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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
I’ve been fascinated with Cuba since I was lucky enough to visit back in 2019 and Chantel Cleeton’s novels are a super accessible way to learn about the history and people . In this case I learned about Evangelina Cisneros aka “The most beautiful girl in Cuba” who William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer used to sell a lot of papers.
I'm between 3 and 4 stars but I'm rounding down for a couple of reasons:
1 - the length of time it took me to read it. The book wasn't that long but it didn't call for me to pick it up and when I did, I didn't read for an extended period of time
2 - the story of Evangelina almost felt like it was been written by a different author. It didn't flow as easily as the other two woman's stories.
That said, it did hold my interest and I am interested to learn more about Cuba and its fight for independence. All the elements of the book are good, just not great
1 - the length of time it took me to read it. The book wasn't that long but it didn't call for me to pick it up and when I did, I didn't read for an extended period of time
2 - the story of Evangelina almost felt like it was been written by a different author. It didn't flow as easily as the other two woman's stories.
That said, it did hold my interest and I am interested to learn more about Cuba and its fight for independence. All the elements of the book are good, just not great
Overdue review now coming to Goodreads.
This is an inspirational tale of courage, love, and losses for 3 women.
The real-life Cuban revolutionary Evangelia Cisneros is the book’s title character, joined by 2 fictional women, Grace Harrington, a newspaper reporter who is inspired by real-life Nelly Bly, and Marina, the wife of a farmer’s son who has been thrown out by her wealthy family.
Readers are placed in New York City in 1896. We find Grace Harrington wanting to become a respected female reporter for one of the city’s major newspapers. This ambition puts her in the middle of the circulation wars between William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World). The term “yellow journalism” – describing sensationalized and sometimes false coverage – which aptly describes Hearst, was encouraged in the midst of solid news reporting. Grace wants to be a solid reporter, although she eventually finds herself working for Hearst.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Cuban Evangelina, who had joined her exiled rebel father in the Isle of Pines, is attacked by a Spanish colonel. Unfortunately, she is arrested and sent to one of Havana’s worst jails. Here, her survival is tenuous. Still, she refuses to retract her accusation.
Marina, married to Mateo, a farmer’s son, is in the midst of the conflict in Spain. As the conflict escalates, she finds herself separated from her husband and forced to leave the farm. Transported to Havana with her daughter and mother-in-law with little money to survive, she has no way of knowing if her husband is still alive.
History, war, politics, pain, suffering, imprisonment – all of this is complicated and well-documented within the pages of this book. And the fact that a publishing tycoon would exploit all these factors to sell papers – not surprising. Cleeton shows the complexities of this era in a very cohesive, compelling way by also weaving in historical facts.
(BTW, although this has nothing to do with the story, Hearst Castle is not too far from where I live. The pure ostentatiousness of it, is reflective of the way this man lived.)
Let’s consider the title of the book. Cleeton weaves together Grace’s stark reporter’s tale against the backdrop of Gilded Age NYC with Evangelina’s transformation from the beautiful girl in the headlines to a woman dedicated to her country’s freedom, and Marina’s resourcefulness and sacrifices.
When their stories eventually intertwine – it is surprising and memorable.
There is also some romance – but I won’t say whom and what may or may not happen between them.
But…
Love is a critical theme here, and not only for a husband, child, parent, or possible future partner.
In addition to the history, this story includes finding love, losing love, and keeping love in one’s heart despite the uncertainty of life and death that surrounds those characters.
History in this book includes Cuba, Spain, and NYC – as well as the Spanish American War. But mainly, Evangelina Cisneros.
But what we will also find throughout this story…
Heroes. Villains. Greed. Danger. Excitement. Inspiration. Courage. Empowering Women.
This is an inspirational tale of courage, love, and losses for 3 women.
The real-life Cuban revolutionary Evangelia Cisneros is the book’s title character, joined by 2 fictional women, Grace Harrington, a newspaper reporter who is inspired by real-life Nelly Bly, and Marina, the wife of a farmer’s son who has been thrown out by her wealthy family.
Readers are placed in New York City in 1896. We find Grace Harrington wanting to become a respected female reporter for one of the city’s major newspapers. This ambition puts her in the middle of the circulation wars between William Randolph Hearst (New York Journal) and Joseph Pulitzer (New York World). The term “yellow journalism” – describing sensationalized and sometimes false coverage – which aptly describes Hearst, was encouraged in the midst of solid news reporting. Grace wants to be a solid reporter, although she eventually finds herself working for Hearst.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Cuban Evangelina, who had joined her exiled rebel father in the Isle of Pines, is attacked by a Spanish colonel. Unfortunately, she is arrested and sent to one of Havana’s worst jails. Here, her survival is tenuous. Still, she refuses to retract her accusation.
Marina, married to Mateo, a farmer’s son, is in the midst of the conflict in Spain. As the conflict escalates, she finds herself separated from her husband and forced to leave the farm. Transported to Havana with her daughter and mother-in-law with little money to survive, she has no way of knowing if her husband is still alive.
History, war, politics, pain, suffering, imprisonment – all of this is complicated and well-documented within the pages of this book. And the fact that a publishing tycoon would exploit all these factors to sell papers – not surprising. Cleeton shows the complexities of this era in a very cohesive, compelling way by also weaving in historical facts.
(BTW, although this has nothing to do with the story, Hearst Castle is not too far from where I live. The pure ostentatiousness of it, is reflective of the way this man lived.)
Let’s consider the title of the book. Cleeton weaves together Grace’s stark reporter’s tale against the backdrop of Gilded Age NYC with Evangelina’s transformation from the beautiful girl in the headlines to a woman dedicated to her country’s freedom, and Marina’s resourcefulness and sacrifices.
When their stories eventually intertwine – it is surprising and memorable.
There is also some romance – but I won’t say whom and what may or may not happen between them.
But…
Love is a critical theme here, and not only for a husband, child, parent, or possible future partner.
In addition to the history, this story includes finding love, losing love, and keeping love in one’s heart despite the uncertainty of life and death that surrounds those characters.
History in this book includes Cuba, Spain, and NYC – as well as the Spanish American War. But mainly, Evangelina Cisneros.
But what we will also find throughout this story…
Heroes. Villains. Greed. Danger. Excitement. Inspiration. Courage. Empowering Women.
This is a great historical fiction if you are interested in being introduced to less talked about history (for the US at least.) I loved learning about Evangelina and how her real story was interwoven with the fictional Grace and Marina. The best thing about this series of companion books is how clear it is that a Cuban-American wrote it. It especially shines through in this book. The connection you feel as a Cuban-American to both countries but not fully of belonging to either.
Historical fiction about the independence of Cuba from Spain, Spanish-American war, and newspaper publisher wars during the gilded age.
3.5? i give this book a lot of credit for how painstakingly detailed (and apparently accurate) it was representing historical events. it inspired me to pick back up my cuban history book. however, in this detail the actual storytelling part felt lost. there were so many details to keep up with, and i didn’t feel as drawn in by the three protagonists’ lives. especially compared to her other books, i didn’t get lost in the story while learning via the backdrop of history. instead, i lost the story amid all the history. the romances in the book felt rushed and like almost an afterthought. in her previous books, i have enjoyed how introspective the protagonists are with questions about their country/situation. in this one, the introspection at times felt belabored, and i couldn’t read another passage about how each woman felt about the revolution. effective portrayal of american media and yellow journalism — made me curious to read more on this. still appreciated another foray into the perez family universe and learning about another chapter in cuban history through fiction.
Fantastic book that is educational, inspiring and entertaining. Loved it.
Interesting historical fiction how about Cuba and the war at the end of the 1800s. I found this one a little more confusing than her others because of so many characters and historical events I still really enjoyed it.
An interesting story about Cuba’s fight for independence from 3 different women and POVs.