The Mango Chronicle - by Ricardo José González-Rothi (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In an entangled exodus to freedom during a nuclear missile crisis, a young boy's Cuban Huck-Finn-childhood is upended. After a decades-long struggle with identity, he transitions from refugee to "good" American, returning to his roots for redemption. He left his birthplace during a nuclear missile crisis. As a refugee in a foreign land he struggles to adjust to a new set of life circumstances. The author recollects his childhood in his Cuban barrio from the eyes of a child, and then decades later, from the vantage of a grown adult. From stealing a rowboat and being nearly capsized by a Russian tanker, to befriending an old fisherman who tells him a haunting tale, to being bullied by a neighborhood thug, to cockfights gone wrong, to witnessing the plight of political prisoners during an invasion, to dealing with the injustices of growing up in a machismo and homophobic culture, he led a Cuban Huck Finn childhood. Arriving in a foreign land which is at times unwelcoming, he struggles to assimilate while preserving his native soul. Eventually he finds redemption upon circling back to his roots when he returns to the island.

About the Author

Ricardo came to the United States as a Cuban refugee in his teens. As an academic clinician-researcher, highly decorated medical educator, and former Department Chairperson Ricardo has authored of over fifty scientific publications. His fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry have been featured in the U.S. and in the UK, in Acentos Review, Hispanic Culture Review, Biostories, The Bellingham Review and others. "The Mango Chronicle" is his debut full-length book. Ricardo lives in North Florida. gonzalezrothiauthor.com