I picked up Dreaming in Cuban from my TBR pile after a much needed break from a ton of true crime, murder mystery and horror novels. It’s a lovely little book about 3 generations of Cubans (mostly women) and their starkly different reactions to the Cuban revolution of 1959. It’s a bit of history, magical realism and the complicated relationships between mothers and their children all rolled into one. And while it’s not a standout example of either, Cristina Garcia’s writing is lyrical and reads beautifully.
The family in question is the Del Pino clan who live on the North coast of Cuba. The matriarch, Celia, embraces the Revolution and Castro fervently. Her oldest daughter Lourdes flees to Brooklyn with her family and his fanatically pro-American and anticommunist which causes strain between her and her artist daughter Pilar who embraces the punk scene of the late 1970s. Her younger daughter Felicia seems to have mental problems and moves from one troubled relationship to another before embracing Santeria. Her son, Ivanito, seems to struggle to find his place in this family of vastly different women.
The story moves from the early 1970s and follows the Del Pino women for ten years as they struggle with their own pasts and the choices they’ve made. Overall it was a lovely little read and a good choice for someone looking to read more non-white female authors.
This sounds like a nice palette cleanser for me. I wonder if my Cuban-American friend has read this yet. Her family fled as her Grandpa fought in the Bay of Pigs. The older family were quite happy when Castro kicked.