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list price: $24.95
edition:Paperback
also available: eBook
category: Political Science
published: May 2020
ISBN:9781772012453
publisher: Talonbooks

Orwell in Cuba

How 1984 Came to Be Published in Castro’s Twilight

by Frédérick Lavoie, translated by Donald Winkler

tagged: communism & socialism, human rights, cuba, caribbean & latin american, propaganda
Description

Orwell in Cuba chronicles journalist Frédérick Lavoie’s attempts to unravel the motives behind the mysterious appearance of a new translation of George Orwell’s 1984, formerly taboo in Cuba, just ahead of the country’s twenty-fifth International Book Fair. Lavoie works to make sense of how Cubans feel about the past, present, and future of their island – and how the political regime is adapting, or not, to life in the twenty-first century. His intertwined quests give readers the unique experience of following a suspenseful trail while at the same time becoming increasingly familiar with Cubans’ relationship to the regime and their strategies for coping with the island’s often challenging living conditions.

About the Authors

Frédérick Lavoie


Donald Winkler

DONALD WINKLER is a translator of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, and is a three-time winner of the Governor General's Literary Award for French to English translation, most recently in 2013 for Pierre Nepveu's collection of verse, The Major Verbs. He lives in Montreal.

Contributor Notes

Born in Chicoutimi in 1983, Frédérick Lavoie is a writer and freelance journalist. He is the author of three nonfiction books, including For Want of a Fir Tree: Ukraine Undone (Linda Leith Publishing, 2018). In Orwell in Cuba: How ‘1984’ Came to Be Published in Castro’s Twilight, winner of the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award for French Non-Fiction, he continues his investigation of the many faces of humanity in troubled times.

As a journalist, Lavoie has contributed to many Canadian and European media outlets, reporting from more than thirty countries. Previously based in Moscow and Chicago, he now divides his time between Montréal and Mumbai. Lavoie is currently writing a book on Bangladesh. Donald Winkler is a translator of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. He is a three-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for French-to-English Translation, and has been a finalist on three other occasions. He lives in Montréal.

Editorial Reviews

"The greatest strength of Orwell in Cuba lies in the street-level view it affords of ordinary Cubans negotiating the absurdities of daily life as an entrenched regime is losing its grip."
—Ian McGillis, Montreal Review of Books


"Orwell in Cuba is nuanced and compelling."
—Literary Review of Canada

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