GAB TALKS with Alan Sidransky, author of Incident at San Miguel
Incident at San Miguel: release date: May 19th
Havana, Cuba. December 1958. Two brothers find themselves on opposite sides of Castro’s revolution. One dark night, after rescuing a leader of the revolt under house arrest, one brother finds himself hunted. The other, an influential attorney, must make a choice. Help his brother, placing the whole family at risk, or let Batista’s forces capture him. His decision will haunt them both for the rest of their lives. How far will we go to protect those we love? Based on a true story, Incident at San Miguel takes us there.
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Alan has penned numerous articles, short stories, and historical fiction novels including his debut, Forgiving Maximo Rothman, which is Book One in the Forgiving Series, and The Interpreter, Book One in the Justice Series.
Alan is fluent in Spanish and considers the Dominican Republic his second home and an inspiration for many of his stories. A Bronx native, Alan is a longtime resident of Washington Heights where he lives with his wife, a digital advertising consultant.
Incident At San Miguel is set in 1959 Havana Cuba, during the Cuban Revolution and its aftermath. The story focuses on a Jewish Cuban family. Specifically, we follow two brothers Aaron and Moises Cohan who are on diametrically opposed sides of the political spectrum. The Cohan brothers have little in common other than a shared Jewish heritage.
For this impressive historical fiction piece, Alan collaborated with Miriam Bradman Abrahams, a storyteller and Cuban born daughter of Cuban Jewish refugees. The Cohan brothers were inspired by the true story of her father Juan Bradman and her uncle Soloman Bradman.
The main theme of the story is love, loyalty, and responsibility to family. Alan likes to write stories that focus on ordinary people who face real struggles “I hope to bring to light the stories of those who have triumphed over oppression”.
“I focus on the personal experience of everyday people faced with extraordinary circumstances. What does one do when faced with events beyond their control? As a member of a family ravaged by the Holocaust, I am determined to tell the stories of refugees and survivors I’ve known.” An avid reader and history buff, Alan was inspired and influenced by many writers including Boris Paternak (Doctor Zhivago) and Hemingway.
Unlike a memoir or a nonfiction book, Alan appreciates how broad a fiction work can be. A work of fiction allows the reader to get very close to the character, feel their emotions, and understand their circumstances, according to Alan.
To learn more about Alan, his current work, and purchase his books visit ajsidransky.com.
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Incident at San Miguel
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