Chapter 10: 'That Bombs Would Rain' — Summary and Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary {#summary}

In 1959 Camagüey, the Hernández family—Dolores, her husband Daniel, and their daughters Carmen (seven) and Elena (two)—lives a hard rural life. The chapter opens on the day before Daniel first kills a man. Daniel, who has become consumed by Radio Rebelde broadcasts from the Sierra Maestra, hears Fidel Castro's call for volunteers and leaves for the mountains. Dolores, though afraid of Batista's men and of what Daniel's involvement might bring, enjoys a rare stretch of freedom: she takes the girls to the provincial capital, lets them play in the plaza, and dances to music on the radio.

Daniel returns three days later, dirty and in borrowed fatigues, and announces that he killed a man. Dolores's only response is to ask him not to speak of it in front of the children. In the weeks that follow, Daniel's violence escalates. He beats Dolores repeatedly—breaking her ribs, splitting her lip, knocking out teeth—and never acknowledges the injuries. Dolores begins to plan an escape. She hides money in a slit under the mattress, stashes a treasured copy of Les Misérables behind a loose wall slat, teaches Carmen household chores, and befriends a neighbor with a typewriter to practice typing.

Two months after his first killing, Daniel discovers the hidden cash. He throws the girls into their room, drags Dolores outside, beats her in public view, and then holds a machete over her. Dolores, driven by a sudden ferocity she describes as a beast inside her, grabs the blade's handle and stops it inches from her face. Daniel crumbles, calls her a whore, and leaves again for the mountains.

While he is gone, Dolores listens to Radio Rebelde daily, hoping for news of his death. When Batista falls and the rebels claim victory, Daniel returns home triumphant. Dolores, who has bought and sharpened her own machete, hides it under a guava bush. She gets Daniel drunk on rum, dances with him, and after he falls asleep on the couch, she retrieves the machete and kills him. She then drags the couch into the backyard and burns it with the coals from the day's pig roast.

In the aftermath, Dolores plans to tell everyone that Daniel died as a martyr in the mountains. But the chapter ends with a devastating revelation: Carmen stood at the back door that night and watched her father's body burn. Fifteen years later, Carmen would board a plane to Miami, and Dolores would never see her again—believing politics, not the murder she committed, drove her daughter away.

Key Events {#key-events}

Daniel leaves for the Sierra Maestra after hearing Castro's call on Radio Rebelde.
He returns three days later, saying he killed a man.
Daniel's violence escalates: he breaks Dolores's ribs, splits her lip, and knocks out teeth.
Dolores begins secretly preparing to leave: hiding money, practicing typing, teaching Carmen chores.
Daniel finds the hidden money, beats Dolores publicly, and threatens her with a machete.
Dolores grabs the machete handle and stops the blade; Daniel leaves for the mountains again.
Batista falls; Daniel returns home victorious.
Dolores gets Daniel drunk, kills him with her own machete, and burns his body in the backyard.
Carmen witnesses the burning; the chapter foreshadows her departure to Miami fifteen years later.

Character Development {#character-development}

Dolores transforms from a woman who endures violence into one who plans, prepares, and ultimately acts. Early in the chapter she fears Daniel more than any president or soldier; by the end she has killed him and constructed a martyr narrative to protect herself and her daughters. Her internal shift is marked by the