ABSTRACT
The phrase “between worlds” recurs so frequently in Latino fiction and in post-colonial and Latino criticism as to nearly smack of cliche. Principally for political reasons, many Cuban-American writers look toward Cuba as the lost island paradise. Balancing a desire for the lost Eden of one’s youth with the need for success in the modern US world preoccupies characters throughout Latino fiction. The dream of easy life, the tempting qualities of North America are usually countered in Latino fiction by stark reality. Latino writers, especially Cuban-Americans, take nostalgia seriously. Cubans gather in Miami bars to play dominos and critique Castro in purely negative terms. Betrayal in Latino fiction is usually two-sided. Deception just as often comes from the other side, the Mexican side, the island side. As Latino writers scrutinize the dual aspects of their own and their characters’ identities, they shift their status from ethnic writers attached to particular cultures to mainstream “American” storytellers.
