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krixbee's review
4.0
2019 Read Harder Challenge: A translated book written by and/or translated by a woman
tofufun's review
4.0
One of the best books I've read all year. I loved the beautiful writing, and I feel I got a sense of the emotional impact of living in Cuba. I also felt very sympathetic to the narrator and all her heartbreak and confusion.
falconerreader's review
2.0
I almost shelved this on "dystopian" for its description of the paranoia and strangness of living in a police state, but of course, that world is reality.
I picked this book up for two reasons: I needed a book by an author with my first name for the Popsugar challenge, and my boss is Cuban, and I keep feeling that some of the things about him that jar for the staff are cultural, not personal.
If you love the book, I'm happy for you. I am just too literal of a reader to really enjoy the poetic musings of a confused poet, who may or may not be a stand-in for the author. There are lots of interesting thoughts about the diaspora and what it means to leave or stay, but otherwise I skimmed through, confused and thus bored.
I picked this book up for two reasons: I needed a book by an author with my first name for the Popsugar challenge, and my boss is Cuban, and I keep feeling that some of the things about him that jar for the staff are cultural, not personal.
If you love the book, I'm happy for you. I am just too literal of a reader to really enjoy the poetic musings of a confused poet, who may or may not be a stand-in for the author. There are lots of interesting thoughts about the diaspora and what it means to leave or stay, but otherwise I skimmed through, confused and thus bored.
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