Reviews

Havana Year Zero by Karla Suárez

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hannahleewhite's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious reflective

4.5

booksnpunks's review against another edition

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4.0

I flew through the majority of this book in one day because I became so immersed in the story and the characters lives. Havana Year Zero follows Julie as she tells us the story of what happened when she heard there was a document proving that the invention of the telephone had actually happened there in Cuba. What follows is a wild goose chase for the document by a number of super interesting and funny characters who all seem to have an ulterior motive to own the document. The way we find out information through the narrator was perfect and kept me reading long into the night. The way the mystery unfolded had a real academia/investigation feel to it as Julie had to follow the clues and bridge the gaps between the characters relationships to work out who has the document. I didn’t expect it to take this turn but I absolutely loved it. The end felt absolutely perfect as she ties up the story as though she is wrapping up a long oral tale that she has told the reader - we almost become our own character in the novel by the end. Truly a great read and something super unique I’ve not read from Latin America before. Definitely be reading more from this author and seeking out books like it.

adam613's review

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3.0

"When you have nothing, a little bit can seem like a lot. It might even be everything"

Havana Year Zero by Karla Suarez takes place in Havana in 1993 during the economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet bloc. Julia leads a cast of characters on the trail for a fabled document that would prove once and for all that the telephone was invented in Havana. Julia and the others end up entwined in love and life "hanging on to illusions, living one more dream, in a state of chaos". Told through the minds of mathematicians and lovers, this quest is equal parts entertaining and intelligent. A unique tale I would definitely recommend

amelia6685's review

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I just stopped caring. I got to about 100 pages in the end and then didn't pick it up for a month.

youpie's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

booksonadventures's review

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

3.75

💫 Gist: Frustrated by the frequent blackouts and food shortages of post-Soviet Cuba, Julia is captivated by rumors that the telephone was first invented in Havana by Antonio Meucci. Determined to find evidence of this invention, Julia's investigation introduces her to cast of characters within Havana, all desperate to rekindle a spark of national pride... and to claim notoriety of their own.

Havana Year Zero is absolutely unique. Julia herself narrates the bizarre tale in a dry and detached style that I initially found off-putting. Over time, I began to appreciate the dark humor and witty insights shared within the intricate web of events. Often, I would find myself wondering why the author bothered to include a detail... only to have that nugget resurface as a vital part of the equation.

Suárez assumes that her readers are already aware of Cuba's economic situation and preceding events, which I generally appreciated. At a time when world media was fascinated with Cuba's political outcome, Havana Year Zero focuses instead on de-sensationalizing the civilian experience and the innately human search for meaning.

beautyisterror's review

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3.25

See, this is what happens when I leave a review for later. I almost forget to write it and then by the time I decide to pen it down I’ve already forgotten all the topical points.

Lest I forget something more, here’s Havana Year Zero.

Set in Cuba in 1993, in the height of the Special Period, an extended economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet bloc, this length of time is described by the narrator, a mathematician, as a parabola:

“It was as if as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss.”

Despite mathemathics being the lens through which the story is told, it’s never difficult to read — even I understood everything, and my maths knowledge stops at elementary school level because I willingly removed all knowledge past the age of ten years old.

And so we find a mathematician, her former professor turned lover turned best friend, her current lover, the shadow of the current lover’s ex wife, an author with an unfinished novel and an italian talent scout, all linked by the ghost of of a scientist and engineer. Or in simpler terms, they’re all in search of a long lost document that would prove to the world that Antonio Meucci invented the telephone in Havana in the late 1840s. They’re all converging on the search of this document, because, as the narrator puts it, in Year Zero there was nothing else to do.

“There was nothing of anything. Zero transport. Zero meat. Zero hope.”

The discovery of such a document would turn each of the characters’ lives around: the mathematician who proves such theories would reclaim world fame, the author could write a book about the discovery and Meucci’s life (with the help of the talent scout that has many connections with the italian publishing industry that would love a book celebrating an italian genius despite him being in a foreign land), and how poverty is the sole reason that held him back from ever getting that recognition when he was alive (the only reason Alexander Graham Bell is considered the inventor of the telephone a whole thirty years after its first propotype was invented is because Meucci couldn’t pay the ten dollar renewal of the license, and after his documents got leaked Bell presented the project with his own name on it).

I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrator, and sometimes her misoginistic views took centre stage, which I didn’t appreciate, but her role as an outsider tied in all the other character’s lives in such a neat way I coulnd’t begrudge her much else.

The book recounts in a colloquial tone, with the narrator addressing an unnamed person throughout the whole novel, a heartbreaking rendition of Cuba at its worst — and yet so much happiness and joy shines through. The ambiance is vivid, I could almost feel the sweltering heat and the sticky sensation of Caribbean weather, even in the cold late autumn I was experiencing at home.

Overall an enjoyable read!