"A classic story . . . delivers real news from Cuba in a lyrical way."–NPR

Available for a new generation, Wendy Guerra's intoxicating and heartrending classic—a portrait of economically depressed post-revolutionary Cuba in the late 1970s, written as the diary of a young girl left behind by her parents and the state, who becomes caught in an acrimonious custody battle.

It is 1978, and Nieve finds herself caught between the tides of her parents' turbulent relationship and a country in turmoil. To try to control her situation, she begins to record the intimate and harsh details of her life in her diary. Becoming her sole means of expression, the diary is her only constant and her only friend. From being torn from her mother, her mother's free-spirited and loving boyfriend, and her childhood city of Cienfuegos, to living with her abusive father, an alcoholic theater actor, to her forced induction as a Cuban "revolutionary...]]> Wed, 26 Nov 2025 09:52:03 +0200 https://animals.library.land/wendy-guerra/458717-revolution_sunday.html https://animals.library.land/wendy-guerra/458717-revolution_sunday.html
A novel about glamour, surveillance, and corruption in contemporary Cuba, from an internationally bestselling author—who has never before been translated into English
Cleo, scion of a once-prominent Cuban family and a promising young writer in her own right, travels to Spain to collect a prestigious award. There, Cuban expats view her with suspicion—assuming she's an informant for the Castro regime. To Cleo's surprise, that suspicion follows her home to Cuba, where she finds herself under constant surveillance by the government. When she meets and falls in love with a Hollywood filmmaker, she discovers her family is not who she thought they were . . . and neither is the filmmaker.]]> Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:19:18 +0200 https://animals.library.land/wendy-guerra/603300-i_was_never_the_first_lady.html https://animals.library.land/wendy-guerra/603300-i_was_never_the_first_lady.html

A lush, sensuous, and original tale of family, love, and history, set against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath.
Nadia Guerra's mother, Albis Torres, left when Nadia was just ten years old. Growing up, the proponents of revolution promised a better future. Now that she's an adult, Nadia finds that life in Havana hasn't quite matched its promise; instead it has stifled her rebellious and artistic desires. Each night she DJs a radio show government censors block from broadcasting. Frustrated, Nadia finds hope and a way out when she wins a scholarship to study in Russia.

Leaving Cuba offers her the chance to find her long lost mother and her real father. But as she embarks on a journey east, Nadia soon begins to question everything she thought she knew and understood about her past.

As Nadia discovers more about her family, her fate becomes entwined with that of Celia Sanchez, an icon of the Cuban Revolution—a resistance...]]> Thu, 09 Dec 2021 13:26:13 +0200