The Literary Blog Hop!

  • Sunday, June 23, 2013

Judith over at Leeswammes' Blog was very kind to let me join in on the festivities (even if I am a bit late), i.e. The Literary Blog Hop.

I'm fast discovering that literary fiction is among my favourite genres!
I wanted to get a bit more exposure for this tremendous book that was very kindly provided by Portuguese author João Cerqueira. I initially found this book intimidating because it deals with both politics and religion. But I found it extremely funny and brought me to a new resolve to seek out more Latin American authors where ideas and discussion are always top of mind.  If you like Jose Saramago, alternate realities, and satire which will provoke and challenge, then this book is for you!


The Tragedy of Fidel Castro by João Cerqueira
Amazon.com: Paperback | Kindle Edition

Giveaway Time!

João Cerqueira is giving away
2 Kindle Edition e-books of The Tragedy of Fidel Castro
(Open International)
Please use Rafflecopter below (please be patient, sometimes it takes a while to load)

Synopsis: When God receives a request from Fátima to help prevent a war between Fidel Castro and JFK, he asks his son, Jesus, to return to Earth and diffuse the conflict. On his island, Fidel Castro faces protests on the streets and realizes that he is about to be overthrown. Alone, surrounded, and aware that the end is fast approaching, he plays his last card. Meanwhile, Christ arrives on Earth and teams up with Fátima, who is convinced she can create a miracle to avoid the final battle between JFK and Fidel Castro and save the world as we know it. At the end, something really extraordinary happens! 
Humorous, rich with metaphor, and refreshingly imaginative, The Tragedy of Fidel Castro was chosen as the book-of-the-month and book-of-the-year by Os Meus Livros magazine. 

Praise

"Joao Cerqueira's Tragedy of Fidel Castro is a phantasmagoric odyssey through a highly imaginative prose universe of discovery and inquest. It's a magic realism hybrid of sacrificial lambs and Revolution, capitalistic decadence, and celestial consequence -- in a dimension where the cogs of time got jammed." - Mark Spitzer, Toad Suck Review Editor, Professor of Writing at the University of Central Arkansas

"A smart, energetic and funny piece of writing." 
- Bethany Gibson, Fiction Editor of Goose Lane Editions 

"Brilliant satire, playfully serious [...] do not waste even a single paragraph"
- Rita Bonet, Os Meus Livros

***Now go check out the rest of the lovely folks in this hop!

  1. Leeswammes
  2. Ciska’s Book Chest
  3. The Book Garden
  4. Sam Still Reading
  5. Ephemeral Digest
  6. Curiosity Killed the Bookworm
  7. Rikki’s Teleidoscope
  8. The Things You Can Read (US)
  9. Seaside Book Nook
  10. The Relentless Reader (US)
  11. Under a Gray Sky Blog
  12. Exurbanis
  13. Candle Beam Book Blog
  14. Booklover Book Reviews
  15. Books in the Burbs (US)
  16. River City Reading (US)
  17. Lakeside Musing (US)
  18. Read Lately (US)
  19. The Book Diva’s Reads
  20. A Place That Does Not Exist
  21. Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book (US)
  22. A corner of the library
  23. Roof Beam Reader
  24. The Misfortune of Knowing
  25. Girl Vs Bookshelf
  1. heavenali
  2. Love at First Book
  3. The Little Reader Library
  4. The Siren’s Tale
  5. Musings and Ramblings
  6. The Readers Realm (US)
  7. Lost Generation Reader
  8. Readerbuzz
  9. Literary Meanderings
  10. Book Clutter
  11. Bay State Reader’s Advisory
  12. Love, Laughter, and a Touch of Insanity
  13. Nose in a book
  14. Audios & More
  15. Laurie Here
  16. Mythical Books
  17. Books in the City
  18. Alex in Leeds
  19. Literature Frenzy!
  20. Guiltless Reading (yep, you're here!)

11 comments

  1. Bettina GrissenJune 23, 2013 at 1:45 PM

    Well, I am glad to see that you also participate, and I must say this sounds like an intriguing book. I would very much like to win this!
    Thank you for this original give-away and have fun during the hop!
    Kind regards,

    quaden [at] hetnet [dot] nl

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shannon @ River City ReadingJune 23, 2013 at 1:54 PM

    What a great cover for a fantastic sounding book! Glad to hear you're digging into literary fiction :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzJune 24, 2013 at 6:13 AM

    Sounds quirky! My kind of read!

    debnance at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Laurie CJune 24, 2013 at 1:21 PM

    I've been planning to try to read more books in translation, so I'm entering my name. I hope I'll be knowledgeable enough to understand the satire, if I win!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 3:39 AM

    Thanks for the giveaway :) Sounds like nothing I've read before, have gotten very curious!

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 3:33 PM

    It sounds intimidating indeed - politics and religion! But I love Jose Saramago's books so I'd love to try this novel.

    To the author: Did you use the book as a vehicle to discuss heavy items such as politics and religion? Or are they secondary to the plot?

    Thanks for joining the blog hop, Guiltless Reader!

    ReplyDelete
  7. João CerqueiraJune 25, 2013 at 10:23 PM

    Hello Leeswammes and the other readers,

    Yes, I really used the story to discuss politics and religion.
    For two reasons: I have been in Cuba three times and because - some say - I am a mortal being (I really don't belive this).
    Anyway, I tried to write a good story and to make the readers laugh - by thinking.
    Varadero - the Castro's spy - is my favorite character (and Jesus too, of course).
    He tried to lose his faith - but that is not possible.

    Please see more information about the book here:
    http://driftlessareareview.com/2013/04/17/an-interview-with-joao-cerqueira/
    http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.pt/2013/03/joao-cerqueira-tragedy-of-fidel-castro.html

    and also this - http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/guest-post-show-instead-of-tell-the-literary-mantra-by-joao-cerqueira/

    I wish all a nice day.
    João

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousJune 25, 2013 at 11:05 PM

    This book sounds very interesting! I'm glad to see you joined the blog hop.

    ReplyDelete
  9. bn100June 26, 2013 at 12:56 AM

    What was the inspiration for the book?

    ReplyDelete
  10. MistyRiosJune 26, 2013 at 2:20 AM

    Wow seems like a really interesting read!

    ReplyDelete
  11. João CerqueiraJune 27, 2013 at 8:05 PM

    Thank you all for your interest in my novel.
    If you wish to contact me here is my email: joomcerqueira@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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