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| Plot Summary of Outcast |
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"
Morrow, Feb 2001, 24.00, 295 pp.
ISBN: 0060184884
In his forties, Havana high school teacher Elliot Steil is not a Marxist maniac. Perhaps it is his American father who abandoned Elliot and his now deceased mother over forty years ago or just his love for the relics of pre-Castro Cuba. His lack of demonstrated enthusiasm for Communism has cost him promotions he deserves over less qualified people.
Everything abruptly changes for Elliot when American Don Gastner visits him with a chance to escape to Key West. Don insists he is an old war buddy of Elliot's father who now feels guilty for forsaking his family. Although under suspicion because of Don's visit and his lineage, Elliot agrees to flee. Instead of taking him to America, Don leaves Elliot to die in the waters off Florida. Somehow surviving the ordeal, Elliot begins his own investigation into why someone went to so much trouble to have him killed.
OUTCAST is an exciting look at the dichotomy facing Cuban-Americans and Cubans still living on the island. Elliot is a superb lead character who has one foot on Cuba and one foot on Florida as he arches over one of the longest 90 miles in the world. The early members of the support cast such as his Cuban neighbors, Don, and the flashbacks to his parents and life just before the Revolution are great depictions, but the villains seem weak in comparison. Though some awkward translation (book was originally written in Spanish) leads to ineffective language usage, readers will fully relish a powerful look at the Cuban scenario within a well-written amateur sleuth tale.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Outcast |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- preventing/finding assassin
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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