In Before Night Falls Arenas documents his life from his erotically charged childhood in the country to his teenage years as a victim to Castro’s reign over Cuba. As Arenas was a homosexual and a writer his life was full of persecutions, arrests and other horrors. In between we are given descriptions of the literary and homosexual scenes of Cuba during the 60’s and 70’s.

Eventually Arenas does manage to leave Cuba and head off to the States but, again he is out-of-place and feels like a person without any home or identity.

On one hand it is a savage criticism of Fidel Castro’s government but it is also a love letter to Cuba for when Arenas has to leave he misses it.

By the mid 80’s Arenas was diagnosed with AIDS , mostly due to his promiscuous lifestlye and he committed suicide in 1990. Although I found it tacky his suicide note is the final chapter in the book.

Did I like Before Night Falls? Oh yes. It’s a novel which brings out the frustration of someone who wants to be creative and isn’t allowed so there’s a lot of black humor in describing some of Castro’s ideas but there are moments of great beauty and these are the best bits of here.

Brutal, wonderful and painfully honest this is one autobiography that should not be missed!