At the heart of Keeper of My Kin by Ada Ferrer is an impossible choice. Do you leave a child behind to save the other? In this case, the author’s mother took her out of Cuba to live in America, but had to leave behind her son, Poly, whose father would not let the boy leave Cuba. Since the author had a different father who already left the island, Ferrer’s mother had a choice to make. She left Cuba.
This kicks off Ferrer’s memoir and, for good or bad, the real crux of the story relies on how Poly grows up and reunites with the family. The story is strongest with Poly at the center, although Ferrer also touches on other aspects of being Cuban in America while also having family back behind Castro’s theoretical wall.
Ferrer won the Pulitzer Prize for her previous work on Cuban history, and there is no letdown with this one. I will say that the seams of the story show at times. She is writing about people whom she didn’t know or for whom she doesn’t have records. These sections require some conjecture, and I did find myself less invested. However, Poly is never gone from the narrative long and the push and pull of his story make this one a fascinating read.
(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Scribner Books.)
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