"Los Gusanos"

(Reviewed by Judi Clark MAR 9, 1998)

Set in 1981, but spanning six decades of a family's life in Cuba and the US, Los Gusanos portrays the struggle of a people to make a life in their adopted country while haunted by their memories of their homeland. Most valuable was the fine line depicted between revolutionary and dictatorial leadership.

Mr. Sayles has more notoriety as a movie director and is not Cuban (he taught himself Spanish to write the novel), has written a very convincing novel handling Cuban politics adeptly. In fact, after reading this novel, I asked a lot of questions of my Cuban peers (when I worked in the Keys) and learned more about their families past lives in Cuba.  If you can find a copy of this book, have a Spanish-English pocket dictionary handy while reading it.  This would be an especially apt book to read this year, the 40th anniversary of Castro's victory.

• Amazon readers' rating: from 3 reviews
  

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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)

• Pride of the Bimbos (1975)
• Union Dues (1977)
• The Anarchist's Convention (1979)
• Los Gusanos: A Novel (1991)
• Dillinger in Hollywood: New and Selected Short Stories (October 2004)

Screenplays:

• Men with Guns and Lone Star (1998)
• Silver City and Other Screenplays (September 2004)

Others:

• Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan (1987)
• Sayles on Sayles (1998)
• John Sayles: Interviews (1999)

 

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Book Marks:

• Official website for John Sayles
• Guardian Unlimited interview with John Sayles (2000)
• Site with information on Men with Guns

 

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About the Author:

John Sayles is one of the most respected American independent filmmakers. He has created a body of work as distinguished in its diversity as for its consistent quality and inspiring originality. He's never been one to march to the commercial beat, but chooses instead to follow his creative impulse wherever it leads him. Johns Sayles movies include The Return of the Secaucus Seven, The Brother from Another Planet, Matewan, Passion Fish, Lone Star, Men with Guns, Limbo, Sunshine State, Casa de los Babys , Silver City, and his most recent, Honeydripper.

He lives in Hoboken, NJ and upstate New York.