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The Memory of Silence
The Memory of Silence/Memoria del silencio explores the lives of two sisters separated at the outset of the Cuban Revolution. In 1959, at the age of 18, the twin sisters Lauri and Menchu share a common past, but their lives abruptly take on seemingly irreconcilable differences as Lauri leaves with her groom for Miami and Menchu remains in Havana. For the next forty years, both lead distinct lives in terms of their daily concrete realities yet, often unknowingly, they share common milestones, attitudes, values, and intimate secrets. The text, then, becomes a series of interpolated chronicles, as each alternating chapter recounts one sister's life and then the other until finally in the present, now reunited, the sisters must confront the pain of the past and as well as the promise of the future. In this poignant novel, presented in a bilingual edition, the underlying theme of reconciliation is a refreshing message and, most importantly, a timely one.
558 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
5 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
Uva de Aragón
30 books13 followersUva de Aragón (Havana, 1944) has published a dozen books of poems, essays, short stories, novels and a play. She comes from a family of Spanish and Cuban writers and continues to write mainly in Spanish, although she has resided in the United States since 1959, Some of her work, translated into English, has appeared in various anthologies. The bilingual edition of her award winning novel The Memory of Silence/ Memoria del silencio, translated by Jeffrey C. Barnett. Chico, (Cubanabooks, 2014) is being taught at several universities. For many years she was a columnist for Diario Las Americas and later El Nuevo Herald . Until her retirement in 2011, she was Associate Director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University. Dr. de Aragón graduated with a PhD in Latin American Literature from the University of Miami. She has received several literary awards in the United States and Europe. Thousands of readers around the world log into her blog Habanera soy http://uvadearagon.wordpress.com/
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
January 11, 2015
I just finished The Memory of Silence and was sad that it ended. A story of twin sisters reunited after 40 years; one living in the U.S. and the other in Cuba during and through the revolution. Dr. Uva de Aragón does a phenomenal job describing a time of trial and heartache where families were separated and their heartwarming reunions. What an absolutely lovely story. I felt as if I was reading about my own childhood, my parent's and my grandparent's. Honest pure and poetic. I will recommend it to everyone; especially to young Cuban-Americans. This is our story. Our roots. Bravo!
January 11, 2015
Translating Uva de Aragón’s THE MEMORY OF SILENCE has been one of my most challenging and rewarding scholarly projects to date. I'm convinced that it will resonate with many diverse audiences. For those interested in historical fiction, you will remember where you were on a given day between 1959 and 2002. For any who have ever dealt with the pain of exile, you will empathize with a community torn apart. For any who have ever longed to be reunited with family, you will share the characters' pain. And perhaps most of all, for a younger Cuban-American community, this is the history of your parents and grandparents.
I'm obviously biased in my opinion or I wouldn't have spent several years translating this momentous work, but I think you'll find that De Aragón's text offers a new voice that points to hope, reconciliation, and promise -- what a timely message!
I'm obviously biased in my opinion or I wouldn't have spent several years translating this momentous work, but I think you'll find that De Aragón's text offers a new voice that points to hope, reconciliation, and promise -- what a timely message!
January 30, 2011
Como dijo Rafael Rojas, el historiador cubano: esta es la primera novela de ambos lados, de la Revolución y del exilio cubano. Pero yo diría más, hay pocos libros que enfoquen de una manera desprejuiciada los traumas que han sufrido las familias cubanas como consecuencia de la "Revolución", casi siempre se toma partido a favor o en contra de una de las partes: los cubanos de la isla o los cubanos que se fueron, como si fueran dos tipos de nacionalidades distintas.
Uva de Aragón no asume una posición ideológica; sólo nos narra, mediante la historia de dos hermanas gemelas, -una se quedó en Cuba y la otra se fue- los caminos diferentes que siguen sus vidas como consecuencia de esa decisión. Desgarramientos, incomprensiones, miedos, con algunos toques de humor y una abierta sensualidad mantienen el interés del lector.
He oído más de una vez a un cubano preguntar: ¿cómo habría sido mi vida si me hubiese ido?, y también en el otro sentido ¿cómo habría sido de haberme quedado?. Uva lanza una respuesta a través de la metáfora de dos hermanas, tan parecidas que a veces hasta la madre no sabe diferenciarlas. Pero más allá de los éxitos económicos de la hermana en Miami, lo que la autora quiere enfatizar es que el gran perdedor en esta historia fue la familia cubana.
Para los cubanos "de la isla" será interesante descubrir que la primera generación del exilio cubano no tuvo un camino de rosas como presuponen. Levantaron una ciudad y reconstruyeron sus vidas con muchísimo esfuerzo y dedicación.
Más allá del valor indiscutible que tiene la obra para el lector cubano, Memoria del Silencio tiene un valor universal en la narración del conflicto entre política y familia.
Algo resuelto magistralmente por Uva es la solución que escogió para narrar los hechos históricos que circunvalan a los personajes y evitar parlamentos ficticios: introduce a la HISTORIA, como un nuevo personaje. Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, el musicólogo e investigador cubano dice: La historia, que se va contando a sí misma. En efecto, se van intercalando párrafos provenientes de noticias o comentarios publicados dentro y fuera de Cuba, a lo largo y lo ancho de los años del proceso revolucionario. Son voces múltiples, que cuentan cada una la historia a su manera.
Uva de Aragón no asume una posición ideológica; sólo nos narra, mediante la historia de dos hermanas gemelas, -una se quedó en Cuba y la otra se fue- los caminos diferentes que siguen sus vidas como consecuencia de esa decisión. Desgarramientos, incomprensiones, miedos, con algunos toques de humor y una abierta sensualidad mantienen el interés del lector.
He oído más de una vez a un cubano preguntar: ¿cómo habría sido mi vida si me hubiese ido?, y también en el otro sentido ¿cómo habría sido de haberme quedado?. Uva lanza una respuesta a través de la metáfora de dos hermanas, tan parecidas que a veces hasta la madre no sabe diferenciarlas. Pero más allá de los éxitos económicos de la hermana en Miami, lo que la autora quiere enfatizar es que el gran perdedor en esta historia fue la familia cubana.
Para los cubanos "de la isla" será interesante descubrir que la primera generación del exilio cubano no tuvo un camino de rosas como presuponen. Levantaron una ciudad y reconstruyeron sus vidas con muchísimo esfuerzo y dedicación.
Más allá del valor indiscutible que tiene la obra para el lector cubano, Memoria del Silencio tiene un valor universal en la narración del conflicto entre política y familia.
Algo resuelto magistralmente por Uva es la solución que escogió para narrar los hechos históricos que circunvalan a los personajes y evitar parlamentos ficticios: introduce a la HISTORIA, como un nuevo personaje. Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, el musicólogo e investigador cubano dice: La historia, que se va contando a sí misma. En efecto, se van intercalando párrafos provenientes de noticias o comentarios publicados dentro y fuera de Cuba, a lo largo y lo ancho de los años del proceso revolucionario. Son voces múltiples, que cuentan cada una la historia a su manera.
March 23, 2015
The Memory of Silence is an engaging novel that relates the story of twin sisters, Lauri and Menchu, who are separated at the onset of the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Seemingly inseparable, the twin sisters share a common past, relishing the same memories. Yet on July 13, 1959, their lives abruptly change, taking on seemingly irreconcilable differences, as Lauri flees from Cuba with her groom to Miami, leaving Menchu behind in Havana. For the next forty years, the two sisters lead very distinct lives, especially in terms of their daily realities. However, perhaps what moved me the most throughout this novel was that despite the contrasts in their lives, their stories of love, struggle, and loss seemed to mirror each other. Through the memoirs of each sister, the reader becomes privy to each sister’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Ultimately, the sisters are reunited, at which point they must confront the pain of the past as well as the promise of the future.
The similarities that exist within the lives of Lauri and Menchu become glaringly obvious throughout the novel, and it quickly becomes evident just how much the Cuban Revolution impacted all Cubans, not just the ones who remained in the country, but exiles as well. For as one sister suffers in exile, the other struggles on the island itself. By employing the vantages of two sisters through their personal memoirs, I found that de Aragón conveys a remarkable and unique perspective on the Cuban Revolution and how despite all of suffering it has caused, the future is promising.
Uva de Aragon keeps her readers successfully engrossed in the novel from start to finish. It was hard not feel a sense of connection to Lauri and Menchu, as the reader gained full access to the most intimate details of their lives. The characters were left vulnerable, making them more relatable, and even though it seemed as if their stories began to overlap, the novel never became predictable. It was a captivating read. And despite a rather developed background in the Cuban Revolution, I appreciated learning about it from a different perspective. There is something to be said about a novel such as this that can provide even the most educated historian with a greater appreciation and new sense of perspective on a topic that is so often discussed in textbooks. The Memory of Silence is a must read--not just for Latin American and Caribbean Studies students.
The similarities that exist within the lives of Lauri and Menchu become glaringly obvious throughout the novel, and it quickly becomes evident just how much the Cuban Revolution impacted all Cubans, not just the ones who remained in the country, but exiles as well. For as one sister suffers in exile, the other struggles on the island itself. By employing the vantages of two sisters through their personal memoirs, I found that de Aragón conveys a remarkable and unique perspective on the Cuban Revolution and how despite all of suffering it has caused, the future is promising.
Uva de Aragon keeps her readers successfully engrossed in the novel from start to finish. It was hard not feel a sense of connection to Lauri and Menchu, as the reader gained full access to the most intimate details of their lives. The characters were left vulnerable, making them more relatable, and even though it seemed as if their stories began to overlap, the novel never became predictable. It was a captivating read. And despite a rather developed background in the Cuban Revolution, I appreciated learning about it from a different perspective. There is something to be said about a novel such as this that can provide even the most educated historian with a greater appreciation and new sense of perspective on a topic that is so often discussed in textbooks. The Memory of Silence is a must read--not just for Latin American and Caribbean Studies students.
January 30, 2011
Como dijo Rafael Rojas, el historiador cubano: esta es la primera novela de ambos lados, de la Revolución y del exilio cubano. Pero yo diría más, hay pocos libros que enfoquen de una manera desprejuiciada los traumas que han sufrido las familias cubanas como consecuencia de la "Revolución", casi siempre se toma partido a favor o en contra de una de las partes: los cubanos de la isla o los cubanos que se fueron, como si fueran dos tipos de nacionalidades distintas.
Uva de Aragón no asume una posición ideológica; sólo nos narra, mediante la historia de dos hermanas gemelas, -una se quedó en Cuba y la otra se fue- los caminos diferentes que siguen sus vidas como consecuencia de esa decisión. Desgarramientos, incomprensiones, miedos, con algunos toques de humor y una abierta sensualidad mantienen el interés del lector.
He oído más de una vez a un cubano preguntar: ¿cómo habría sido mi vida si me hubiese ido?, y también en el otro sentido ¿cómo habría sido de haberme quedado?. Uva lanza una respuesta a través de la metáfora de dos hermanas, tan parecidas que a veces hasta la madre no sabe diferenciarlas. Pero más allá de los éxitos económicos de la hermana en Miami, lo que la autora quiere enfatizar es que el gran perdedor en esta historia fue la familia cubana.
Para los cubanos "de la isla" será interesante descubrir que la primera generación del exilio cubano no tuvo un camino de rosas como presuponen. Levantaron una ciudad y reconstruyeron sus vidas con muchísimo esfuerzo y dedicación.
Más allá del valor indiscutible que tiene la obra para el lector cubano, Memoria del Silencio tiene un valor universal en la narración del conflicto entre política y familia.
Algo resuelto magistralmente por Uva es la solución que escogió para narrar los hechos históricos que circunvalan a los personajes y evitar parlamentos ficticios: introduce a la HISTORIA, como un nuevo personaje. Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, el musicólogo e investigador cubano dice: La historia, que se va contando a sí misma. En efecto, se van intercalando párrafos provenientes de noticias o comentarios publicados dentro y fuera de Cuba, a lo largo y lo ancho de los años del proceso revolucionario. Son voces múltiples, que cuentan cada una la historia a su manera.
Uva de Aragón no asume una posición ideológica; sólo nos narra, mediante la historia de dos hermanas gemelas, -una se quedó en Cuba y la otra se fue- los caminos diferentes que siguen sus vidas como consecuencia de esa decisión. Desgarramientos, incomprensiones, miedos, con algunos toques de humor y una abierta sensualidad mantienen el interés del lector.
He oído más de una vez a un cubano preguntar: ¿cómo habría sido mi vida si me hubiese ido?, y también en el otro sentido ¿cómo habría sido de haberme quedado?. Uva lanza una respuesta a través de la metáfora de dos hermanas, tan parecidas que a veces hasta la madre no sabe diferenciarlas. Pero más allá de los éxitos económicos de la hermana en Miami, lo que la autora quiere enfatizar es que el gran perdedor en esta historia fue la familia cubana.
Para los cubanos "de la isla" será interesante descubrir que la primera generación del exilio cubano no tuvo un camino de rosas como presuponen. Levantaron una ciudad y reconstruyeron sus vidas con muchísimo esfuerzo y dedicación.
Más allá del valor indiscutible que tiene la obra para el lector cubano, Memoria del Silencio tiene un valor universal en la narración del conflicto entre política y familia.
Algo resuelto magistralmente por Uva es la solución que escogió para narrar los hechos históricos que circunvalan a los personajes y evitar parlamentos ficticios: introduce a la HISTORIA, como un nuevo personaje. Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, el musicólogo e investigador cubano dice: La historia, que se va contando a sí misma. En efecto, se van intercalando párrafos provenientes de noticias o comentarios publicados dentro y fuera de Cuba, a lo largo y lo ancho de los años del proceso revolucionario. Son voces múltiples, que cuentan cada una la historia a su manera.
March 23, 2015
In just under 300 pages, Uva de Aragón is able to capture forty years of sadness, forty years of struggle, forty years of longing, and forty years of change all spurred on by the Cuban Revolution and the Castro regime. The novel "The Memory of Silence" tells the story of two twin sisters who were separated at the end of their teenage years when one of the sisters (Lauri) moves to the United States with her new husband Robertico. De Aragón is able to paint a vivid portrait of the two sisters very different realities by alternating narration every chapter between each sibling, which is one of the most fascinating, thought-provoking, and simply delightful elements of this work. Furthermore, the author writes this story in a way that does not feel dense, overly intellectual, or inaccessible. In fact, much of the book feels as if one is sitting with a grandparent who is simply telling them the story of their lives. All of these elements combine to create a compelling and emotionally moving tale that will leave the reader feeling as if they better understand what it means to be Cuban and what it means to be Cuban-American.
January 12, 2015
Memoria del silencio/Silence of Memory is an engaging novel that relates the story of twin sisters who are separated at the onset of the Cuban Revolution. Uva de Aragón manages to narrate a story that chronicles this conflict with a fair view of both sides. Memoria is at once a novel of the Revolution and a novel of exile. She manages this feat by weaving the stories of the sisters with historical events that take place both on the island and the US in a series of events that takes the reader back and forth between Cuba and the US. Memoria is also a love story, a novel of loss, of family conflicts, but above all it is a search for understanding and community. Weather or not you are familiar with Cuban history, this novel will take you there and keep you turning pages as you learn not only the difficulties faced by a nation, but those faced by the ordinary people who remained on the island as well as those who left prompted by the Revolution.
July 18, 2014
Interesting & effective concept to frame a story by depicting the parallel lives of twin sisters divided for 40 years. One leaves Cuba at 18 recently married and with her in laws to make a new life first in Silver Spring, MD (where my family also settled) and later in Miami. The other remains in Cuba caring for their mother and younger sibling. They also marry men with parallel beliefs. One becomes an obsessed anti Revolution exile, who forbids his wife to visit her mother in Cuba and the other a rabid revolutionary, who even takes his family to live in Russia for a few years. Finally, the sisters reunite after 40 years & each in their on way feel their lives were wasted one by missing her motherland and her family and the other by missing out on modern life by enduring the travails of life in revolutionary Cuba.
December 23, 2022
This book was very educational for me to read. It was required for a Latin American studies class, and I am very glad it was. It is written by a Cuban woman who left Cuba around the time of the revolution for the US, and one of the main characters is inspired by her life experience. The other character is an imagined sister who stayed in Cuba.
Having come of age in leftist environs, I had a vague impression that Cuba was an amazing utopia, and had seen the images of Che held up as a hero without any real context for it beyond some basic sound bytes. This book gave a different perspective on some of the more negative aspects of the Cuban revolution. Granted, it is written by one of the people who left, but I think she tried to be fair and describe the positive aspects of the revolution and subsequent government system as well.
It is a little slow-going at times because it is one of those biographical-style novels where there isn't a main contrived plot like in a thriller, mystery, or fantasy. It's just life, like those old English novels that follow some kid through childhood and into adulthood, or the Mildred Taylor books that follow the Logan family. I have a harder time with those types of books sometimes compared to say a fantasy or sci fi book, but I also appreciate it when they help me enter in to another perspective, and it brings to life a time period I did not live through in a way that dry history texts focusing on presidents and laws and policies can not.
I definitely recommend this book, even if the writing isn't "blow me away" level, it is well-worth it for a humanizing perspective on what it meant to be a young person during the Cuban revolution and how that shaped the rest of many people's lives.
Having come of age in leftist environs, I had a vague impression that Cuba was an amazing utopia, and had seen the images of Che held up as a hero without any real context for it beyond some basic sound bytes. This book gave a different perspective on some of the more negative aspects of the Cuban revolution. Granted, it is written by one of the people who left, but I think she tried to be fair and describe the positive aspects of the revolution and subsequent government system as well.
It is a little slow-going at times because it is one of those biographical-style novels where there isn't a main contrived plot like in a thriller, mystery, or fantasy. It's just life, like those old English novels that follow some kid through childhood and into adulthood, or the Mildred Taylor books that follow the Logan family. I have a harder time with those types of books sometimes compared to say a fantasy or sci fi book, but I also appreciate it when they help me enter in to another perspective, and it brings to life a time period I did not live through in a way that dry history texts focusing on presidents and laws and policies can not.
I definitely recommend this book, even if the writing isn't "blow me away" level, it is well-worth it for a humanizing perspective on what it meant to be a young person during the Cuban revolution and how that shaped the rest of many people's lives.
December 6, 2018
I did not like this book, which is an unpopular opinion, I know.
When I first read the translation notes I did not like that, and I thought I would only like the Spanish version. As I read the first chapter - in Spanish first, then English - I had to admit that it was a good translation, so it was the writing style that I didn't like.
It appears this is the author's first novel, having previously written short stories, poems, and essays. For the longer form, the conceit that she uses is that a separated pair of twins - Lauri who left Cuba with her husband, and Menchu who stayed and worked for the revolution with her husband - and the journals that they keep, kind of for each other, tracing their separate lives.
The problem (in my opinion) is that the journals do not feel like real journals, covering longer periods of time more like books. It feels artificial, some of the character arcs that are used to illustrate the different aspects of the Cuban experience feel artificial, and also, for what the purpose of the journals is supposed to be, it does not feel quite natural that there is so much about what the sisters' lovers are doing with their nipples.
So I feel like the method doesn't work, and that it's a shame, because I do not doubt that the author has real insights, and trying to get a complete view of all the sides has value, but that this doesn't work. Maybe it was too ambitious for a first novel.
When I first read the translation notes I did not like that, and I thought I would only like the Spanish version. As I read the first chapter - in Spanish first, then English - I had to admit that it was a good translation, so it was the writing style that I didn't like.
It appears this is the author's first novel, having previously written short stories, poems, and essays. For the longer form, the conceit that she uses is that a separated pair of twins - Lauri who left Cuba with her husband, and Menchu who stayed and worked for the revolution with her husband - and the journals that they keep, kind of for each other, tracing their separate lives.
The problem (in my opinion) is that the journals do not feel like real journals, covering longer periods of time more like books. It feels artificial, some of the character arcs that are used to illustrate the different aspects of the Cuban experience feel artificial, and also, for what the purpose of the journals is supposed to be, it does not feel quite natural that there is so much about what the sisters' lovers are doing with their nipples.
So I feel like the method doesn't work, and that it's a shame, because I do not doubt that the author has real insights, and trying to get a complete view of all the sides has value, but that this doesn't work. Maybe it was too ambitious for a first novel.
September 2, 2024
A great novel to explore la dualidad del ser and learn about the Cuban political climate over the course of decades. It infuses real news clippings throughout the story to better understand timeline.
February 12, 2022
beautiful and heartbreaking, a story so many of us resonate with and need to hear. a reminder that home is always waiting for us.
February 19, 2022
This book is phenomenal. As a Cuban American exile I not only related to this but learned valuable pieces of information about how history was shaped.
March 23, 2015
Written from the perspective of twin sisters separated by the revolution and their infrequent letters to each other, The Memory of Silence accomplishes a difficult task in giving the reader the perspective of the Cuban Revolution from those who stayed and those who sought refuge in the USA. The author's swift and compelling style keep the storyline moving along which makes for an exciting read. The detail in which the Cuban countryside is described and compared to cities like Columbus, Ohio, and Washington DC further emphasize the stark contrast in the lives of those who fled the revolution and those who stayed the course. I truly enjoyed this novel. I would recommend it to most readers, but preferably a mature audience as there are certain themes of sexuality that are not appropriate for young or even adolescent readers. Nonetheless this work inspired within me a visceral reaction right from the beginning and the separation of the two sisters. It is a compelling fictional story about a thrilling moment in history.
January 11, 2015
Memoria del silencio/Silence of Memory is an engaging novel that relates the story of twin sisters who are separated at the onset of the Cuban Revolution. Uva de Aragón manages to narrate a story that chronicles this conflict with a fair view of both sides. Memoria is at once a novel of the Revolution and a novel of exile. She manages this feat by weaving the stories of the sisters with historical events that take place both on the island and the US in a series of events that takes the reader back and forth between Cuba and the US. Memoria is also a love story, a novel of loss, of family conflicts, but above all it is a search for understanding and community. Weather or not you are familiar with Cuban history, this novel will take you there and keep you turning pages as you learn not only the difficulties faced by a nation, but those faced by the ordinary people who remained on the island as well as those who left prompted by the Revolution.
March 20, 2015
I was sad when The Memory of Silence ended. Very much like In the Time of the Butterflies, I found that Uva de Argon managed to maintain the reader's attention to the story of the Cuban Revolution through the switch of perspectives in both Menchu and Lauri. Despite a 90 mile stretch of ocean separating them, their views and outlooks on the world starkly differed. Suffering through their heart wrenching stories, I rooted for both sisters. Their "twin connection" was maintained throughout their decades of separation. A novel of love and loss makes the Cuban Revolution accessible to a generation that only hears about it from history books. Character and personality added to the story made me understand the Cuban Revolution from a deeper perspective. The overarching theme of community and isolation trace through the novel and allow for readers to understand the differing opinions of the Revolutions for Cubans across the world.
January 12, 2022
The Memory of Silence is a novel that unravels the endless layers of the emotional odyssey traversed by those who experience exile, displacement, and separation. Its approach for reconciliation and transcendence is problematic, but so is any attempt at healing and overcoming.
The original text in Spanish is superb. The English translation is ok, although not accurate in some passages.
Overall a must read for those looking to engage in these themes.
The original text in Spanish is superb. The English translation is ok, although not accurate in some passages.
Overall a must read for those looking to engage in these themes.
April 16, 2015
Pudo ser mejor!!!!
No lleno todas mis expectativas. Al principio te atrapa pero mas adelante se torna repetitivo. Es una historia que conmueve pero su argumento ya ha sido muy usado.
No lleno todas mis expectativas. Al principio te atrapa pero mas adelante se torna repetitivo. Es una historia que conmueve pero su argumento ya ha sido muy usado.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews