Clandestine occupations
Subtitle: an imaginary history
By: Diana Block
Series: Spectacular fiction
Publisher: PM Press
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Oakland, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
ISBN-13: 9781629631219
Subjects: Puerto Rican women; Political activists; Fiction
Description: A unique, fictional portrait of feminist radicals that brings the legacy of the '60s and '70s into its portrayal of radical activism in the 21st century Radical activist Luba Gold makes the difficult decision to go underground to support the Puerto Rican independence movement. When Luba's collective is targeted by an FBI sting, she escapes with her baby but leaves behind a sensitive envelope that is being safeguarded by a friend. When the FBI come looking for Luba, the friend must decide whether to cooperate in the search for the woman she loves. Ten years later when Luba emerges from clandestinity, she discovers that the FBI sting was orchestrated by another activist friend who had become an FBI informant. Told from the points of view of five different women who cross paths with Luba over four decades, Clandestine Occupations explores the difficult decisions that activists confront about the boundaries of legality and speculates about the scope of clandestine action in the future. It is a thought-provoking reflection on the risks and sacrifices of political activism as well as the damaging reverberations of disaffection and cynicism.