Papa and Fidel — Karl Alexander

This novel about fathers and sons, hope and redemption, the author of Time After Time brilliantly evokes cultural icons in a thriller that captures the essence of its famous protagonists in a poignant, compelling drama that just might have been true.

Cuba, 1957: Ernest Hemingway, long a resident of Cuba, is past his prime, feeling old, and fighting the twin problems of liver disease and writer's block. Then he meets Fidel Castro, who, in the Sierra Maestra mountains, is building a growing force of idealistic young guerrillas, determined to overthrow the corrupt, bloated regime of Generalissimo Fulgencio Batista. After Castro wins his revolution and takes power, he and Hemingway grow to respect and admire each other, and Hemingway helps Castro heal his relationship with his estranged son Fidelito, showing the boy how to throw a curve ball, something that eluded his father and kept him from pitching in the major leagues.

Like Time After Time, this is a rousing novel that brings a famous author to vivid life in a great story of a memorable time.