The New York City launching of Uva de Aragón’s The Memory of Silence, a novel that explores the lives of two sisters separated at the outset of the Cuban Revolution. In 1959, at the age of 18, the twins Lauri and Menchu share a common past, but their lives abruptly take on seemingly irreconcilable differences as Lauri leaves with her groom for Miami and Menchu remains in Havana. For the next 40 years, both lead distinct lives within their daily concrete realities, yet often unknowingly, they share common milestones, attitudes, values, and intimate secrets. The reader is witness to the challenges of their lives through memoirs that both sisters have kept. The text, then, becomes a series of interpolated chronicles, as each sister’s life is recounted in alternating chapters. Once reunited, they must confront the pain of the past and the promise of the future.
Joining the author in the presentation will be Jeffrey Barnett, the novel’s translator. Both will engage in a Q & A with the audience after the bilingual reading.
The Memory of Silence is Uva de Aragón’s first major novel, 
but it is by no menans her first major literary contribution.
Since her first publication in 1972, she has penned
numerous works in the genres of short story,
poetry, and critical essay. Her works have been
published in Spain, Cuba, and the United States.
Jeffrey Barnett has translated a diverse selection of Latin American authors, ranging from the short stories of Carlos Fuentes to the epic poetry of Martín del Barco Centenera. He is professor of Spanish and director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Washington and Lee University.
BARUCH COLLEGE
25th Street, bet. Lexington and Third Aves., NYC
VC, 6th Floor, Conference Room 6-210
SPACE IS LIMITED
CCCNY Members, Students, and Faculty: Free Admission
Non-Members: Optional donation
For reservations, write to: cccofny@aol.com
Presented in collaboration with the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature at Baruch College
With the promotional collaboration of
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