Barnes & NobleNext Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Fun read

Enthralling and captivating

I loved this book so much. So much! More than I anticipated. The characters are so well written, and the descriptions of Cuba are evocative. The author really makes Cuba come alive, like a separate character of the book. The narrative moves back and forth between Elisa’s story in in 1958, in the midst of the revolution just before Fidel Castro takes over the presidency, and her granddaughter Marisol’s story in 2017, as she travels from her home in Florida to Cuba to find a place to spread her grandmother’s ashes. The only negative thing I can think of is that Elisa and Marisol aren’t particularly indistinguishable from each other; the author’s voice doesn’t really change and at times I would momentarily have to remind myself whose story/which time period I was in. But the writing is so wonderful that it’s a fairly minor complaint. I know who Castro was, of course, but I didn’t really know much about him. In 1959, Elisa falls for a revolutionary, Pablo, who is a friend of Castro, and staunchly supports him in his bid to overthrow the president, Fulgencio Batista. I was a little confused because everything I did know about Castro was that he was bad, so I didn’t quite understand why Pablo was so supportive of him in the beginning. And I knew absolutely nothing about Batista. I found it all so fascinating that on my next trip to Barnes & Noble I searched for books on the revolution. There were only three books under Cuba, none focused on Batista and/or Castro. One about Che Guevera, and I’ve already forgotten what the second book was about. I chose Cuba: An American History, by Ada Ferrer, which looked to be the closest to what I wanted. But I digress. There are books that are good, that are novels. And then there are books that wonderful, that are literature. NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA is literature, and I’m very eager to find the rest of the author’s books, especially WHEN WE LEFT CUBA, about Elisa’s sister.

Highly recomended!

Next Year in Havana (Paperback) by Chanel Cleeton "To be in exile is to have the things you love the most in the world - the air you breathe, the earth you walk upon - taken from you. They exist on the other side of a wall - there and not - unaltered by the time and circumstances, preserved in a perfect memory of the land of dreams." p. 8 - 9 "You cannot live in a museum, Marisol. The problem with your 'preservation' is that it fails to account for the fact that there is a real Cuba. You're all too busy fighting imaginary ghosts in Miami while we're here, bleeding on the ground, dealing with real problems." p. 308 "But you're all complaining about how you lost your country, and the reality is you didn't lose your country; you left. You left the rest of us in an inferno." p. 311 This is another saga of the Perez sisters: Elisa, María, Isabel, and Beatrix That I first met in "When we left Cuba." It's also told in two timelines, 1958-59 from the first-person point of view of Elisa Pérez and the second timeline from Marisol Ferrera's first-person point of view in 2017, Elisa's granddaughter. Marisol comes to visit Cuba for the first time carrying the ashes of her grandmother Elisa to be spread somewhere in Cuba as it was her grandmother's wish. She had made arrangements to stay with Elisa's best friend and neighbor in Miramar, Havana, Ana Rodriguez, and came under the pretenses of writing an article about places to see in Cuba for an American newspaper. She's met at the airport by Ana's grandson, Luis Rodriguez, and sparks fly. As she learns about her grandmother through letters left for her with Ana, we revisit the Castro revolution from Elisa's point of view. Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast between Cuba's tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to Luis - with secrets of his own, she'll need the lessons of her grandmother's past to help her understand the true meaning of courage. Love comes full circle as we learn of Elisa's secret lover which now manifests in Marisol. A wonderful read - hard to put down - I read it in two days. The plot is full of turns and surprises and the characters are very real. You will live and relive the love story of granddaughter and grandmother and will be captivated by the beauty of a country that has suffered more than many. There are also points of view from the two kinds of Cubans - those who left and those who stayed.

A Historical Fiction Worth Reading

4/5 Stars Alternating POV & Timeline, Fades to Black I really enjoyed learning about Cuban history, specifically the times leading up to the Cuban Revolution and the years that followed it. I thought that use of alternating POV with Elisa in the late 1950s and Marisol in 2017, was an interesting way to show the full view of pre & post Castro Cuba. I lived in the Keys while Wet Foot Dry Foot was a thing, and this book gave me a new perspective of those willing to risk their life to flee Cuba. I also really enjoyed seeing the parallels in Elisa & Marisol’s lives. The family devotion and love in this story was strong, and I easily fell in love with most of the characters. There were two things that really hindered this for being a five star for me. First of all, there was a bit too much of insta-love for me, especially with Marisol. I also found the beginning to be a bit slow and some of the ending to be a bit too clean and unrealistic, I was left craving a bit more of a dynamic ending.

Very different setting for me.

I learned a lot about Cuba and it's turbulent history. I really enjoyed the story - and the weaving back and forth between Elisa's and Marisol's story. Truly enlightening for me.

Amazing Story About Love In Another Time!

Next Year in Havana takes you through an exciting story that traverses the pursuit of young love in the most tumultuous of times. It immerses you in what life in Havana in the 1950's was like for young Elisa, a member of the well known Perez family. Love and family secrets from her time manage to make their way to her grandaughter, a Cuban-American woman on a mission! Purchased as an audiobook to fill my hours of driving, the narrotor does a fantastic job capturing the tone of each character. I've recommended this book to many family members and friends!