Before Night Falls: A Memoir, Reinaldo Arenas

This shocking memoir by the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas is a book about sexual, political and artistic freedom. In "Before Night Falls", Arenas recounts his journey from a poverty-stricken childhood in rural Cuba to his death in New York four decades later. He tells of his odyssey from young rebel fighting for the Revolution, through his suppression as a writer, his disillusionment with Castro, his imprisonment and torture, to his eventual flight from Cuba. Now a feature film starring Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp, "Before Night Falls" is a stunning testament to an individual's urge to create against all odds.