Book Review: The Island of Eternal Love

This book was originally published in Spanish in 2206, and translated into English in 2008. I enjoyed this book. It seems by days have been dragging by lately, getting into those dog days of summer I suppose. Being in Louisiana is wretched anyway, and to add the heat on top of it almost makes it unbearable. Usually getting lost in a book takes my mind off just about everything that surrounds me, so I don't even notice that I'm in such a miserable place. But then I go and read a book about Cuba and Miami, go figure.

Cecilia, Ceci, as her friends and grandmother call her, escaped to the United States on a raft, fleeing from Cuba, alongside hundreds of other immigrants taking refuge from the evils within the island. Coming to America was her only real option, but ever since coming here she has been nothing but miserable. Her two best friends drag her out to a bar one night where Ceci meets an old woman, one that begins telling her a story. Being it is so late when they start the story, and the story is a very long tale. Cecilia keeps coming back, she has to know what the woman, Amelia is going to reveal next.

The tale follows the lives of three families in the beginning of Cuba. A Chinese family, a woman who is mulatto, and a original Cuban family. Their lives intermingle throughout their histories, and the story reveals that even though generations separate their paths, they still cross. With mystery, and intrigue. Daina Chaviano brings to life a story that shows us that all the scary stuff from the spirit world can sometimes be sweet and generous and can unite us more than we ever imagined.

I really liked this book, it was sad in a wow, I feel bad for those people, sort of way, and inspiring to see her figure out who she was and finally grasp onto her heritage and become the woman she was supposed to be. I would definitely read this book again sometime. This book is no really YA, it's more of a grown-up book, as in it would probably be appreciated more by people older than 25.

Ratings: Number 3 and 3 stars

The Island of Eternal Love
Daina Chaviano