We are proud to present our latest novel by Dominican Author: Alan Cambeira
Azucar! The Story of Sugar (a novel in English)
For detailed information please visit our website at:
www.cambeira.com
Also available at Amazon.com
Azucar! The Story of Sugar
by Alan Cambeira
Average Customer Review:
Usually ships in 24 hours
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
List?n Diario (Dominican Republic Newspaper), March, 2002
This novel has more of the tone and texture and taste of the mysterious Caribbean milieu than many other novels.
List Price: $14.50
Price: $14.50
Customers Reviews:
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
Forget Critics? Reviews, May 17, 2003
Reviewer: Felicia Baptiste from New Orleans, LA
I have discovered an amazing new novel that gave me a greater understanding of a culture that I didn't know anything about. The culture of sugar, more specifically the contemporary Caribbean sugarcane industry, is really one I would risk saying not many people from the comfort of their protected circumstance here in the States know very much about. This story presents it all in a totally shocking manner, at times brutally so. The author Cambeira skillfully paints what seemed to me to a portrait of Caribbean reality: all the characters, the vivid descriptions, the suspense and tension of the action that continues to build, the dialogue that was cleverly presented in a simultaneous bilingual fashions, the notions of global economics, the social history and politics ... it's all there.
Perhaps most impressive to me personally was the way Cambeira captured the real voices of oppressed and exploited women who work under these modern-day slave conditions. Quite frankly, I have never read anything like this before. I feel there?s a movie waiting to be made. I for one am certainly not going to wait to read the strenuous efforts on the part of critics to discover, dissect and digest the text?s central significance. This novel is awesome!
All The Right Ingredients, August 6, 2003
Reviewer: Keith Reisner, Ph.D. from New Haven, CT
This novel should be mandatory reading on many levels: regional cultural history, global economics, gender and class issues, comparative literature, style of writing, and the important message it conveys to the reader. Azucar's Story, however uncomfortable or angry it might make us when we finish reading it, is one of those stories that you are not likely to easily forget. The unique and very true-to-life characters living in the batey, Little Azucar herself, her iron-willed grandmother Do?a Fela, the rebellious elder Don Anselmo and all the other neighbors and characters who are intimately linked to the sugarcane plantation, like the shrewd Yvette Orgin?-Desgraves, the sadistic capataz Diego Montalvo, the deceptive Cristiana and the surprising role of Harold and Marcelo; they are all unforgettable. This novel has all the right ingredients for success. I'm glad I read it. What a great thought-provoking movie this would be!
Very Highly Recommended !
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Mesmerizing tour de force!, July 17, 2003
Reviewer: chicbookfiend (see more about me) from Holyoke, MA United States
This book is so beautifully written it is to be savored over time, like fine wine. It moved me deeply, delighted me in a literary sense, and was always a compelling joy to come home to. Alan Cambeira is a stellar writer; surely he could speak of the phone book and be just as mesmerising, but when the topic is the struggles of sugarcane business in the Dominican Republic, it is indeed a rare and wonderful feast. Brava to a sublime author and a worthy topic. This proves that Hispanic literature is one of the worthiest to read. I recommend it not just as a library piece, but also as a special gift for any friend with a soul...
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Loved The Linguistic Twists, July 8, 2003
Reviewer: Philippe-Eluard Roy from Toronto (Ontario),Canada
I was fortunate to attend a writers series public lecture and booksigning event while vacationing recently in Atlanta, GA. The featured speaker/writer was a Dominican author of amazing talent and presence. This was one of the most electrifying and engaging lectures I 've attended. I immediately bought Alan Cambeira's novel. Just as electrifying is this unusual and brilliantly written novel about the horrors of present-day sugarcane production in the Caribbean. The story is presented masterfully and it is compelling. The clever use of language [Caribbean Creole, French, Spanish, pidgin English] is strikingly creative.
Cambeira's inventive characaters are now etched indelibly in my mind. It was difficult for me to put down this book, so engrossed was I in its magical pull and intrigue. What a stroke of luck for me to have gone to Atlanta's Auburn Avenue Library that evening! Bravo, Monsieur Cambeira.
A reviewer, a book critic from the caribbean, April 8, 2003,
'A Brilliant First Novel'
'...A brilliant first novel which reveals the visionary history of a Caribbean island with an intensity and originality that dares place it alongside Lovelace, Danticat, Marshall, and Alvarez.' The Nation (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Azucar! The Story of Sugar
by Alan Cambeira
Az?car! The Story of Sugar
Thanks
Julio Belen
Belecam & Associates, Inc.
Buss#770-451-6729
Fax # 770-457-7485
Email: Lemba241@aol.com/ publisher@belecam.com
Visit us at: www.cambeira.com
Also Avail: Quienes Son Los Dominicanos?
3. ?Qui?nes Son Los Dominicanos? Caleidoscopio Turbulento
by Alan Cambeira (Paperback - February 2002)
Avg. Customer Rating:
Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $25.00
Buy new: $25.00
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Very Timely Treatment, July 16, 2003
Reviewer: Bill Larson from Boston, MA
It is really good and also very timely for many North Americans, as well as for other Latinos, to know that Dominican culture is much more than the amazingly talented major league baseball players, and popular merengue and bachata artists. And of course with the new Miss Universe 2003, the positive and little-known facts about this dynamic Caribbean culture will be promoted aggressively. With more intelligent and scholarly works like Professor Cambeira's book, we can most certainly move beyond (perhaps erase altogether) the negative and damaging public images of Dominican drug lords (like the notorious Peeples
character in the Shaft movie re-make). Cambeira presents us with a carefully studied and penetrating investigation into the thorny issue of Dominican national identity of collectiveness and genuine inclusion. I am personally very grateful for this book. It helped me understand the unfortunate and ignorant question of the traditional animosity existing between Dominicans and Haitians. I have never had this ugly conflict explained to me like it is here in Dr. Cambeira's book. The Spanish is easy to handle, not the intimidating level of Spanish I had anticipated. This is not your conventional classroom history textbook. On the contrary, Cambeira's language flows smoothly and seductively, like a novel ( I definitely plan to read Cambeira's much talked-about novel next). This book is full of useful, informative material. I enjoyed this reading tremendously. I highly recommend it to readers who are looking for a freshly different treatment of Dominican culture.
Visit us at: www.cambeira.com
Belecam & Associates, Inc.
Books also avail at Amazon.com
Thanks
Azucar! The Story of Sugar (a novel in English)
For detailed information please visit our website at:
www.cambeira.com
Also available at Amazon.com
Azucar! The Story of Sugar
by Alan Cambeira
Average Customer Review:
Usually ships in 24 hours
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. See details.
List?n Diario (Dominican Republic Newspaper), March, 2002
This novel has more of the tone and texture and taste of the mysterious Caribbean milieu than many other novels.
List Price: $14.50
Price: $14.50
Customers Reviews:
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
Forget Critics? Reviews, May 17, 2003
Reviewer: Felicia Baptiste from New Orleans, LA
I have discovered an amazing new novel that gave me a greater understanding of a culture that I didn't know anything about. The culture of sugar, more specifically the contemporary Caribbean sugarcane industry, is really one I would risk saying not many people from the comfort of their protected circumstance here in the States know very much about. This story presents it all in a totally shocking manner, at times brutally so. The author Cambeira skillfully paints what seemed to me to a portrait of Caribbean reality: all the characters, the vivid descriptions, the suspense and tension of the action that continues to build, the dialogue that was cleverly presented in a simultaneous bilingual fashions, the notions of global economics, the social history and politics ... it's all there.
Perhaps most impressive to me personally was the way Cambeira captured the real voices of oppressed and exploited women who work under these modern-day slave conditions. Quite frankly, I have never read anything like this before. I feel there?s a movie waiting to be made. I for one am certainly not going to wait to read the strenuous efforts on the part of critics to discover, dissect and digest the text?s central significance. This novel is awesome!
All The Right Ingredients, August 6, 2003
Reviewer: Keith Reisner, Ph.D. from New Haven, CT
This novel should be mandatory reading on many levels: regional cultural history, global economics, gender and class issues, comparative literature, style of writing, and the important message it conveys to the reader. Azucar's Story, however uncomfortable or angry it might make us when we finish reading it, is one of those stories that you are not likely to easily forget. The unique and very true-to-life characters living in the batey, Little Azucar herself, her iron-willed grandmother Do?a Fela, the rebellious elder Don Anselmo and all the other neighbors and characters who are intimately linked to the sugarcane plantation, like the shrewd Yvette Orgin?-Desgraves, the sadistic capataz Diego Montalvo, the deceptive Cristiana and the surprising role of Harold and Marcelo; they are all unforgettable. This novel has all the right ingredients for success. I'm glad I read it. What a great thought-provoking movie this would be!
Very Highly Recommended !
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
Mesmerizing tour de force!, July 17, 2003
Reviewer: chicbookfiend (see more about me) from Holyoke, MA United States
This book is so beautifully written it is to be savored over time, like fine wine. It moved me deeply, delighted me in a literary sense, and was always a compelling joy to come home to. Alan Cambeira is a stellar writer; surely he could speak of the phone book and be just as mesmerising, but when the topic is the struggles of sugarcane business in the Dominican Republic, it is indeed a rare and wonderful feast. Brava to a sublime author and a worthy topic. This proves that Hispanic literature is one of the worthiest to read. I recommend it not just as a library piece, but also as a special gift for any friend with a soul...
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
Loved The Linguistic Twists, July 8, 2003
Reviewer: Philippe-Eluard Roy from Toronto (Ontario),Canada
I was fortunate to attend a writers series public lecture and booksigning event while vacationing recently in Atlanta, GA. The featured speaker/writer was a Dominican author of amazing talent and presence. This was one of the most electrifying and engaging lectures I 've attended. I immediately bought Alan Cambeira's novel. Just as electrifying is this unusual and brilliantly written novel about the horrors of present-day sugarcane production in the Caribbean. The story is presented masterfully and it is compelling. The clever use of language [Caribbean Creole, French, Spanish, pidgin English] is strikingly creative.
Cambeira's inventive characaters are now etched indelibly in my mind. It was difficult for me to put down this book, so engrossed was I in its magical pull and intrigue. What a stroke of luck for me to have gone to Atlanta's Auburn Avenue Library that evening! Bravo, Monsieur Cambeira.
A reviewer, a book critic from the caribbean, April 8, 2003,
'A Brilliant First Novel'
'...A brilliant first novel which reveals the visionary history of a Caribbean island with an intensity and originality that dares place it alongside Lovelace, Danticat, Marshall, and Alvarez.' The Nation (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Azucar! The Story of Sugar
by Alan Cambeira
Az?car! The Story of Sugar
Thanks
Julio Belen
Belecam & Associates, Inc.
Buss#770-451-6729
Fax # 770-457-7485
Email: Lemba241@aol.com/ publisher@belecam.com
Visit us at: www.cambeira.com
Also Avail: Quienes Son Los Dominicanos?
3. ?Qui?nes Son Los Dominicanos? Caleidoscopio Turbulento
by Alan Cambeira (Paperback - February 2002)
Avg. Customer Rating:
Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $25.00
Buy new: $25.00
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Very Timely Treatment, July 16, 2003
Reviewer: Bill Larson from Boston, MA
It is really good and also very timely for many North Americans, as well as for other Latinos, to know that Dominican culture is much more than the amazingly talented major league baseball players, and popular merengue and bachata artists. And of course with the new Miss Universe 2003, the positive and little-known facts about this dynamic Caribbean culture will be promoted aggressively. With more intelligent and scholarly works like Professor Cambeira's book, we can most certainly move beyond (perhaps erase altogether) the negative and damaging public images of Dominican drug lords (like the notorious Peeples
character in the Shaft movie re-make). Cambeira presents us with a carefully studied and penetrating investigation into the thorny issue of Dominican national identity of collectiveness and genuine inclusion. I am personally very grateful for this book. It helped me understand the unfortunate and ignorant question of the traditional animosity existing between Dominicans and Haitians. I have never had this ugly conflict explained to me like it is here in Dr. Cambeira's book. The Spanish is easy to handle, not the intimidating level of Spanish I had anticipated. This is not your conventional classroom history textbook. On the contrary, Cambeira's language flows smoothly and seductively, like a novel ( I definitely plan to read Cambeira's much talked-about novel next). This book is full of useful, informative material. I enjoyed this reading tremendously. I highly recommend it to readers who are looking for a freshly different treatment of Dominican culture.
Visit us at: www.cambeira.com
Belecam & Associates, Inc.
Books also avail at Amazon.com
Thanks