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An Island Called Home: Returning to Jewish Cuba
Yiddish-speaking Jews thought Cuba was supposed to be a mere layover on the journey to the United States when they arrived in the island country in the 1920s. They even called it “Hotel Cuba.” But then the years passed, and the many Jews who came there from Turkey, Poland, and war-torn Europe stayed in Cuba. The beloved island ceased to be a hotel, and Cuba eventually became “home.” But after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, the majority of the Jews opposed his communist regime and left in a mass exodus. Though they remade their lives in the United States, they mourned the loss of the Jewish community they had built on the island.
As a child of five, Ruth Behar was caught up in the Jewish exodus from Cuba. Growing up in the United States, she wondered about the Jews who stayed behind. Who were they and why had they stayed? What traces were left of the Jewish presence, of the cemeteries, synagogues, and Torahs? Who was taking care of this legacy? What Jewish memories had managed to survive the years of revolutionary atheism?
An Island Called Home is the story of Behar’s journey back to the island to find answers to these questions. Unlike the exotic image projected by the American media, Behar uncovers a side of Cuban Jews that is poignant and personal. Her moving vignettes of the individuals she meets are coupled with the sensitive photographs of Havana-based photographer Humberto Mayol, who traveled with her.
Together, Behar’s poetic and compassionate prose and Mayol’s shadowy and riveting photographs create an unforgettable portrait of a community that many have seen though few have understood. This book is the first to show both the vitality and the heartbreak that lie behind the project of keeping alive the flame of Jewish memory in Cuba.
As a child of five, Ruth Behar was caught up in the Jewish exodus from Cuba. Growing up in the United States, she wondered about the Jews who stayed behind. Who were they and why had they stayed? What traces were left of the Jewish presence, of the cemeteries, synagogues, and Torahs? Who was taking care of this legacy? What Jewish memories had managed to survive the years of revolutionary atheism?
An Island Called Home is the story of Behar’s journey back to the island to find answers to these questions. Unlike the exotic image projected by the American media, Behar uncovers a side of Cuban Jews that is poignant and personal. Her moving vignettes of the individuals she meets are coupled with the sensitive photographs of Havana-based photographer Humberto Mayol, who traveled with her.
Together, Behar’s poetic and compassionate prose and Mayol’s shadowy and riveting photographs create an unforgettable portrait of a community that many have seen though few have understood. This book is the first to show both the vitality and the heartbreak that lie behind the project of keeping alive the flame of Jewish memory in Cuba.
297 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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328 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 15, 2024
4.0
I read this in 2008 before I went to Cuba on my first humanitarian mission there.
It was a great book and gave me the background I wanted to learn.
I read this in 2008 before I went to Cuba on my first humanitarian mission there.
It was a great book and gave me the background I wanted to learn.
December 16, 2015
Interesting book about the Jewish community who live in Cuba. The author interviews a range of different Jewish people on the island and puts it in an interesting way into the book with photographs as well.
I found the book a little slow in parts but was certainly was of interest about a community of people not well known to me.
I found the book a little slow in parts but was certainly was of interest about a community of people not well known to me.
February 28, 2013
This book is a combination of Ruth Behar's personal story/memoir and her description of Jews in Cuba today.
Behar was born in Cuba, but her family moved to the United States after the Cuban Revolution. She describes her desire to return to Cuba and reclaim her roots, while at the same time she expresses her concerns and fears about Fidel Castro's Cuba. The first and last chapters are specifically her story, while the sections in between are about the Jews that she meets and visits with on her trips.
Although Behar is an anthropologist, she doesn't seem able to separate the description of Jews in Cuba from her reactions. Several of the Jews whom she interviews are supporters of the Communist Party, and Behar feels it necessary to question this.
One of the themes of the book is that Cuban Jews are now a chic cause and that their existence is well publicized in the United States. Somehow I've missed out on this. I hadn't heard about a resurgence of Judaism in Cuba prior to reading this book. And I found the book because it was listed on someone else's TBR list on Goodreads.
Behar was born in Cuba, but her family moved to the United States after the Cuban Revolution. She describes her desire to return to Cuba and reclaim her roots, while at the same time she expresses her concerns and fears about Fidel Castro's Cuba. The first and last chapters are specifically her story, while the sections in between are about the Jews that she meets and visits with on her trips.
Although Behar is an anthropologist, she doesn't seem able to separate the description of Jews in Cuba from her reactions. Several of the Jews whom she interviews are supporters of the Communist Party, and Behar feels it necessary to question this.
One of the themes of the book is that Cuban Jews are now a chic cause and that their existence is well publicized in the United States. Somehow I've missed out on this. I hadn't heard about a resurgence of Judaism in Cuba prior to reading this book. And I found the book because it was listed on someone else's TBR list on Goodreads.
October 1, 2023
Este libro es la historia de otra demolición: la de la comunidad judía cubana. Dueña de cierta prosperidad en los años 50 del siglo xx, la llegada del castrismo le arrebató toda posibilidad de seguir creciendo. Tras 1959, no fue hasta 1993 que se pudo realizar la primera ceremonia de conversión de nuevos practicantes.
La autora comenzó a realizar viajes a Cuba en los años 2000 en búsqueda de la huella familiar y su exploración se extendió por varios años hasta el confín más oriental de la Isla, allí donde quedara algún descendiente.
Profusamente ilustrado con fotos, no es poco lo que nos deja saber sobre los restos de una comunidad que sobrevivió a duras penas a base de ayuda exterior y también de cierta tolerancia por parte de la sociedad totalitaria, quizás porque detectó que era muy minoritaria y estaba desarticulada.
Está repleto de detalles que se vuelven más interesantes y curiosos si tenemos en cuenta que hablamos de una sociedad cerrada, policial y totalitaria: la creación en los años 2000 de un hotel en La Habana sólo para la comunidad judía extranjera (Hotel Raquel), que comenzó a viajar con cierta frecuencia a la Isla; los dos cementerios judíos en las afueras de La Habana y algunos en las provincias, y cómo al final del viaje la comunidad sigue diezmada porque muchos de sus entrevistados se establecieron en Israel gracias a la Ley del Retorno.
La edición: a diferencia de la edición en inglés, que luce cuidada y hermosa (la he consultado en línea), este artefacto más feo no puede ser. Sin diseño interior, sin gracia. Desconozco si es la norma de Linkgua, me gustaría pensar que no.
La autora comenzó a realizar viajes a Cuba en los años 2000 en búsqueda de la huella familiar y su exploración se extendió por varios años hasta el confín más oriental de la Isla, allí donde quedara algún descendiente.
Profusamente ilustrado con fotos, no es poco lo que nos deja saber sobre los restos de una comunidad que sobrevivió a duras penas a base de ayuda exterior y también de cierta tolerancia por parte de la sociedad totalitaria, quizás porque detectó que era muy minoritaria y estaba desarticulada.
Está repleto de detalles que se vuelven más interesantes y curiosos si tenemos en cuenta que hablamos de una sociedad cerrada, policial y totalitaria: la creación en los años 2000 de un hotel en La Habana sólo para la comunidad judía extranjera (Hotel Raquel), que comenzó a viajar con cierta frecuencia a la Isla; los dos cementerios judíos en las afueras de La Habana y algunos en las provincias, y cómo al final del viaje la comunidad sigue diezmada porque muchos de sus entrevistados se establecieron en Israel gracias a la Ley del Retorno.
La edición: a diferencia de la edición en inglés, que luce cuidada y hermosa (la he consultado en línea), este artefacto más feo no puede ser. Sin diseño interior, sin gracia. Desconozco si es la norma de Linkgua, me gustaría pensar que no.
December 11, 2017
Open-hearted interviews with members of the small Jewish communities of Cuba. I like her fiction better.
October 22, 2016
Read this book right after another book on the same topic, "The Chosen People: Jews in Cuba". This one was much more readable, for sure. And the pictures were way better (the author had a professional photographer with her) but often very confusing what pictures were of whom. As I mentioned when reviewing the other book, a lot of the same people were interviewed for both books -- clearly they are on the "Jews who go to Cuba who want to meet other Jews should go to see these folks", and this author in fact mentions a certain uncomfortableness with knowing that she is visiting the same folks that so many other "Jews from the US looking to meet --and help-- Jews from Cuba" have already visited.
July 3, 2024
I first read this book many years ago, after hearing the author speak in my community. I just re-read it, and enjoyed the book equally the second time around. I felt as if Behar introduced me to all her friends and acquaintances in Cuba. Her descriptions, sharing of quotes from the people whose homes she enters, and the images bring everyone to life.
As someone who pursued anthropology and Latin American studies myself, Behar's books should be required or recommended reading for many college curricula.
As someone who pursued anthropology and Latin American studies myself, Behar's books should be required or recommended reading for many college curricula.
December 21, 2018
Written by a Cuban American anthropologist whose family left Cuba when she was five. Behar returns to Cuba to find the island home that she longs for and is drawn to meet the remaining Jews in Cuba. Who are they? Why did they stay? I read it straight through last night. It's hard to describe the impact of this book. Behar has such empathy for the people she meets. Outstanding.
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May 5, 2023I'm not sure how to rate this book in terms of stars. I found it interesting, poignant and full of information I had no idea about before reading the book. The combination of the written narrative and the photos shows the human condition of Jews in Cuba. It's a story not only of Jews in Cuba, but life in Cuba. Well worth the read, it makes me want to read more.
August 3, 2018
Wonderful text and photos of the people sprinkled with the history of Jews in Cuba.
October 2, 2019
I loved reading Ruth's stories about Cuba and did so in anticipation of an interview I did with her. She is a wonderful writer and a person that's full of life.
September 4, 2020
The author writes a very moving and personal story of the Jews who chose to remain and retain their Jewish faith and identity in Cuba. The photographs add an additional layer of intimacy.
January 7, 2017
I loved this book. It showed the people as multi dimensional.
November 2, 2015
The topic is fascinating. I love reading about Jewish communities outside the United States. This is an account of the Jews who remained in Cuba after the Revolution. It is a selection of interviews with individuals in addition to a good bit of background of the history of Jews in Cuba. Each story was interesting.
What I didn't care for was the voice of the author who, I felt, brought herself to the foreground of the stories way too often. Enough about her. I wanted to know more about her subjects. I felt in some cases, the profiles were a little weak. Other than that, there's a lot of good information in this book, if you are interested in the Cuban Jewish communities.
What I didn't care for was the voice of the author who, I felt, brought herself to the foreground of the stories way too often. Enough about her. I wanted to know more about her subjects. I felt in some cases, the profiles were a little weak. Other than that, there's a lot of good information in this book, if you are interested in the Cuban Jewish communities.
April 1, 2023
Jewish Cuba
This book is a big WOW! I can not imagine a more comprehensive view of Jewish Cuba. The book is a must for any Jew traveling there. There was much information written about the Jewish community that truly surprised me. I really appreciated the author’s summation of Cuban history at the end of the book.
This book is a big WOW! I can not imagine a more comprehensive view of Jewish Cuba. The book is a must for any Jew traveling there. There was much information written about the Jewish community that truly surprised me. I really appreciated the author’s summation of Cuban history at the end of the book.
April 6, 2015
must read for Jews visiting CUBS
Having just returned from Cuba I found this book to be very helpful. It is a combination of a photographic essay as well as a journal or the author's travels and reminiscents if life in Cuba.
Having just returned from Cuba I found this book to be very helpful. It is a combination of a photographic essay as well as a journal or the author's travels and reminiscents if life in Cuba.
May 13, 2015
Fascinating book. I highly recommend it to everyone-much about one cultures changes and survival but also much information about Cuba and Cubans.
June 4, 2015
I liked the book for its photographs, vignettes, and stories, but didn't know quite what to make of the narrator. Also wish that there had been more historical context.
February 17, 2016
Very interesting to read. Amazing that there are still a few Jews still living in Cuba.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews