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Informative,
Poorly Written,
Confusing

4 reviews

Telex from Cuba: A Novel
by Rachel Kushner

Published: 2009-06-02
Paperback : 336 pages
1 member reading this now
8 clubs reading this now
2 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 3 of 4 members
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 ...
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Introduction

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.

Editorial Review

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Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

Suggested by Members

The role of the United Fruit Company in US foreign policy in the 1950-60s
by Tishg (see profile) 05/18/16

Capitalism
Roles of racism and Class
Roles of covert instigators during uprisings
by diannethediva (see profile) 10/09/09

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

No notes at this time.

Book Club Recommendations

Cuba
by Bearsmom (see profile) 10/29/15
This is a great opportunity to discuss Cuba. Sometimes, the worst books make the best conversation.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
by Tish G. (see profile) 05/18/16

 
  "Telex from Cuba"by Nancy L. (see profile) 10/29/15

The basic story was good but the author droned on and on in many chapters making it difficult to want to keep on reading.

 
  "Telex From Cuba"by Dianne R. (see profile) 10/09/09

The book gives an insightful look at Cuba pre-Castro. One will find an examination of capitalism, politics and culture through the experiences of the characters. There is some confusion as the writer... (read more)

 
  "Telex from Cuba"by Shari B. (see profile) 10/07/09

Not as much history as I would have liked.

 
  "Telex from Cuba"by Diane K. (see profile) 10/07/09

Our members thought that the book was not well written. The author did not stay with any character long enough. There may have been material for three books but was stuffed into one book... (read more)

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