What The Critics Say

“This novel (Azúcar) is aptly titled … a fine book and should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the role of sugar in the Caribbean. But it is not a mere history lesson … it is a rich tale of the many human beings whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways. And it is an absolutely wonderful story. “ ---Linda Linguvic, Greenwich Village Gazette, NYC

“Cambeira writes honestly, with powerful, persuasive prose. Through his words, inhumanity and hope, beauty and sadism, love and squalor come alive in the island paradise he loves. I’ve been privileged to review all three books in the trilogy. It bears repeating that this trilogy is beautifully written and starkly realistic. The Dominican Republic is an alluring, enigmatic land of ferocious rains and lush tropical beauty. Against this breathtaking natural backdrop, Cambeira skillfully creates his human drama.” ---Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review

“What makes this last entry into the story of Azúcar the most satisfying in a line of richly rewarding stories is Cambeira’s growth as a writer. The gentle promises of a painter of words was suggested in the first two novels, but in this last installment Cambeira proves his poetic skills In describing the atmosphere of the Dominican Republic. ….Closing a trilogy is a difficult task: Cambeira got it very right!” ---Grady Harp, author of War Songs

“Akin to the numerous works by other authors of Africana Literatura, including but not limited to Toni Morrison, Edwidge Danticat, Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney, Ayi Kwei Armah and Myriam J.A. Chancy, etc., so does the fiction by the Domincan-American novelist Alan Cambeira speak cross-waterly to the faithful lnterrelationship between text and prophecy. In the case of Cambeira’s most recent novel, Tattered Paradise … Azúcar’s Trilogy Ends! (2007), the whole notion of prophecy is hyperlinked to salvation and the establishment of a diasporic Afrikan blueprint to humanity. The novel interrogates the ‘self’ –virtually – for the sake of revealing its ‘will’ and the unified ability that is necessary to heal communities scattered throughout the world.” ---Carlos Murrell, Ph.D.

“Cambeira has become an indispensable new cultural voice among some of the Caribbean’s most articulate voices.” ---Daily Observer (Antigua/Barbuda, WI)

“His writing is a kind of force and originality that is truly impressive.” -----Jamaica Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica, WI)

“There remains no doubt … Alan Cambeira has a bat-quality radar for atmosphere and word … he is copiously talented.” ---Guyana Chronicle (Georgetown, Guyana)

“Alan Cambeira is able to seduce lyrically the reader in this beautifully complex trilogy filled with sustained intrigue, exploitation, murder and much more. ….A reading experience that is truly unique; one that conveys with intimate honesty and magical artistry the human drama, the burdensome past, the pride and the passion of the Caribbean.” ---France-Antille (Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe)

“An exquisite rendering of classic Caribbean syncretism; a microcosm of the region’s melting pot, people with an entire cross-section of exciting human types.” ---Trinidad Express (Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago)

“A rich blending of cultural threads that produces the quintessential Caribbean hybrid; Alan Cambeira’s treatment is immediately reminiscent of Luis Rafael Sànchez in his Voyage to Caribbean Identity.” ---Primera Hora (San Juan, Puerto Rico)

“Alan Cambeira is a formidable talent who writes elegantly, giving his readers an authentic flavor of a delicious sancocho; blending an array of different ingredients that maintain their subtle distinctiveness even while place together in this taste-defying mixture that is truly Caribbean in every sense. ---Última Hora (Santo Domingo, República Dominicana)

“This novel has more of the tone and texture and tast of the mysterious Caribbean milieu than many other novels about the region that have been written in recent years. This is a wonderful and vividly memorable work. Alan Cambeira is a new Caribbean voice that will be heard for some time to come.” ---Listín Diario (Santo Domingo, República Dominicana)