Abstract
Ana Menendez’s latest collection of short stories, Adios, Happy Homeland! is a labyrinthine metafictional construction of cultural and literary references that responds to the appropriation of Cuban literature.
Highlights
Adios, Happy Homeland! is sure to confound some readers
While the cover of the book announces that it is fiction by Ana Menendez, a glance at its form and content shows what seems to be an anthology of Cuban authors, curated by an Irishman-living-in-Havana named Herberto Quain
The book is not what its form suggests. It is a single cohesive work of fiction written by a single author—but a work of fiction that, significantly, makes many references to the works of others. It is presented in the form of an anthology, with each of the interlinked and intertwined stories being attributed to a different fictional author, and the “collection” prefaced by a fictional introduction by the fictional Quain, who, one suddenly recalls, is a character from Borges’ “Examen de la obra de Herbert Quain,” another story whose form makes it seem like something it is not: in that case, the short story pretends to be a literary analysis
Summary
Happy Homeland! is sure to confound some readers. While the cover of the book announces that it is fiction by Ana Menendez, a glance at its form and content shows what seems to be an anthology of Cuban authors, curated by an Irishman-living-in-Havana named Herberto Quain. Escaping isn't what it used to be: Review of Ana Menendez's Adios, Happy Homeland!
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