The return of Felix Nogara

the long version

"Imagine an island off the coast of Florida (not unlike Cuba), under the rule of a dictator (not unlike Fidel Castro) - an island from which many have been exiled or fled ... What if the dictator died and suddenly the exiles could return?". "Sent to the United States at the age of twelve, after the death of his father, Felix Nogara lives in Miami and New York City but never feels at home. He remains connected to his native island through a legacy of history, politics, and poetry inherited from his family and supported by his bond with other exiles. Thirty-eight years later, when he returns to the island, he carries with him books of island history, documents about his great-grandfather's role in the War of Independence, notice of his mother's terminal illness, and a sheaf of unpublished poems. With a wise, adventurous, sometimes comical taxi driver as his guide, he sets out to find his mother and to reclaim his heritage. As he travels through the tumultuous, derelict countryside, Felix encounters the past in the ruins of the city. He is swept into the present as an unwilling participant in the whirlwind of political violence shaking the nation. And he meets his future when he falls in love with the woman not of his dreams but of his waking."--BOOK JACKET.