Reyita--#50 finished

This is a testimony book by Maria de los Reyes Castillo Bueno as a black woman in the 20th century in Cuba.  The introduction of the book by Elizabeth Dore is really good to help the reader understand the life and also the type of book this is being a testimony.  This is how a 90+ year old lady remembers her life in looking back, so while she certainly sounds sharp, I am sure not everything is exactly as she remembers.  But looking at the highlights and the details she provides is insightful and interesting.  She certainly lived in Cuba when much was going on.  Her view which was also her mother's, on getting ahead in life by marrying a white man really shows the racism there and how it carries through the book.  Even in communism there is the same underlying racism.  The other thing that struck me was how fractured family life was there, single women raising their families or husbands that have walked out on them.  Whole extended families with step children and cousins being raised and children being separated and some with dad & others with mom, really was tough to read about.  At the end of the book Reyita talks about all her extended family and it sounds as if some of that did not occur with her children and grand and great grand children.  I guess this is just a circumstance that life was tough back when she was young.

I enjoyed the book, it wasn't a history book about who was in charge & generals running things but instead it gives insight into the day to day life of a real person.  It does make me want to search out more books on Cuba too.

I have posted it on PBS, there was 1 WL for it so hope to mail it off soon.