Set in Cuba largely after the fall of the Soviet Union, these eleven stories explore themes of isolation and perseverance in the face of widespread poverty and socio-political oppression. From a chronically ill santero refusing medical care to a female-fronted heavy metal band risking it all to emerge from Havana’s rock underground, Dariel Suarez, in his striking debut, portrays the harsh reality, inherent humor, and resilient heart of a people whose stories should be known.

About the Author:

Dariel Suarez is a Cuban-born writer who immigrated to the United States with his family in 1997, during the island’s economic crisis known as The Special Period. He is the Head of Faculty and Curriculum at GrubStreet and one of City of Boston’s inaugural Artist Fellows. Dariel’s writing has received honors or awards from The Caribbean Writer, Glimmer Train, and Nimrod International’s Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction. His prose has appeared or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, Prairie Schooner, The Massachusetts Review, North American Review, Third Coast, and Southern Humanities Review, among others. Dariel’s first novel, THE PLAYWRIGHT’S HOUSE, set in his native Cuba, is currently on submission. He holds an MFA in fiction from Boston University and currently resides in the Boston area with his wife.