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hemingways cuban son reflections on the writer by his longtime majordomo
in 1996 rene villarreal returned to cuba to retrieve his memoir of his life with ernest hemingway at the finca vigia . sadly he learned that the manuscript and photographs had been lost . determined to tell his story villarreal together with his son raul set about rewriting the account of how he came to be ernest hemingways majordomo confidant and friend his cuban son . hemingway called el americano by the cubans moved into the finca vigia an estate outside of havana in 1939 . he allowed the village children to play on his property and they soon became fixtures caring for his pets performing odd jobs and running errands . hemingway recognized rene as especially responsible and attentive and made him household manager or majordomo in 1946 when rene was only seventeen . for the next fifteen years rene ran the finca tending to hemingway and his wife mary and their visiting family and distinguished guests . villarreals clear recollections offer up humorous stories of escapades and adventures with hemingway as well as insightful comments on the writers work habits moods passions and friendships . he also writes of cuba before and after the revolution capturing so well the sense of place and time . scholars and readers of hemingway worldwide will be caught up in this compelling story of a great friendship and will find insight into this complicated fascinating brilliant writer .
other not avail 2009 isbn13 9780873389778 isbn10 0873389778
abridged n isbn 13 9780873389778 number in series 1 number of pages 157 publisher kent state university press release date 62135769600000