Chanel Cleeton
I have always known that I live in a pretty small bubble. I don't know a lot about what is currently going on in the world, or what has happened in the past. It's not that I'm uninterested, more that it just kind of overwhelms me. I tend to feel overwhelmed with the inequalities throughout even my own country, let alone the world. And then I begin to stress about not knowing what to do to help. So, I tend to find myself just functioning within my little small world of daily interactions. I'm so glad that I read this book though. It has inspired me to open up and explore more about a place and culture I'm not very familiar with.
"The nerves running through Luis's body touch my limbs. There's a tremor in his hands, his jaw clenched, his gaze darting around the airport, looking at the uniformed soldiers, the guns in their hands, waiting to see if one of them will walk over to him and take him away, if he'll simply disappear like the others who have dared to speak out against the government. If I'll follow him."
5 out of 5 Stars
Marisol is a thirty-something young Spanish / Cuban woman who is traveling to Cuba for the first time in her life. Her grandmother, who practically raised her, has passed away. In her will, she has asked that Marisol take her ashes back to Cuba to lay her to rest. Upon arriving in Cuba, Marisol realizes that there is much that she didn't know about her grandmother, and that life in Cuba is like nothing she could have ever imagined.
Woah. I loved how the story of Marisol was intermingled with the story of her grandmother, Elisa, throughout the book. I was pulled in to Elisa's story right off the bat, feeling torn by what was going on with her family in a turbulent time in Cuba, and feeling hope at the love that she found. It was heartbreaking. And then Marisol, who is caught off guard by what life in Cuba is really like. How do people not realize this is going on? I loved the relationships that Marisol formed in Cuba, and how she was embraced by those around her as if she has always belonged. The terror and the stuggles that the Cubans were going through are unimaginable to me. I must learn more. My heart was full at the end, when I felt the story come full circle. I recommend that this book be added to your TBR pile.
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