Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner

A Novel about Americans in Cuba Just Before Castro's Revolution

Mar 8, 2009

Rachel Kushner's debut novel tells the story of the American community in Cuba during the 1950s just before Fidel Castro took over. It is a glimpse into a forgotten era.

Cuba 1952: Imagine a community of American expatriates living a life of privilege that they could never afford at home. Imagine Sunday afternoons at the Pan-American Club, the ladies whispering about the son of the United Fruit Company's manager who has joined the rebels in the hills.

Havana, 1952: Ex-President Batista overthrows the government of Carlos Prío Socarrás in two hours. President Eisenhower recognizes the Batista government, being less interested in democracy as having a docile, Pro-American government. The Castro brothers gather supporters in the hills.

The Setting is Pre-Castro Cuba (1952-59)

Telex from Cuba is set in Oriente Province before Castro's Revolution. Oriente is the home of the United Fruit Company's Cuba division - three hundred thousand acres of sugarcane managed by Malcolm Stites. Stites cleverly negotiates with Batista and with the Castro brothers to keep all his options open. But then the rebels set the sugar fields on fire. Then they kidnap some of the Americans.

Another part of the action is set in Havana and told by Rachel K., a cabaret dancer, whose liaison with the important political players makes her a channel of communication among rivals.

Through The Eyes of Children

K.C. Stites, the younger son of the United Fruit manager and Everly Lederer, the precocious daughter of a nickel-plant manager, narrate the heart of the story. What they witness is not pretty. The adults do drink excessively, men and women have affairs and the inevitable race hierarchies play out between Americans, Cubans, Haitians and Jamaicans.

Children and adolescents form closer relationships with the locals than their parents.They can't make sense of it all. But their point of view is honest and straightforward.

"Daddys deal with Batista wrecked Daddys deal with the rebels...The worst part was that Daddy's oldest son was up in the mountains, getting bombed by American planes that Daddy had helped Batista buy" (p.31).

Interweaving Family History and Fictional Structure

Rachel Kushner's mother grew up in Oriente Province as the daughter of an American mining executive. She was attracted to their Jamaican houseboy, who is the inspiration for Willy in the novel. Kushner interviewed her mother and her aunts at length. Her grandmother had kept suitcases full of Cuban memorabilia. The author did extensive research in Cuba, interviewing the Jamaicans and Haitians who had worked in the houses of the Americans. Then, Kushner says, she had to disconnect from her family history and build a fictional structure for her novel. She tried to work against cliches and stick to the framework of her story. "I used only what served the story. Just because something is true does not mean it has a place."

"Telex From Cuba" Receives Stellar Reviews

Most of the reviews for Telex from Cuba are highly positive. They give credit to the first-time novelist for recreating the American enclave in Cuba in many voices. A few critics claim that there are too many third-person-perspectives crowding the non-linear narrative. Susann Cokal (New York Times)says the spy story around the dancer Rachel K., mistress to the political players, doesn't quite match the tone of the whole. Rachel K., who seems like a strange alter-ego of the author, actually is a real-life historic figure of pre-Castro Cuba. She was mysteriously murdered in her hotel room and became a legend. Kushner says, she felt compelled to put her in the story, because of her historical role and the coincidence that her name was like hers.

Telex from Cuba is an exciting read at a time when the shark-shaped island is again at the brink of major changes.

The copyright of the article Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner in Modern American Fiction is owned by Christine Welter. Permission to republish Telex from Cuba by Rachel Kushner in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.