When God receives a request from Fatima 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 Fatima, 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. At the end, something really extraordinary happens!
God receives a request for help from Fatima because a war between Fidel Castro and JFK is about to start. Worried, God asks his son Jesus to return to Earth and difuse the conflict.
Meanwhile, JFK and his counsellor are about to interrogate a captured Fidel Castro’s spy (Varadero). Following a testy Communism versus Capitalism debate, JFK set him free and Varadero returns to Cuba. However, his faith in Fidel Castro is shaken and the spy begins to suspect that he is supporting the wrong side.
In Cuba, Fidel Castro faces protests on the streets and realizes that he is about to be overthrown. Suspecting Varadero betrayed him, Fidel imprisons the spy as he previously did with the revolutionary hero Camilo Ochoa[1]. Desperate, he decides to invade JFK’s country as a way to divert people's attention from his own problems.
Fidel’s' army invades part of JFK’s country but cannot conveniently convince the inhabitants of the advantages of Marxism. Whilst peasants refuse a land reform, whores prefer free enterprise. Castro is then forced to ask Varadero for advice. Varadero seizes the opportunity accusing him of having betrayed the revolution and responsible for Cuba’s misery. Disturbed and distressed, Fidel isolates himself in unknown territory and following a fall which leaves him amnesiac. He is found by monks who take him to a solitary convent where mad people are ministered by the Church. Once inside he see’s the fools are enslaved, Castro starts a revolution against the friars. The course of events reignites his memory.
By this time, Christ has arrived on Earth accompanied by Fatima, who is convinced she can create a miracle to avoid the ultimate battle between JFK and Fidel Castro.
Back with his army, Fidel Castro receives a visit from the Devil and makes a pact: he sells his soul in exchange for being remembered as a hero who fought for a better world. In the future, nobody will call him dictator.
Finally the two armies meet in battle, but JFK proposes to fight Fidel Castro in a duel to avoid wholesale carnage.
Fatima, Christ and Varadero watch the duel behind a bush. After a violent struggle, JFK overthrows Castro with a stone. Then he grabs a knife. But when everyone thought that he had killed him – much like David and Goliath – it transpires that JFK had only ....
At that moment, miraculously, an eclipse occurs.
[1] Combination of Camilo Cienfuegos and General Arnaldo Ochoa, sentenced to death in 1989.
The Tragedy of Fidel Castro
A novel by Joao Cerqueira
ISBN 1938416163
River Grove Books
188 pages
This novel was different! I feel this literally exercised my brain. It is a very smart read! The author is clearly brilliant, and very well educated and it shows in this satirical/ fictional spin of a confrontation between JFK and Castro. Now, having said that, one must understand these are just fictional names. I knew this book would be different when the Preface read “ Hence, Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, the son of God” and “ God does not represent God, the creator of the world and men”
At times downright hysterical, the book offers the reader a clear departure from reality and really makes you think! I was incredibly intrigued by this fictional piece of literary art. What I particularly enjoyed was how Joao took his phenomenal imagination and ideas and intertwined it with factual history to really get the reader thinking. I do believe you have to read this book with an open mind and accept it for what it is, an impressive novel that is truly like no other you have read. It will challenge your thinking and I believe you will be pleasantly surprised! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Theresa Potts
Authors Den
Book Reviewer
Excerpt
’’Comrades, the capitalist oppression is over,’’ the commandant began, holding up a finger in warning before an audience that was desperately trying to find meaning in his words. ’’From today, the people are in charge. There will be no more landowners to exploit you, no financial speculators. All businesses will be nationalized and tax havens closed down.’’
As the speech went on, the crowd grew more and more confused. ’’Maybe it’s not us he’s talking to,’’ they muttered. ’’This reminds me of one of the padre’s sermons.’’ ’’It would’ve been better if the Moors had invaded us.’’
However, all their doubts evaporated when the speaker moved onto more concrete subjects, things of common interest and general understanding. ’’The land belongs to all of us now.’’
This unexpected declaration struck the ears of all those present, and was followed by a collective murmur that gradually overwhelmed the voice of the commandant, forcing him to speak louder to make himself heard. As the wall of whispers increased in intensity, isolating the orator’s words, he found that his vocal cords were wavering, until eventually, like a flame in a bell jar, his voice was extinguished into silence. This was followed by a few moments of great confusion, a tumult that the soldiers were unable to control with their pushing and threatening. The people then began to put the revolutionary theories into practice by issuing orders. ’’No one touches my pig,’’ shouted one irate farmer, brandishing an imaginary hoe. This ignited the others, who protested heatedly against the proposal for agrarian reform and Castro-inspired collectivization.
Surprised at the fanatical response from the people, who were proving more reactionary and bourgeois than welcoming, as the oppressed were supposed to be with their liberators, the Commandant was experiencing the first signs of a tremendous headache. He took a deep breath and replied as sweetly and gently as he could: ’’The pig belongs to the people, comrade.’’ (he was imagining himself savouring slices of cured ham). But as he was getting ready to explain the benefits of abolishing private property and dividing up personal wealth and capital equipment, another man called out rudely, ’’What about the women? Do they belong to the people too?’’ This raised a roar of coarse laughter, as was usual in those parts. Having definitively lost their fear of intervening – which was indeed a revolution – the masses erupted in a chorus of spoken thoughts, revealing their inner most feelings. ’’You can have my wife any time!’’ ’’Let's get down to it then, drop your drawers, Maria!’’ ’’Oh, my poor daughters!’’
Worn-out and bad-tempered given the failure of the debriefing session, the commandant felt like ordering half a dozen men to be shot as an example. He tried to restore order by saying the first thing that came into his head. ’’From now on, pornography is banned.’’ This got him embroiled in an argument with the protesters, who were getting noisier by the minute.
’’But we haven’t got that here yet.’’
’’An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.’’
’’Sorry, I’m not sure about something ….’’
’’What is it?’’
’’A romp in the hay with the neighbour’s wife, does that count as pornography?’’
’’Well…not if she’s a comrade, but if she’s a capitalist, than yes, obviously it does.’’
’’And if she’s neither?’’
’’That’s impossible. Anyone who is not with us is against us.’’
’’That’s very complicated.’’
’’And what about doing the five-knuckle shuffle?’’
’’Enough!’’ shouted the commandant, furious at the people’s lack of discipline. ’’This rabble is completely ungovernable,’’ he ruminated. He was at a loss as to how to deal with the chaos that he had created.
In the meantime, some of the people had begun to insult each other, reviving old feuds, scoffing, and generally threatening to transform the debriefing session into a pitched battle. The soldiers, unused to such attitudes, suspected that these must be very strange and complex people, maybe even a little crazy. They hesitated about what to do. Once more, the commandant proved that he could deal with the most sensitive situations with enviable sang-froid: two shots into the air were enough to calm people down and reduce the clamour to a deathly silence.
The square now looked as if it were filled with stiff statues modelled by an unimaginative sculptor. An idealistic archaeologist or art critic might have thought that they were a group of believers before an epiphany. Not a miracle of the sun perhaps, as for this they would have had to have been staring at the sky with mouths agape. Maybe a cherub falling to earth. However, some minutes later, these poetic reflections ceased to make sense as the aforementioned statues gradually came to life with faltering movements and expressions of stupefaction on their faces. Dazzled by his own magic, the commandant savoured the moment, more convinced than ever that one shot was worth a thousand words.
He addressed the protesters again, this time with more confidence, his arms outstretched as if to embrace the crowd. ’’I can see that I didn’t make myself clear, comrades. This can all be summed up as a process of dialectic, whereby the opposition of contrary concepts gives rise to the perfect synthesis. That is to say, what used to be mine and yours is no longer mine or yours; it’s now ours. Do we understand each other?’’
The pig owner, who greatly appreciated sausages and brined meat, was visibly distressed, and muttered: ’’he won’t eat pig feed....’’ But all the others remained silent. This subtle example of popular wisdom, where silence can mean anything at all, from a given thing to its exact opposite, left the commandant wary. He then realised that facing a silent crowd could be a much more difficult undertaking that confronting a noisy mob.
Meanwhile, used to simple yet incontestable language, the people were waiting to be given clear orders and specific instructions. For the self same reason, they become more rowdy when the commandant urged them to speak up, in what he called a session of criticism and self-criticism. ’’Comrades, to perfect our new classless society, each of us will say what he or she thinks about himself or herself and about others.’’ This unexpected invitation was received with astonishment by those present, now entirely convinced that some sort of plot was being hatched against them.
’’I told you he was a padre in disguise.’’
’’He just wants to know where we keep our money.’’
’’Anyone who speaks will be hanged.’’
With the sentiment of the people explained, verbalized in collective fears, no one dared to open their mouth.
Helplessly watching on as his strategy crumbled around him, the commandant felt a new urge to draw his gun, recalling the old psychological manipulation techniques he had learned at elementary school. ’’Anyone who finds his tongue gets some chocolate,’’ he cried, his face trapped in a satanic angelic smirk. ’’Some chocolate?’’ the people called out, unable to contain the saliva pouring from their lips.
’’Yes, some chocolate.’’
’’The good stuff?’’
’’The best money can buy.’’
A huge tumult broke loose once again in the throng, with everyone jostling for position, leaping in the air and trampling on feet as they struggled to be granted the right to speak. This time the soldiers, themselves deprived of the pleasure of the capitalist invention known as chocolate, had no qualms about unleashing their rifle butts on the crowds. What was the point of eating delicacies once your teeth have been bashed out? Finally, when everyone had settled down, following the example of those spread-eagled on the floor, their skulls cracked, their ribs broken, the commandant ordered that everyone sign up to talk. To everyone’s surprise, the process was all very civil, without any insults or blows. The only break in the proceedings came with some angry voices, proclaiming, ’’Exploiters and the exploited will only cease to exist on the day everyone eats chocolate mousse!.’’ ’’Pastry chefs of the world unite!’’
Professional Reviews
Bullet Reviews
The Tragedy of Fidel Castro (2012)
On January 23, 2013 · Leave a Comment · In Book reviews
Author Joăo Cerqueira
Skulls, cigars, and satire!
Skulls, cigars, and satire!
Things You Might Like
Refreshingly weird
Castro in drag at a club
The bizarre, totemistic way of portraying the opposing leaders
Celestial conversations
Things You Might Not Like
The style of writing is definitely not for everyone
That sudden realization that the forward was not messing with you
Conclusion
Joăo Cerqueira’s novel is an energetic, bizarre, and extremely clever take on two heavily fictionalized leaders’ attempts to cling to power. Check it out!
5 out of 5 Rebellious Monks
I remember when I first saw Dr. Strangelove. I’d heard so much about it; so many like-minded people told me it changed their view on politics or war or what have you, that I was convinced that it would do the same for me.
So, when it came through Netflix, I tossed it in to the DVD player and watched it.
And I watched it.
And it ended.
The credits rolled.
“That was a comedy?” I asked my dog. My dog, elderly and tired, sighed and went back to sleep.
I mean, I understand that it was a comedy, but it was also a satire; but in my mind, if your satire isn’t, well, funny, then it’s missing the point. Look at Mel Brooks satirizing racism in Blazing Saddles; look at Voltaire and the establishment in Candide; look at… etc etc etc.
Pictured: Humor?
Pictured: Humor?
The reason I bring that up at all is that Joăo Cerqueira’s novel, The Tragedy of Fidel Castro does a better job of being Dr. Strangelove than Dr. Strangelove. It skewers the Cold War, modern politics, the clash of ideologies, and cults of personality and – more importantly – is a good satire.
The novel presents the reader with two characters: JFK and Fidel Castro. Neither character are the historical figure, but hey, look at that coincidence. The two – in another, amazing coincidence – happen to be leaders of a capitalist and a post-Revolutionary Communist nation, respectively. Further, one seems to be at the height of his power, while the other looks at his nation and sees it crumbling away.
Faced with that image, the book Castro realizes that he must launch an invasion against his enemy, JFK. Why? Well, to secure his position as El Commandante and keep the people of his nation fixated on an outside enemy instead of the enemy within.
Meanwhile, in JFK’s land, the president and his counselor – known only as “the counselor” – free a Cuban spy whose worldview has been tainted significantly by spending so much time in a capitalist land.
And, as things tend to do in fiction, escalation occurs, alliances are broken and formed, and events come to a head as God sends a very reluctant Jesus to intervene at the behest of a very concerned and faithful woman named Fátima.
The result is one of the most energetic novels I’ve read in a while. The pacing is done with the speed of Sonic the Hedgehog after several cups of coffee. The writing is tight and wastes very little time getting to the crux of every scene.
I’d go on about how the humor really supports the novel, but that doesn’t quite tell you anything. What I can say, though, is that it’s a brand of absurdism that you don’t see often in contemporary novels. Revolutionary factions arise in towns to support clergymen or prostitutes; Castro hunts for capitalist decadence by dressing in drag and going to night clubs; Jesus and God have debates about whether or not miracles are too clichéd to draw the attention of humans in this day and age.
It’s… well, to an extent, it’s like a Monty Python sketch turned into a commentary. It’s certainly not for everyone – since you can find just as much hate for that brand of humor as you can find fawning adoration. However, if your thing is an absurdist, magical realist romp using caricatures of two of the most important figures in 20th Century history, then:
1) My, you have remarkably specific tastes
2) This might be a book you enjoy
Buy, Rent, or Pirate? Buy this book from Amazon now! (NOTE: Bullet Reviews does not condone piracy. You should really know that by now.)
About The Author
Aaron Simon
American Culture
Book Review — ‘The Tragedy of Fidel Castro’
January 22, 2013
By Mike Gray
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THE TRAGEDY OF FIDEL CASTRO — By Joăo Cerqueira [Translated from the Portuguese by Karen Bennett and Chris Mingay] — Novel — 2008 [2013 English edition] — River Grove Books — Print ISBN: 978-1-938416-16-3; eBook ISBN: 978-938416-17-0
Having once compared Fidel to a demon, the priest now seemed to recognize divine qualities in him. This was entirely natural, since in politics, today’s truth is tomorrow’s lies.
Novels like The Tragedy of Fidel Castro are the untamed mustangs of fiction that, unlike most other books, run wild and free, contemptuous of the confinement that the corral of ordinary classification would imprison them in.
Joăo Cerqueira Joăo Cerqueira
For readers accustomed to conventional story telling, Joăo Cerqueira’s book is a walk on the wild side. It constantly goes off in unexpected directions while somehow staying true to its narrative line. The result is disorienting at first, yet the reader readily adapts.
Rather than attempt any kind of plot description (click on the book cover illustration below if you think that would help), let’s just say that, in sum, The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is compulsively readable and worth a look.
Parental warning: Some rough language and risque situations.
A few excerpts should give you an idea:
“I can see that I didn’t make myself clear, comrades. This can all be summed up as a process of dialectic, whereby the opposition of contrary concepts gives rise to the perfect synthesis. That is to say, what used to be mine and yours is no longer mine or yours; it’s now ours. Do we understand each other?”
“Pastry chefs of the world unite!”
Where others resort to brute force, all I need is charisma. Socialism is the last stage of the progression of history but does not ignore examples from the past that teach us the importance of an all-powerful leader at the root of all great civilizations.
As he passed, flocks of birds fled in fear, stripping trees of their coats of feathers. While the sky mended skin torn by the beaks of the panic-stricken birds, other beasts slunk swiftly off into impenetrable hideaways.
Having to interrupt his train of thought just as it was bearing flowers and forbidden fruit, left him exasperated.
John F Kennedy with J Edgar Hoover in 1961Because of the constant ruckus between monks whenever they discussed football, he had been forced to ban supporters, scarf wearing before the games, and teddies. In his opinion, if football had existed in Roman times and there had been a tournament with teams from every conquered territory meeting in the coliseum, east playing west, (un)friendly games against Carthage, slaves skilled in dribbling freed, referees thrown to the lions every week, incoherent debates in the senate between patricians, Apollo and Augustus represented wearing football boots, temple columns serving as goal posts, baths invaded by footballers, the empire would not have lasted half as long. Barbarians would have found nothing but the ruins of Rome, and the Christian religion would have been extinguished.
“Doctors at the temple beaten in theological debate when you were just a child. The Sermon on the Mount and turning the other cheek. Casting out the money changers from the temple. Lessons of humility to rich men. Who said to love our enemies before you did? Gandhi was a cheap imitation. Mandela was even worse. With such an impressive résumé, how could you fear the challenge?”
Fidel Castro in 2010As he waited, he was moved to be met with such a pure and welcoming place, the antithesis of ancient and modern Babylonia, safe from the invasion of mass culture and from the cultureless masses, in which men lived in harmony with nature and where time and money never mixed. Touched, he couldn’t help but reflect once again on the expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise, daring to speculate that if they had lived in a place like this, no matter how many snakes and apple trees in the backyard, even naked and willing to experience new things, it would all have been so different. The path of humanity would have gone another direction, war would never have existed, and Fidel Castro and JFK would have been the best of friends.
JFKBeyond heaven and hell, death was an uninterrupted, surprise-free, eternal sleep, the rest deserved after a life of struggle. No matter how powerful, no man could escape it. All are subject to the whims of its calling, often heard at the most inconvenient times. He, however, had escaped this frustrating fate. He had conjured it up so many times that he thought death had tired of looking for him, become fed up with the game, and understood that he, Fidel, would be the one to call death when he believed the time to be right. And that was how it was. Having already concluded his mission in this life, with nothing else left to wait for except deterioration and for everything he had built to return to dust, he decided to leave the stage feet-first and to show death that even it existed to serve him.
For the first and last time, Fidel Castro and JFK stood face-to-face, separated by mere meters. They were so close they could look right inside each other.
Rabid Readers
War is coming. Fidel Castro has a plan to engage and best JFK. One of God’s agents calls to warn him of the impending conflict and he hatches a plan to stop the war that hinges on his only son returning to earth. The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is a religious and political satire.
Joăo Cerqueira is an award winning Portuguese author. The Tragedy of Fidel Castrowas named Book of the Year by Os meus Livros (a literary trade magazine based in Portugal).
I am so honored to have been asked to review this book in advance of its release in the United States (it has been out for many years in Portugal and well received there). The Tragedy of Fidel Castrodoes bear, in its writing, a different cultural tone to what we would normally see from a writer for whom English is a first language. The author brilliantly balances the formal tone and themes of capitalism, socialism and religion with an appropriate dose of the ridiculous. The novel opens with God getting a telephone call to tell him that war is coming “Oh, for God’s sake!” exclaimed God in exasperation. (location 40 – from the .pdf copy loaded to my Kindle).
The metaphorical lacing of the language is, at points, heavy handed. One of Castro’s prisoners is described as being armed with a sickle and hammer (location 1371) when Castro interrogates him which, as we know, is the symbol of the Communist Party. It is my impression as a reader, that these sorts of references may have been more subtle in the original language of composition.
The characterization within the novel is well done. God and Christ are written in the sense of traditional Greek gods as neither is all knowing or all seeing. They have their sources for information. JFK is more king than leader who makes snap decisions and has heavy faults. Castro tries to stack the deck in his favor by involving the devil. All elements make this novel a more interesting read. The feeling I got with each page was one that I compare to the first time I read The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. I might not get it completely at first but all ties together by the end and there’s a feeling or having expanded my world view a bit on every page.
Plot-wise this novel flows through a series of moves involving deep thought. As the characters look into themselves, we, the reader, look into ourselves and reflect on our thinking and the perceptions we’ve held.
If you’re a fan of satire, history or generally good literature, I highly recommend this novel. I would not recommend it if you take religious history too seriously.
Joao Cerqueria’s The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is at times cynical, at times hopeful, always satirical and never boring. In this book he recounts a fictionalized confrontation between the forces of Communism and the free world.
Fidel Castro is cast as a man obsessed with the fear of being betrayed by those he trusts, but also highly concerned about how he will be judged by historians. Convinced that the American President, referred to only as JFK, is trying to have him assassinated, Castro decides on a pre-emptive strike: Cuba invades the United States! In the meantime God tries to convince Jesus to go back to Earth to make peace between the combatants, although Jesus has strong doubts about whether his time has come and gone.
Writing in a prose that is almost lyrical, with magical, often dreamlike imagery that borrows from the Bible, mythology and classical literature, Cerqueria’s fable takes the reader on a wildly imaginative ride. Like all good satire, there are serious ideas behind the humour and the sarcasm. The novel delves into Castro’s tortured psyche, explores what makes some people willing to give their lives for a revolutionary idea, and even listens in on existential arguments between God and Jesus.
There is never a dull moment in this highly imaginative, and highly satisfying, tale.
BOOK REVIEW
BY
MAISAH B. ROBINSON, PH.D.
CONTEMPORARY LITERARY INDIA REVIEW
Cerqueira , JoĂŁo. (2013). The Tragedy of Fidel Castro. [Translated from the Portuguese by Karen Bennett and Chris Mingay 2008]. River Grove Books.
João Cerqueira’s The Tragedy of Fidel Castro is a humorous political satire, which depicts social issues and human behavior in an absurd manner, creating an entertaining work that has wide audience appeal. Like other authors who write in this genre, he is protected from culpability or undue criticism, because the descriptions of the characters being portrayed are implied and not overtly stated. The novel is about a socialist country (Cuba) and capitalist country (America) and their imminent military conflict. The novel highlights the pervasive conflicts and tribulations that plague humans. It is an altered reality that mocks religion, and humanity and provides a caricature of Cuba, America, communism and capitalism.
In the book’s preface, João Cerqueira provides a disclaimer stating that the characters are fictional, although the average reader can easily identify the famous political figures he has named, such as Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro and American president John F. Kennedy, “Hence Christ has nothing to do with Jesus Christ…God does not represent God…JFK is someone other than an American president…Fátima has no connection whatsoever with a particular site in Portugal…Fidel Castro perhaps has some similarities with the revolutionary leader and dictator.” All characters, in principle, never existed. The actions and antics that the characters go through in the book are not supposed to be historical. However, the reader may be inclined to recall the real-life actions of the characters’ namesakes while reading about the fictional versions.
The novel’s themes are an intertwining of: (1) the 1917 miracle of Fátima when the Virgin Mary was said to have prophesized the end of Communism, (2) Fidel Castro’s dictatorship, and (3) divine existence. Similar to the novels The Infinities by John Banville and The Second Coming by John Niven, The Tragedy of Fidel Castro uses divine intervention. João Cerqueira begins by revealing a poignant event in which Fatima, a loyal disciple of Jesus Christ, calls God to alert him to the impending war between Castro’s socialist country and JFK’s capitalist country. Subsequent to this warning, God confers with Jesus to come up with solutions to the conflict. Jesus first observes what the people are doing about the impending conflict and then returns to Earth.
With regard to the impending conflict, JFK was not afraid of Castro’s army, “What he feared most was the subversive message: emancipation of the masses, their awakening from lethargy, growing awareness of their own power” (p. 7). JFK, with the aid of his counselor, eagerly searches for a solution to the problem and does not want to destroy any lives, and thus, is desperate to avoid any conflict with Castro, “Nonetheless, the unending conflict with Fidel was exhausting him, leaving him lost in a labyrinth of strategies doomed to failure. As soon as a new idea occurred to him, he would ruthlessly reject it, unmasking some blocked reasoning. Wherever his mind led him, he would come to a dead end and have to start over” (pp. 7-8). In an effort to diffuse the conflict, JFK interrogates Varadero who is one of Castro’s spies that his country’s government has captured. After meeting with JFK and hearing his persuasive, heartfelt comments, Varadero’s views and beliefs about capitalism have changed, as well as his views about Castro. JFK sends Varadero back to his home.
Meanwhile, Castro is diligently working to improve his country’s struggling economy and diffuse irate citizens’ revolts. He uses his charisma and political prowess to control his followers. Castro imprisons Vardero who he thinks betrayed him. To get revenge, Castro’s army invaded JFK’s country, “On deck of a ship in the Invincible Armada, Fidel Castro looked through an eyeglass at the azure swath of ocean, his gaze locked on the horizon at the moment in which his imagination provided him a triumphal preview of the battle against JFK. After a seven-hour-long oration, he thus began the voyage of invasion” (p. 90). However, Castro’s army was unable to persuade the people to accept Marxism. After this, Castro seeks advice from Varadero who accuses him of betraying the revolution and causing the turmoil and despair in Cuba.
Forlorn and depressed, Castro redraws from society and finds refuge in an unknown land. He suffers a fall and is left amnesiac. Monks find him in this state and take him to a convent were insane people are enslaved by the friars who “considered the madmen pure souls, beings God had freed from sin who were worthy of compassion. As such, they charitably incorporated them into their religious community, making them take part in prayers and religious services, while also charging them with the hardest farm work and most difficult tasks” (p. 98). Seeing, this, Castro ignites a revolt against the friars, which restores his memory. He reunites with his army and is visited by the Devil and enters a pact with him. He sells his soul to the Devil so that he can be remembered as a hero who tried to make the world a better place. Castro requested that, “In the future I want to be remembered as the man who confronted the tyranny of Capitalism and rescued the people from exploitation. I want schoolbooks to describe the new society I built and for it to be compared to the previous one. I want my life to be studied, and without hiding my mistakes, conclude that I did everything possible to give the men and women of this world a more worthy existence” (151). With these words Castro made the pact, and thus, he would never be called a dictator in the future.
When JFK and Castro meet in battle, JFK suggests a duel to save other human lives. The duel is watched by Christ, Varadero and Fatima. JFK gets the better of Castro by striking him with a stone and grabbing his knife. This battle reflects the biblical account of David and Goliath. Without spoiling the suspense, suffice it to say the book ends with a glorious miracle. This is ultimately the story of Castro, although JFK is the primary player. João Cerqueira provides an extensive description of Castro’s life experiences, revealing his vulnerability that is an aspect of human frailty. Castro is a monomaniacal character, obsessed with one interest at the exclusion of all others. His passion is for power. He is a shrewd, unscrupulous dictator who will stop at nothing to maintain his position as El Commandante. In contrast, JFK is portrayed as being strong, courageous and honorable. He is an idealized figure who combines courage with passion and simple kindness. However, after self- reflection and introspection, Castro discovers his own human frailties and insecurities about his leadership abilities and mission. This self-discovery reveals that Castro and JFK are more alike than different.
Cerqueira’s novel highlights the characteristics of humans in that there is both good and bad in each one, and that all have frailties. He offers bizarre shenanigans to illustrate the dark side of human nature, such as Castro dressing in drag during an espionage mission, “ a well-dressed, middle aged woman (who was, in fact, Fidel Castro in disguise) was shaking herself frenetically, spreading the aroma of expensive perfume” (47). Although some of the events in the novel are absurd, Cerqueira has written an instructive story of the perils which befall a frail humanity preserved by divine intervention. His political insight is made up of concrete perception and accurate psychology. He presents a meeting of odd characters and gives each of them an innocent whimsicality that lends to them an air of sympathetic truth. Cerqueira’s racy flavor, use of lively dialogue, the expressive power of his style and his humor are titillating. An example of his humor occurs when Fatima asks a question about Castro: “He was always a crook, a hypocrite. Why does he have a beard in that tropical climate?” (p. 162). Cerqueira’s language is cadenced, obeying a desire for proportion, dignity and harmony, represented by sharp-edged sentences. He uses figurative language to evoke emotion and imagery as illustrated in the following passage:
Suffocating in the stifling atmosphere, the room seemed to pant with the effort and dripped beads of sweat from its ceiling. Insects on the verge of incineration fled from the bowels of the earth into the performance, ending up crushed by bare feet. The theater then seemed like an obsolete boiler about to burst, having been forced to work beyond its capacities. The passion was reaching boiling point. (p. 13)
Indeed, The Tragedy of Fidel Castro has market appeal. Cerqueira has effectively combined compelling drama and quirky humor, which evokes readers’ emotions. In his work, he portrays the whole spectrum of life in all of its colorful diversity—rich and poor, city and country, male and female, good and evil. He uses effusive details to highlight the myriad aspects of human nature, which enables his writing to appeal to varied audiences. In 2009, Os Meus Livros magazine awarded The Tragedy of Fidel Castro "Book of the Year" in Portugal. Excerpts are published in The Liberator Magazine, Literary Lunes, Contemporary Literary Review India, All Right Magazine, and Danse Macabre and Anastomo. The novel’s continued exposure will ensure its popularity.
Cerqueira shows potential to be a big name in the future. He has already published seven books, including Blame It on Too Much Freedom and Devil's Observations. While his style is primarily compact in its precision, direct and compelling, it is also vehement and ironical. His images are always striking. He is capable of the shrewdest and deepest views and has a strong knowledge of humankind and the complex reactions through which various social interests clash, adapt themselves, and are reconciled. Thus, he has an instinctive sense of the devices by which the attention of the reader can be sustained.
'Coruscated Confabulations' is a collection of stories and experiences, most of which took place in prior decades. They are taken from or based upon real events, with a certain admixture of fictional embellishments.
High school student Kevin Borden has a secret and his name is Louis Lannegan. He also has an overbearing mother. A tale of coming out in the shadow of parents and friends. Award winning novella.
