This poignant and shocking memoir by the Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas is a book about sexual, political and artistic freedom.

In Before Night Falls, Arenas recounts his journey from a poverty-stricken childhood in rural Cuba to his death in New York four decades later. He tells of his odyssey from young rebel fighting for the Revolution, through his suppression as a writer, his disillusionment with Castro, his imprisonment and torture, to his eventual flight from Cuba.

Now a feature film starring Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp, Before Night Falls is a stunning testament to an individual’s urge to create against all odds.