“Firefly is a dream-like evocation of pre-war Cuba, replete with hurricanes, mystical cults, and slave-markets. The story is the coming-of-age of a precocious and exuberant boy with an oversized head and underdeveloped sense of direction, who views the world as a threatening conspiracy. Told in breathless and lyrical prose, the novel is a loving rendition of a long-lost home, a meditation on exile, and an allegory of Cuba’s isolation in the world.”
“The penultimate novel by Sarduy. This book would seem to be a translator’s nightmare, but Fried has maintained the dark beauty and mystery of the work. Sarduy’s circuslike world takes some getting used to …the narrative takes the first of many surreal turns in the first chapter [and soon after], the story loses any linear coherence it has, but the flow of images is dazzling and ultimately quite haunting.” - Kirkus Reviews