren't allowed to gather together-even at Christmastime. But as he grew older, the realities of Communist Cuba became clear to him, often painfully so.*
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After his family applied for an exit visa to immigrate to America when Eduardo was ten, he was ridiculed by his schoolmates and even his teachers for being a traitor to his country and, worse, his father was sent to an agricultural reform camp to do hard labor for fifteen hours a day as punishment for wanting to leave. During the years to come, Eduardo hoped with all his might for one thing: that their exit visas would be granted before he turned fifteen, the age at which he would be drafted into the army.**
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In this gripping memoir, Eduardo F. Calcines recounts his boyhood in Glorytown, a neighborhood in the city of Cienfuegos, and chronicles the conditions that led him to wish above all else to leave behind his beloved extended family and his home for a chance at a better future.

Editorial Reviews

SEPTEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Eduardo's young life in 1950s Cuba is idyllic. But when Castro comes to power in 1959, things change radically. There are food shortages, and Eduardo's father is sent to a work camp. Then, after waiting many years for a visa to leave the country, the Calcines family is finally freed, shortly before Eduardo's fifteenth birthday. The author narrates his memoir in a calm, weary voice. He softens it for female relatives, makes it sound appropriately silly for boyhood friends, and uses a rough tone for uncles and the authorities. Humor leavens the harshness; his family lived through a terrible time, but he was a young boy, running with friends and getting into trouble. The story stirs strong emotions, but Calcines is never overly dramatic with his writing or his narration. An author interview is included. G.D. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2010 - AudioFile

Eduardo's young life in 1950s Cuba is idyllic. But when Castro comes to power in 1959, things change radically. There are food shortages, and Eduardo's father is sent to a work camp. Then, after waiting many years for a visa to leave the country, the Calcines family is finally freed, shortly before Eduardo's fifteenth birthday. The author narrates his memoir in a calm, weary voice. He softens it for female relatives, makes it sound appropriately silly for boyhood friends, and uses a rough tone for uncles and the authorities. Humor leavens the harshness; his family lived through a terrible time, but he was a young boy, running with friends and getting into trouble. The story stirs strong emotions, but Calcines is never overly dramatic with his writing or his narration. An author interview is included. G.D. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940172078712
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	04/06/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	10 - 13 Years

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