Miami

Miami is described by Didion as an exotic, tropical city seething with energy, activity, intrigue, and tension. She claims that the tropical climate mirrors the intensity and heaviness of the Cuban exile community's feelings and time and again compares the physical environment to the emotional milieu she experiences in Miami. In this book, her focus shifts from Cuban exiles' ideological battles to tensions between ethnic groups in Miami, to ideological divisions between the aforementioned exiles, and finally to Washington's role in what transpired in Miami from the 1960s to the 1980s.

Washington

Washington figures prominently in this book, despite the book's title. Didion shows how deeply implicated the United States government is in 'la lucha,' not because Washington has given thorough and effective support to the Cuban exiles' cause but because of the history of collaboration, manipulation, political pandering, and other strategies employed by Washington to...