The Other Side of Paradise

I found this to be a very thoughtful book which showed sides of Cuba most Americans are not able to fathom existing.

Subtitled, “Life in the New Cuba,” this book was written by author Julia Cooke, who first visited the country in 2003 when she was twenty and who returned many times – most notably in 2009, when after many visits, she actually moved to Cuba for several months to research this book. The author was interested in what it was like to grow up in Havana as the last generation of Cubans raised with Fidel Castro in charge of their country. Although Cuba has welcomed tourists, most Cubans have not travelled outside their own country – as you will read though, almost all of them discuss and plan leaving endlessly. Raised under a single political party, they live a life of great conformity in many ways, with shared experiences of rationed food and shortages.

Cuba is a country of great extremes. On a positive note, they have a literacy rate of 99%, healthcare for all, little violent crime and rations provide necessities. However, changes in Russia has meant that the Soviet subsidies, which held the Cuban economy afloat up to the nineties, have caused the country economic disasters which they are still trying to cope with. The people of Cuba have become adept at coping, using the black market and dreaming of exit visas to what they hope will be a better life.

Cooke intersperses the stories of many young Cubans with her own experiences, in an entertaining and thought provoking read. We meet many interesting characters as Cooke attempts to find an apartment in overcrowded Havana, meets Sandra – who can earn more money in one night as a prostitute than with a monthly wage as a hairdresser, mixes with Cuban punks, explores racism in Communist Havana, where 80% of University Professors are white, while 85% of those in prison are from the communities who began life in Cuba as slaves, working on sugar plantations and explore the country of Cuba through her eyes. It is a place which offers its young people an education, but also limits their chances - of corruption and hypocrisy and where, you feel, so many of its inhabitants are disenchanted. One of those that Cooke meets, says that when she finally leaves Cuba, she is congratulated as though she has been released from jail. You just hope that all these wonderful, innovative and capable people, find happiness either within Cuba or outside it and are grateful to the author for introducing them to us. This is a really unique read, about a unique country –well written, informative and enjoyable.

I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, for review.