2 comments about The Traveling Sketchbook: An American Kid Discovers Japan.

1. As someone else who has had to move several times due to the father's job I can relate on many levels with this book, my moves were every three years within the USA and not as diverse as the author's moves to other countries nor as dramatic as the military plane ride. ALAS, my family only travelled by station wagon. Fran Kramer's family had a 'you have to read this book' experience in post war Japan. The beauty of Japan and the Japanese people are stunning in the words of Fran Kramer.



2. A charming story of the daughter of an American Army officer living in post WWII Japan. For children it offers the classic tales of adjusting to a new home, pets, problems at school with teachers and bullies, and one attempt at playing hooky. On an adult level it reveals the complex differences between Japanese and American traditions, along with the universal undercurrent of curiosity and love among fellow human beings regardless of culture. If you a planning a trip to Japan or moving your family to any foreign country, The Traveling Sketch Book is a must read.

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5 comments about Next Year in Cuba: A Cubano's Coming-Of-Age in America.

1. Gustavo Perez-Firmat's memoir is a heartfelt read.
   For anyone who has straddled the hyphenated word Cuban-American and thought themselves as a CBA (Cuban-born Americans) or ABC(American-bred Cubans), this book is a secret treaure.
   Perez-Firmat takes the reader on a cultural literary journey as he tries to come to terms with exactly what and where home is. Is it the place you were born (Cuba), the place you were exiled to, (Miami) or the city that you find yourself most at peace with (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) Perez-Firmat offers a tender philosophical introspective read on all the above.
   The book took me to the corner merchants and restaurants of la saguesera to the academia of Chapel Hill, where Perez-Firmat later settled in as he pursued a master's in literature. Or as he puts it, "Living with an American spouse, dealing with American stepchildren, and speaking English at home, I am much more aware of my nationality that I ever was before." (p.171)
   His memories of his family dynamics (two grandmothers sharing a two-bedroom with him, his brother and their parents) will be relatable to anyone with a large Hispanic family or to fans of PBS 70s show "Que Pasa USA?"
   But his take on his "romance with teaching" really resonated with me.
   I enjoyed reading the often humorous tales of this professor in the classrom as he teaches college students about Spanish literature. In one scene, Perez-Firmat goes on to describe his philosophy for teaching, which can serve as a lesson to many aspiring teachers.
   "I'm a successful teacher to the extent that I can get my students to fall for me...In a deep sense, I am the material...Like other love affairs, teaching has its own pace and moods, its good and bad days, its coded language, its rewarding or bitter conclusion. Sometimes you walk into a class and it's love at first sight."



2. As a young person who was born in the United States but whose parents were born in Cuba, identity has never been black and white for me--although it has always been blue, red, and white. This book crystallized so many emotions that I had felt my entire life but had never really examined. If you are 22 and have never been to Cuba, but still call yourself Cuban or if you are 60 and think if your childhood on that island paradise everyday--this book will make you laugh, it might make you cry, and it will certainly make you think. For over forty years now Cubans have been hoping for that "next year" to come to fruition, but we are still waiting. This book will make you long for "next year" like never before. Read it--you will never forget you did.



3. That is the question that has echoed throughout the Cuban exile community for over 40 years. As the older generation fades, the new generation continues to ask, to wonder, if the next year will finally be the year when Cuba will be free and Castro will be, and there's no other way to say it, dead.

   Perez Firmat and I stand a generation apart, yet reading this book, there really was no difference. The Cuban-American experience has much to do with yearning, an emotion that this book succeeded in evoking. We yearn for the Cuba we hear our relatives talk about. We yearn for the freedom of this never-seen homeland, to see the end of the tyranny. And we also yearn for this America, for the apple pie and Coca-Cola life we see and hear all around us, yet can never fully belong to.

   Being Cuban-American is not only complex, it is two extremes thrown together. Finding our identity as we straddle two nations is a challenge even now, 40 years later, and even to people like me, first-generation Cuban-Americans. You are forced to ask over and over again, What am I? I am not Cuban, I was born here in the U.S. But I am not American, my "Cuban-ness" is such a strong, obvious part of me it cannot be denied.

   Next Year in Cuba does a great job of giving an eloquent, humorous voice to this complexity. It's a great read on the Cuban-American culture, sure to give a better insight and appreciation to those wanting to know more.




4. That we Cubans and Cuban-Americans can find humor in any situation--even the most tragic and overwhelming--is a testament to our strength. This book is a poignant, funny, and sometimes sad tale of one man's struggle to find his identity. It is a very personal self-examination, but one that most of us (all us "hyphenated" people) can relate to. Are you Cuban? Are you American? Are you "of Cuban descent"? Are you Cuban-American? Are you one person at home and another at work? These are difficult questions, and he walks us through the even more difficult process of trying to find an answer. Does he have an answer? Yes and no. The author also explores the Cuban community's rise from its initial status as an underprivileged, immigrant, "exile" community, to its present role as an assimilated, politically active, financially powerful ethinic force. All of this adds more depth to his own personal identity issues. The book is fascinating, thoughful, and full of relatives we can all look at and say "I have an aunt/uncle/mother/father/etc. just like that!"

   In the wake of the Elian Gonzalez saga, I just hope everyone reads this and remembers how and why we got here. Thank you, Professor Firmat.




5. This book made me come to terms with what being a Cuban born American means to me. Perez Firmat shares his own personal and sometimes painful experiences with the readers. In doing so he made it easier to define and understand my own experience as a Cuban-American who loves the United States yet has a yearning to gain a deeper understanding of his own Cuban roots.

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1 comments about A Backward Glance.

1. The author's descriptions of life on a Depression-era farm are funny, heartwarming and, to those of us who never rode a mule or shot a guinea hen for supper, enlightening as well. Tales of the down-home antics of his family and friends had me laughing out loud. His recollections reveal the life-shaping influences of World War II on a typical young American man who, in answer to the call to arms of December 1941, left behind home and family for exotic and often hostile far-off lands. I was engrossed with and charmed by the unfolding story of the author's blossoming wartime romance with a young beauty from the hills of Kentucky. For those who lived through the Depression and war years, the book should be an enjoyable "backward glance." The rest of us can gain a deeper understanding of those most unusual times. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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