The Assault A Novel
The Assault A Novel by Reinaldo Arenas, published by Penguin on June 1, 1995, is a significant work in the author’s series that explores the complexities of life in Cuba. This edition, written in English and spanning 176 pages, presents a stark narrative that delves into the oppressive realities faced by individuals in a society where homosexuality is criminalized. Through the eyes of a government torturer, the novel reveals a Kafka-esque landscape marked by dehumanization and absurdity.
Readers will encounter a darkly humorous yet harrowing depiction of a world where the hunt for dissenters and sexual deviants becomes a national obsession. The story unfolds in a setting where memory is suppressed, and language itself is at risk of extinction. The themes of fiction, literary exploration, and LGBTQ+ issues are intricately woven into the narrative, providing a profound commentary on the struggles of identity and freedom in a repressive regime.
Official synopsis Publisher
In this, the final volume in the series of five novels that constitute his “secret history of Cuba”, Reinaldo Arenas paints a harrowing, and at times boldly entertaining, Kafka-esque picture of a dehumanized people living in a world where homosexuality is a crime punishable by death and a cockroach hunt makes for a national holiday. Narrated by a hate-filled government torturer who has become an agent for the “Bureau of Counterwhispering”,” The Assault follows his travels through a blackly humorous shadowland as he winnow out whisperers, sexual deviants, and dissidents of every sort–until memory has been banished and spoken language has been nearly forgotten.
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