20 May 2014

THE TRAGEDY OF FIDEL CASTRO.

THE TRAGEDY OF FIDEL CASTRO by JOAO CERQUEIRA.

SOURCE: Received for review from the author.

When God receives a request from Fátima to help prevent a war between Fidel Castro and JFK, he asks his son, Jesus, to return to Earth and diffuse the conflict.

On his island, Fidel Castro faces protests on the streets and realizes that he is about to be overthrown. Alone, surrounded, and aware that the end is fast approaching, he plays his last card.

Meanwhile, Christ arrives on Earth and teams up with Fátima, who is convinced she can create a miracle to avoid the final battle between JFK and Fidel Castro and save the world as we know it. 
..... Outer back cover

FIRST SENTENCE {Prologue}: After the second ring, God answered the phone and heard a woman's anxious voice.

MEMORABLE MOMENT {Page 71/72}: With the two contestants in place, the master of ceremonies grabbed his microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, to my right, the whorehouse whirlwind, five foot seven inches, one hundred ninety-eight pounds, Madaaaaaae Lolaaaa. To my left, the terror of the confessional, five foot three inches, one hundred seventy-six pounds, theeeeee padreeee."

MY THOUGHTS: They say never judge a book by its cover and as this little gem of a book proves the same applies to judging a book by its title.

Featuring and yet not featuring JFK, Fidel Castro or indeed Jesus Christ or God themselves. As the author points out in the preface The Tragedy Of Fidel Castro is a novel in which, and I quote, 'Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, the son of God', 'God does not represent God, creator of the world and men', 'JFK is someone other than an American president with the same initials' and 'Fidel Castro,' well, 'perhaps has some similarities with the revolutionary leader and dictator.'

That sorted .....

Quirky, unique, and wonderfully witty. Whilst I'm sure I didn't get all of the humour (sadly satire tends to go right over my head) I did laugh at loud - and on more than one occasion - at this short novel that the author describes as an alternative history.

Packed full of wonderfully weird dialogue, some of the conversations between God and Christ are priceless, and as for some of the situations the characters find themselves in. Well, lets just say these are delightfully bizarre.

Ideal for those wanting something that bit different to read. For me this has been the surprise read of the year so far in that I really didn't expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did.  


Copyright: Tracy Terry @ Pen and Paper. All original content on http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/ is created by the website owner, including but not limited to text, design, code, images, photographs and videos are considered to be the Intellectual Property of the website owner, whether copyrighted or not, and are protected by DMCA Protection Services using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Title 17 Chapter 512 (c)(3). Reproduction or re-publication of this content is prohibited without permission. In addition I would also urge that if you are reading this on any other page you contact the original blog owner/reviewer.
Disclaimer:  Read and reviewed on behalf of the author I was merely asked for my honest opinion, no financial compensation was asked for nor given.

15 comments:

Camila Rafaela Felippi said...

I really don't know what to think about Fidel Castro, because Cuba is considered one of the countries with the least press freedom in the world! His government has been criticized by the international community for human rights violations... But he managed high levels of human and social development, the lowest infant mortality rate in the America, the eradication of illiteracy and child malnutrition!

Stephanie Faris said...

Whoa...that certainly sounds...unique!

Kelly said...

I'm not quite sure what to think of this, but considering some of the titles I've read (remember the Minotaur book from last year) I would be open to checking it out more closely. Still...it sounds awfully bizarre.

I will say I love the cover art!

Sherry Ellis said...

That does sound like a quirky book!

Brian Joseph said...

I had heard some really good things about this book. It sounds so very out of the box and fun. I tend to like absurdist literature and humor as long as does not get too silly.


I also love the cover.

David said...

Hi Tracy,

Definitely not one for me, I'm afraid, although I those opening lines really did make me smile. I am not against satirical books per se, however this is not a genre of book that I would actively seek out in a bookshop, in the same way as I would probably bypass the fantasy section.

I am pleased that this wasn't the failure you had anticipated it might have been and thanks for the usual honest review and appraisal,

Yvonne

David said...

Hi Tracy,

That last comment was definitely from me, Yvonne, here at Fiction Books. I am having to use hubbie's PC (long story) and not realising that he had an eblogger accountm I am gaily posting as him!

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

Yvonne

Felicity Grace Terry said...

I was wondering Yvonne.

Shooting Stars Mag said...

It's great to find a surprise book now and then. It does seem quite quirky.

Melissa (Books and Things) said...

I like quirky and this really does sound like quirky! I like the play on words so I should check this one out.

Karen said...

Wow. I never would have read this one before but what a great review!

It's always nice when a book surprises you and I love quirky.

Karen @ For What It's Worth

Suko said...

The opening lines draw me in, and the quirky sound of this one! And what a cover! Thanks for another terrific review, Tracy!

Melliane said...

What a fun idea. It's true that with the synopsis we expect the characters we know so it's intriguing to see that it's finally different. It was a new one for me so thanks for the review!

Lindsay said...

Glad to read that it made you laugh Tracy. Certainly an attention grabbing title too. Nice to be pleasantly surprised by a book, thanks for a fab review.

Literary Feline said...

At first I was not quite sure, but after reading your review, this actually sounds like quite a fun book and interesting. Definitely different.