Summary: Publisher Summary 1 This volume contains a cogent analysis of recent fiction and poetry concerning the lives of Chinese in Cuba, and also offers a thorough discussion of the history of Chinese immigration and life in Cuba, with extensive discussion of the topics of Orientalism as it is manifested in Spanish-speaking countries, slavery, colonialism, and racism. Through discussion of the history of the Chinese community and the shifting treatment and attitudes towards Chinese-Cubans, supported by analysis of works that include Monkey Hunting and The Messenger by Cristina Garc铆a and Zo茅 Vald茅s's I gave you all I had, a complex and vivid image is created of this Cuban community. L贸pez-Calvo is professor of Spanish at the U. of California, Merced. Annotation 漏2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)   Publisher Summary 2 More than 150 years ago, the first Chinese contract laborers ("coolies") arrived in Cuba to work the colonial plantations. Eventually, over 150,000 Chinese immigrated to the island, and their presence has had a profound effect on all aspects of Cuban cultural production, from food to books to painting. Ignacio L贸pez-Calvo's interpretations often go against the grain of earlier research, refusing to conceive of Cuban identity either in terms of a bipolar black/white opposition or an idyllic and harmonious process of miscegenation. He also counters traditional representations of chinos mambises, Chinese immigrants who fought for Cuba in the Wars of Independence against Spain. Imaging the Chinese in Cuban Literature and Culture fills a void in literary criticism, breaking new ground within the small field of Sino-Cuban studies. It is destined to set the tone for years to come.