Remembering Che: My Life with Che Guevara

Che Guevara's widow continues her work to help folks see her late husband as a "real person," and not just a symbol of political revolution, in this slim but poignant memoir. Using stark prose, and without getting overly sentimental, she effectively shows Guevara as a man with "great dreams" and a "creative spirit," who in addition to being an effective political leader, was a husband, lover, poet, and father of five. It's the first time March has written about her relationship with Guevara, who mere months after they met "declared his love" while the two sat alone in a military jeep. "Looking back, I think Che didn't exactly choose the best moment to declare his love." Perhaps there are no "best" moments for a couple during a revolution, but as the never-before-published letters and family photos show, the two clearly had many loving and intimate ones. The letters also help to portray another, less self-assured Guevara, as he writes in regard to his children with March: "How difficult it will be for them one day to love me like a father and not regard me as some distant monster they are obliged to love." Comprised of what March calls her "most cherished memories," the book is both a love story and a new, engaging perspective on the Cuban Revolution and one of its iconic leaders. Photos. (May)