Old Rosa & the Brightest Star

by Reinaldo Arenas

Book Overview

Reinaldo Arenas has been widely praised for his prodigious, explosive talent. A terrifying and beautiful novel, Old Rosa is composed of two stories that converge on a single charged point in the lives of a Cuban mother and son. In "Old Rosa," we meet Rosa as a young woman, tall, proud, shrewd, always in control. But her world begins to crumble when her oldest son runs off to join Castro's rebels and she finds her youngest son, her "brightest star,"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802134068
• ISBN13: 9780802134066
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Great read

This short work is very amusing and a great one day novella. Great book for bringing new readers to Reinaldo as it is so short. Great.

A powerful evocation of 20th century Cuba

"Old Rosa: A Novel in Two Stories" is a compelling work of fiction by Reinaldo Arenas, one of Cuba's most important writers. As the book's subtitle indicates, this work consists of two shorter pieces. The first, "Old Rosa," has been translated into English by Ann Tashi Slater; the second, "The Brightest Star," has been translated into English by Andrew Hurley.The first story tells of the family of Old Rosa, a Cuban landowner whose life begins to fall apart under Castro's revolution. As Arenas explores her family and community relationships, he illuminates such issues as racial prejudice, homophobia, and economic conflict. This is a powerful story which skillfully blends elements of hard-core realism with hallucinatory supernatural touches.The second story, "The Brightest Star," follows the experiences of Old Rosa's son Arturo in a Cuban forced-labor camp. This is a harrowing tale which deals in part with the redemptive power of writing and fantasy.This book is an important piece of 20th century Latin American literature. The only drawback I found as a reader was the fact that each story unfolds as a single unbroken paragraph; this format, although impressive from a technical aspect, gets somewhat tiring after a while. But I still recommend "Old Rosa." And I also suggest that those who are impressed with Arenas' gifts as a fiction writer also read his remarkable autobiography, "Before Night Falls" (which has been made into a compelling film).

Add this to your favorites list - absolutely incredible writ

Old Rosa's world falls apart - a son joining the rebels made a crack - discovering her favored son is homosexual completes the destruction. The final five pages are incredible writing - Rosa's anger turns towards God, towards an angel, and turns destructive as she refuses to face the disgrace.Yes, the two related stories in this slim volume stand as excellent writing in themselves - but the fire scene transforms the book into "incredible".