I was disappointed. I've enjoyed other work by Objeas, particularly "Days of Awe" and "We Came all the way from Cuba so you could dress like this?", but these short stories just didn't cut it for me.

In these dreamlike stories of life in Cuba and America the sea always feels like it's within hearing distance. Or if it's not, as in landlocked, wintery stories like "Kimberle," then the atmosphere is almost something you can swim in: its air, light, claustrophobia. Thus, these stories constantly remind you of the physical, the way the body feels as it experiences the world. Wrapped within that miasmic cloud of human-ness, Obejas' characters, some in Cuba, some in America, others shuttling between, try to anchor themselves through books, through history, through human contact. I'm a fan of her work and she did not let me down here. ( )

The Tower of Antilles is a beautiful collection of short stories, centered around the Cuban experience, both on the island and as an immigrant elsewhere. These stories explore the nature of individuality, with the question "What is your name?" being the entry point for both the opening and closing stories. There's also a thread of queer experience throughout many of these stories.

One the many story that was resonant for me is "The Cola of Oblivion," in which a young woman returns to Cuba only to be addressed with the old grievances of her family there. It builds to a heavy conclusion, bearing the burdens of family expectation that stayed with me long after I finished the story. ( )

This is such a strange and fast collection of short stories, I ended up reading it in one sitting. There are flavors of writers like Marquez and Borjes here, as well as contemporaries like Gaiman and Link. And each story, given the depth that it has, could easily be imagined as a far longer tale, complete as it is in the short form. I'm not sure how I feel about the framing stories--the first and the last--but beyond these short ones, each one is a sort of world of its own, and strange enough to keep a reader enthralled, entertained, and sometimes shocked or delighted. All told, there are a few stories here I already plan to read again, and a few I feel I need to, but I look forward to reading more of Obejas' work. ( )

Achy Obejas was born in Cuba in 1956. When she was six she came with her parents to Indiana where she grew up. She lived there long enough to realize that her lesbianism was viewed negatively. She worked in Chicago as a journalist and now lives in Oakland, California, where she currently teaches creative writing at Mills College as a Distinguished Visiting Writer. She has previously published award-winning poetry and stories. Her writing has focused on her sexuality and her Cuban identity. In an interview she stated that she is “interested in both Cuba as a real place and as a kind of metaphor for power and for powerlessness, for private and public identity.” She says that, while Americans tend to think about their own agency, Cubans are more likely to attribute events to fate or to God. Such ideas shape her writing.

The actual stories in this collection include some centering on Cuba itself and others featuring Cuban Americans. The characters and their actions seemed strange to me. Sexuality for both lesbians and gay men is described very explicitly. ( )