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nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I never knew what to expect next with this one. It starts off slow and then picks up in the weirdest, sometimes unsettling ways, then slows down again. It's a story about three generations of women in a family, but also about Cuba and its weird, sometimes unsettling history. I really loved the reflections on memory: its mutability, its lasting echo on people within a family and also in a nation, and how it twists and shapes great love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide attempt and Abortion
lesenilpferd's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Suicide, and Mental illness
zzara's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really didn't enjoy Dreaming in Cuban - it was only 250 pages but took me over a week to finish. There was just a lack of cohesion in this book that really threw me off. There were so many storylines: Celia, the mother, her three children, and then four of her grandchildren, all narrated parts of the book, which regularly switched between their perspectives. Some lived in various places in Cuba, some in the USA, and each had vastly different experiences and views of Cuban politics. I didn't feel that these perspectives were woven together into something that resembled a coherent storyline, just a whole lot of loose threads. There were even some characters written in first person and some in third person, which just made things really jilted as you moved between the characters. The moment of most cohesion was at the end, but even then I felt that the narrative was too chaotic for me to properly understand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, and Violence
jrosegross's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
skies's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
1.75
Confusing, building towards nothing. Should check TW before reading.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Colonisation, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence
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