A fable has been defined as a brief story in which animals take on human qualities and speak and act like humans in order to illustrate a moral lesson. It can also be defined as a legendary story of supernatural happenings. While there is nothing supernatural about Parnsworth the Penguin, his story has a moral lesson. One of my goals in writing this fable was to portray the Cuban revolution as one that resulted in a government that was more oppressive, totalitarian and deadly than the one that it overthrew.
The Odyssey of Parnsworth the Penguin is a fable about change. The fable tells one of the oldest stories known to man. This fable is about fear of change but also about the need for change. It is about maintaining the status quo as well as fighting against the status quo. It crosses ethnic, cultural and socio-economic lines and tells the story of the search for freedom, justice and significance.
In this story you will read about Parnsworth and his family. You will be exposed to the many different animals that are modeled after some of the main figures in Cuba at that time. Many of the events that are in the fable are based loosely on ones that occurred during Castro’s early reign.
As the child of Cuban exiles, this story resonated with me.