A Hundred Fires in Cuba

fact mixed with fiction and an attractive romantic figure from recent history. very thought provoking. I very much enjoyed reading this book.

Not a bad tale

Well written story - with great characters who help form an understanding of the history of Cuba.

Curious about Camilo Cienfuego and his fall from Castro's grace.

An hour ago I finished reading John Thorndike’s most recent book, A Hundred Fires in Cuba. What on earth am I going to read next that will even come close to the beautiful writing and rare insight into human nature that is in this book? I don’t feel like reading anything else at all right now! I have read several other of John’s books that I loved and am planning to read his memoirs as well, but for now I am left feeling filled up and empty at the same time. The dramatization of Castro-era Cuban history is in no way overdone, and is a good general view that makes me want to know much more. The writing is exquisite and the characters..the major ones and the minor..are all deeply memorable and deeply human. The descriptive details are precise yet subtle, and elegantly clear. The book is simply wonderful and deserves a wide readership.

If you are drawn to love stories in historical settings, this book is for you. If you love historical fiction, this book is for you. If you love books with powerful female characters successfully pursuing their dreams against the background of the patriarchy, this book is for you. If you love stories revealing the struggles of parenting, particularly single mother parenting, this book is for you. There are at least 10 other categories I might offer to suggest this book to you.This is an unusual and plausible love story that follows closely the history of the Cuban revolution. The two protagonists, a strong fictional female character and the fictionally drawn, but historically accurate, Camilo Cienfuegos, hero of the Cuban revolution, are drawn to each other like gravity. The enormity of the social hurdles they face are in part of their own making, but largely tied to the history not only of the Cuban revolution, but also of American immigration policy.Like many love stories, how their love unfolds against impossible odds and is the core of the story. However, unlike many love stories, these imperfect characters are so complex and richly drawn that this book becomes entirely believable. The story itself is so powerful it could spawn a conspiracy theory about Cienfuego's love life.The other beautiful aspect is how Cuba itself, in that time, becomes a central character. This is also a story of the love of Cuba. Yet it does not glorify the Cuban revolution. While highlighting how the horrors of the Batista regime led to the socially just need for the revolution, it does not glorify the Castros. Rather it glorifies the spirit of the revolution, and highlights the dream being lost to Soviet backed "communism", and the betrayal of this Cuban dream to the Castro dictatorship. The passion for life, music, dancing, friendship and community of everyday Cubans makes one fall in love with Cuba, but not with Fidel or Raúl. Camilo Cienfuegos becomes the archetypal depiction of the male version of that Cuban character.However, more importantly, Thorndike's depiction of strong women, both Cuban and American, is the richest aspect to the book. The main protagonist, Clare, an American woman, is believably imperfect, and yet heroic. At times selfish, bullheaded, imperfect as a parent (aren't we all), and yet courageous, and drawn almost overwhelmingly by a love she barely understands, Clare's, almost unconscious determination to give her daughter a family with a true father and parents who deeply love each other, is what drives the whole story.The plot is at times wandering, and yet with purpose. It is necessarily complex, and (SPOILER ALERT), includes a surprise ending. Through much of the story, one wonders appropriately, whether this will be a tragedy, or a "love conquers all". Somehow it ends up both tragic and warm.Finally, Thorndike betrays the confusion many men have in recognizing their own call to fatherhood and family. He does it both brutally and delicately. As a man, this is a deeply honest part of the book.Not everyone will like this book. It is almost too real and too honest. Sometimes we just want simple heroes. Instead, John Thorndike gives us the honest but real imperfection and complexity of human heroism. Most will love this. Thank you Mr. Thorndike.

John Thorndike's A Hundred Fires in Cuba is a terrific read. It combines the great drama of the Castros and the Revolution and the passionate love story of Camilo Cienfuegos, a charismatic Cuban guerrilla fighter and top aide to the Castros, and Clare Miller, a beautiful, willful young American. Fidel, Raul, Che--they are all here and Camilo and Clare become entangled with each other and with the complexities of the Revolution and its aftermath in ways that spin out sub-plots and tales of great adventure and danger. The characters are fully realized, the pacing is page-turning speed, the descriptions of Havana just after the Revolution are cinematic. Thorndike clearly knows what he's doing. This historical novel is a considerable accomplishment from a gifted writer. Reading it is to go through a door into the Cuba of the late 1950s and early 1960s and be caught up in it as if you were there. Hard to pull off, a fast-paced and enjoyable tale of adventure and passion and at the same time, a work of significant historical interest. But here it is, A Hundred Fires in Cuba. Highly recommended.

Thorndike skillfully weaves a powerful love story into the deepest strands of the Cuban revolution, bringing to life both the central, huge characters of that moment in history and the characters of his own creation. Cuba in the 50s and 60s, the magic of that place. The special and fragile world that Cubans built and loved. And, Fidel, Che, Raul, Cienfuegos and their triumphant arrival in Havana. Then, the unraveling of Cuban life they initiate, and the ensuing trickle of exiles, which would becomes a river. Amid all that is an American girl, and her child, the daughter of Cienfuegos, with whom she had had a relationship in New York City before the revolution. What a juicy and fantastic concept! This isn't a political book, it's a love story, but Thorndike successfully weaves the real story of Cuba and Cubans into the tale: the hope of the revolution, the eventual disappointment, the commanding charisma of Fidel and Camilo Cienfuegos, Fidel's slow but calculating, cruel and criminal steps to become Cuba's absolute leader. How Thorndike does all this is fascinating. Anyone who knows Cuban history will be transfixed (although serious historians probably will be annoyed at the liberties taken by the author), but they will also come away believing if only Cienfuegos had lived Cuba today might be very different... And, of course, what about that American girl and their daughter together. Read the book. It should be a movie!

Thorndike’s, A Hundred Fires in Cuba, immediately captivates the reader. A high-powered adventure, this book contains bold characters, passion, conflicts, suspicion and intrigue.Camilo Cienfuegos is a young revolutionary who fights in Castro’s army as they take over Cuba from the dictator Batista on January 1st, 1959. The author entwines a riveting love affair with Clare, an American photographer who meets Camilo in New York City, three years prior to Castro’s fight for independence.Thorndike does not rest. His diligent characterization, hard hitting tension, engage the reader with a fascinating look at Havana’s culture. Enjoy the sights, sounds, smells of street life and absorb the passion of Cuba and its people.Camilo was a soldier, not a diplomat. He wasn’t comfortable being pushed into a government role, designed by Raul, Castro’s brother, after the revolution. Like many young men who serve or believe in war, they take on the role of idealist, they handle the combat, but turning political when a war ends is tricky. The challenge of a relationship for Camilo is as difficult as his new position in the regime.The untimely disappearance of Camilo allows Thorndike to twist history into a dynamic fictional novel. The reader is transported into the charisma of Camilo and the allure of Clare’s passion. Thorndike is a master at depicting sexual appeal and enchantment. I was enthralled by this novel.

John Thorndike’s A Hundred Fires in Cuba is a marvelous example of faction, a hybrid genre combining actual historical people and events with fictionalized embellishments to bring them to life. The story basically follows actual life events of Camilo Cienfuegos, one of the lesser known revolutionaries who fought Batista’s forces from the Sierra Maestra who became head of the army after Castro’s assent to power in 1959. The book is a totally engaging treatment of the historical drama that pitched Cienfuegos against Castro’s powerful brother, Raul, possibly leading in real life to his fatal plane crash when he was only 27; the novel averts this catastrophe, leading instead to Cienfuegos surviving, though badly scared, and undergoing a lengthy rehabilitation in Costa Rica.The other major thread of the novel is the complicated romance between Cienfuegos and an American woman, Clare Miller, first in New York City where she is a photographer and he a dishwasher at the Waldorf Astoria hotel and later in Havana, Cuba. After a little over two years’ interim, believing her lover killed during the revolution, Clare has had Cienfuego’s daughter, moved to Cuba, and married an upper class Cuban. When she discovers Cienfuegos is indeed alive, she attempts to rekindle (puns intended) their relationship, which indeed comes roaring back to life. The narrative does a very credible job of documenting their tempestuous relationship, but also the slow process by which Cienfuegos learns to become a nurturing father to their daughter, Alameda.Overall, this is a trenchant piece of writing that intertwines gripping actual events with personal drama. It’s well worth reading.Nancy Butterworth

I couldn't have discovered A Hundred Fires in Cuba at a more perfect juncture. I recently returned from a people to people educational/cultural exchange trip to Cuba; and everything Cuba is fresh in my mind. So, as I read the novel, I found myself saying things like, "okay, yes, I remember that. so this is the Bay of Pigs, Fidel was up there in the mountains," and on and on. I felt like I was in Cuba again as I kept anxiously turning the pages. I found it authentic.If I was asked to choose one word that describes this novel it would be--passionate. All sorts of passion abounds in this story: the passion of the revolutionaries, the passion of romance, the passion between a mother and child, the passion between citizens and country, the passion of a dictator. These passions entwined, resulting in a compelling, beautifully written historical prose.Thank-you, John Thorndike, for the pleasure of reading this book.

Set in the years when Fidel Castro was leading the revolution against the dictator Fulgencio Batista, John Thorndike's assuredly and sensitively written latest novel tells the passionate story of two star-crossed lovers who struggle against the twists and turns of a brutal and bloody period in history to realize their destiny of ultimately being together. Clare, an American photojournalist, and Camilo, one of Castro's top guerrilla commanders, are a romantic couple whose longing and desire for each other makes for some steamy love scenes, and whose love, which refuses to bow before outside forces that seem determined to keep them apart, is heroic in its perseverance. The sights and sounds of late-Fifties Cuba are evocatively presented by the author in a way that engages the reader's senses. As well, the dark realities that inevitably accompany the armed replacement of a corrupt regime with a revolutionary state, make for a dramatic backdrop to a story that packs an emotional wallop that is all the more powerful when one knows that the character of Camilo is based on a real figure. Camilo Cienfuegos - whose name translates in English to "a hundred fires" - was a true hero of the Revolution who mysteriously disappeared during a night flight, never to be heard from again. Was he killed, or did he survive? You'll have to read this fascinating book to find out.

My husband and I just finished the audio version, which was narrated by the author! John brings the characters, the settings, and the story so vividly alive through his writing! Although the book is fiction, there are many elements about the Cuban revolution and the main character which were fascinating to read. We highly recommend this excellent book!

Wonderful fictional work about the personal life of a real charismatic and popular Cuban revolutionary leader - Camilo Cienfuegos. Set in 1959 immediacy after the defeat of Fulgencio Batista by by the rebel forces led by Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Raul Castro and Camilo Cienfuegos himself. A compelling and insightful work, beautifully written.

The protagonists were all enthused with hope at the beginning of the revolution, but were soon disappointed as Castro’s power morphed into a dictatorship with “ undesirables “ getting shot or hauled off the prison.Kind of like th Soviet revolution on a small scale. No democracy in sight😥

A beautifully written love story cleverly interwoven with the history of the Cuban Revolution - historical figures are fleshed out - much that I never understood about the Bay of Pigs fiasco is explained - but above all this is a tale of an intense and ultimately doomed loveA must read!

The words that spontaneously came out of my mouth when I finished your novel, A HUNDRED FIRES IN CUBA, were: WOW John! I felt physically released from the hold of a story that was tightly crafted from the first line, to the very last. Surprised by a love that endured. Impressed by the fulcrum points on which the story turned. Held spellbound by the quality of the writing, the depth of the characterizations, and by a suspenseful kind of wondering of what was coming next. Thank you, John Thorndike, for the hours that I just spent in a world that you created.