The Palace of the White Skunks

I haven't read all five of Reinaldo Arenas' Pentagonia, of which this is the second book, so I have to treat this as a standalone novel. What a novel it is, though! The story concerns itself mainly with the teenage protagonist (Fortunato) who is slowly but inexorably driven to utter desperation by the totally banal evil of everyday life: poverty, hopelessness, the frankly loathsome behavior of a family member. When the other characters in this tale receive treatment, they turn out to be as desperate, unsatisfied, or as crazy as humanly possible. The overwhelming atmosphere in the book can be easily described: no way out. No hope. No future. Eventually the food runs out for the poor family, and Fortunato decides to take his chance with the rebels that have recently popped up in Batista's Cuba. Like everything else in the hero's life, it doesn't work out... Brief passages interspersed in the narrative take us back to examine the life of Fortunato's grandfather, who's in large part responsible for the misery of the family (or at least as I see it). Driven by unbelievable desperation, capable of murder, Fortunato's grandfather is also easily duped, taken advantage of by smooth talkers, and takes out every frustration on his wife and his progeny (all disappointingly daughters). The fearsome back story provides us with all we need to know about the family's situation... Arenas liberally uses magic realism to communicate the fraying sanities, the absolute wit's end, of the characters. The ghosts of Fortunato's dead cousins appear, speak amongst themselves, and drop hints about his fate. I felt this only contributed to the atmosphere of insanity, of the final destruction of the human being. In short, this is a masterpiece, but don't expect to be uplifted.

In this, the second book of five about revolutionary Cuba, Arenas brings us into the city to continue on the life of Fortunato, the boy narrator introduced in Singing from the Well. Fortunato is older now, and the narrative reflects this maturity by following a more chronological format. But his torment, misery and anger is no less. Always in the background is the gunfire of the reveloution which captivates Fortunato and eventually ensnares him.While less difficult than Singing from the Well, The Palace of the White Skunks is still no easy read. Yet both books are extraordinary. Anyone interested in reading Latin American authors must include Arenas.