Review: Our Last Days in Barcelona (by Chanel Cleeton)

My Rating:  4.5 stars

I've read all of the books in Chanel Cleeton's Cuban series about the Perez family and have enjoyed each one (though some more than others).  Of course, the one that will always be my favorite is the first book from 2018, Next Year in Havana, which introduced us to the Perez siblings and the entire extended family.  Though that first book was essentially from the perspective of the third Perez sister Elisa, it did such a great job laying the story groundwork for this fascinating family that by the end of it, I was hoping we would get additional books for each of the other sisters as well.  That wish was granted in 2019 when Cleeton published her second book in the series, When We Left Cuba, which is from the perspective of fiery and passionate second sister Beatriz (who, remains one of the most beloved characters from the Perez family saga).  After that, as Cleeton indicates in her Author's Note, she took a break from writing about the Perez sisters and instead, came out with 2 novels about the lives of 2 different Perez ancestors — the sisters' aunt Mirta Perez in The Last Train to Key West and their cousin Rosa's grandmother Marina Perez in The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. With her newest novel (which published this month), Cleeton returns to the Perez sisters, this time giving us eldest sister Isabel's story with Our Last Days in Barcelona. 

Picking up essentially where When We Left Cuba ended, Our Last Days in Barcelona has Isabel heading from Palm Beach, Florida to Barcelona in Spain to locate her sister Beatriz, who is involved in dangerous intelligence work with the government.  Once there though, Isabel finds herself partnering with an unlikely ally, Beatriz's friend Diego, with whom she eventually forms a close bond.  But that's not all — in Beatriz's apartment, Isabel discovers a photograph of herself at barely 2 years old, sitting with her mother Alicia Perez in a Barcelona cafe meeting with a mysterious man — though when Isabel asks her mother about the photo, she vehemently denies ever having been in Barcelona.  While looking for her sister, Isabel also unearths additional fragments of the story behind the photograph, which eventually changes her life in profound ways. In an alternating timeline between present day (1964) and the past (1936), the story of Isabel's mother Alicia as well as her father Emilio's cousin Rosa unfold.  Later, both timelines intertwine as Isabel faces some of the same struggles and family expectations that her mother did 28 years ago — in the end, will Isabel choose the same path her mother does or will she follow her heart instead?  

In this novel, Cleeton does the same wonderful job as she did with her previous 4 novels conveying the historical context related to Cuba, though this time, it's the country's relationship with Spain and the civil war that occurred there that provides the backdrop for Isabel's and Alicia's stories.  One of the reasons I like reading historical fiction is to learn about historical time periods, events, people, places, etc. that I didn't know about, which has certainly been the case with Cleeton's works.  Though the Perez family is fictional, Cleeton has done such a great job developing these richly nuanced characters (especially the Perez women) that I couldn't  help feeling as though I was reading about a real family (as mentioned in my review of the first book in this series, Cleeton herself is Cuban-American and actually wove in some of her own family's history as well as experiences fleeing from Cuba into the Perez family story).  Each time I read one of Cleeton's books featuring a character from the Perez family, I feel like going back and re-reading Next Year in Havana all over again (the only thing holding me back from doing a re-read of any book is my overflowing TBR and a dogged determination to get through every single book on the list), since that's the book that kicked things off and first introduced us to the family.  

Speaking of the characters— up until this point, my favorite Perez sibling was Beatriz and while I still love her dearly (especially her fiery and defiant personality), I've also come around to Isabel too now and consider her a favorite as well.  I also appreciated how we were given additional insight into Alicia as a character and the background of some of the things that happened in her life during her youth that eventually shaped the woman she became later (especially in the context of her role as wife, mother, and Perez family matriarch).  I'm not sure whether Cleeton will write another book about the Perez siblings (my guess is yes, as there is still one more Perez sister's story left to tell — youngest sister Maria's), but having followed this fictional family from the beginning, there's no doubt that I will want to read that book as well (if / whenever it comes into being).  While technically it's not necessary to read the previous 2 books about the Perez sisters in order to read this one, I do recommend doing so only because you get the full background of the family history — which, for me, makes a huge difference in terms of reading experience.  Even if Cleeton's next novel won't be about the Perez sisters specifically, I'm pretty sure she will incorporate another character from the Perez family into it — identifying the connection between the characters in each of her books to the ones in the original story (as well as to her other books) is part of the "fun" of reading her novels, at least for me.

Received ARC from Berkeley Books via Edelweiss.

Review: The Latecomer (by Jean Hanff Korelitz)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

I read Jean Hanff Korelitz's fantastic literary mystery The Plot last year and was very much blown away by how cleverly (and creatively) the story was written (in fact, I would even say it was one of the best literary mysteries I have ever read).  Given that context, I was of course super excited to land an early copy of Korelitz's newest work, The Latecomer — not only that, going into this, my expectations were also extremely high in that I was anticipating another intricate, brilliantly written literary mystery that would give me the same thrilling reading experience as The Plot did. Unfortunately, in the end, that's not how this one turned out.  Instead of giving The Plot vibes, this one ended up hewing closer to Korelitz's earlier work You Should Have Known (the book that the HBO series The Undoing was based on) in both story and structure.  Don't get me wrong — You Should Have Known was a good book overall, but its biggest problem was that it meandered way too much, making the story way more convoluted and confusing than I felt it needed to be (I go into much more detail in my review of that book).  

With The Latecomer, the writing was indeed intricate, with an overabundance of descriptive details that Korelitz lays out in a sophisticated and meticulous, but also incredibly "slow burn" way.  In addition, it felt like Korelitz was trying to cram as many recent / contemporary events and complex society issues into the story as possible — for example:  the pandemic, the previous administration, identity politics, infertility and reproductive rights, surrogacy, racial discrimination and social justice, PTSD, social media, religious freedom and exploration, politics, parent/child relationships, higher education and academia, love and marriage, fidelity, homosexuality, etc. (believe it or not, I am only scratching the surface here in terms of the tremendous amount of ground covered in the story).  And as if that weren't enough, all of it was woven into a complicated web of drama and dysfunction courtesy of the Oppenheimer family — parents Salo and Johanna, triplets Harrison, Lewyn, Sally, and "the latecomer" fourth child Phoebe.  All in all, this made for a tedious, exhaustive read that, in the end, became a chore to get through.

Convoluted story and structure aside though, I felt that Korelitz did a good job in terms of character development (which I also found with the two previous books of hers that I had read).  Korelitz takes her time flushing out the characters, giving us detailed insight into their thoughts and motivations as well as how each one evolves throughout the story — to the point that we as readers feel like we know this family intimately.  One thing I found interesting with the way the characters were written was that they were all quite unlikable (some more so than others — Harrison, for example, who acted like an arrogant bastard pretty much throughout the entire story), yet instead of loathing them like I normally would with these types of characters, I actually found myself pitying them (which, for the record, doesn't mean I condone any of their actions — in fact, I had the opposite reaction in that I was frustrated and angered by a lot of the things they did).  I'm not sure if I'm explaining this correctly — I guess the closest comparison would be that each character had redeeming qualities that, while far from canceling out their flaws, did make it difficult to completely despise them.

One thing I feel it's important to mention is that I went into this book thinking it would be either a literary mystery in the same vein as The Plot or a psychological thriller similar to You Should Have Known (the only 2 previous books of Korelitz's that I had read up to that point) — it turns out I was wrong on both fronts.  In fact, this book doesn't fall into the mystery / thriller / suspense genre at all (if I had to classify it, I would say it falls under contemporary fiction or literary fiction). Normally, this wouldn't matter much, but in this instance, because I had placed it in the mystery / thriller category, I was anticipating a big reveal / plot twist (maybe even multiple plot twists) somewhere along the line — it wasn't until I got to almost the end (400+ pages into the story) with no plot twist to be found, that I realized my mistake.  I bring this up in case this kind of thing matters to those who decide to pick this up, so you don't make the same mistake I did.

Overall, I did "enjoy" this one and am glad I read it, but it was definitely unnecessarily long, and also the story was way more convoluted than it needed to be (in my opinion at least).  If you decide to pick this one up, just know that it will require quite a bit of patience (which may or may not be worth it in the end).  With all that said, I like the way Korelitz writes her characters and I have no doubt that I will continue to read her works, though I will probably need to make sure I plan out the time better given the amount of patience needed to get through her novels.

Received ARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley

Review: Wonder (by R.J. Palacio)

My Rating: 5 stars

This book has been on my TBR for quite some time already, but of course, with so many books on my list, I never got around to reading it. Recently though, my nephew's school assigned this one for all the students to read, so I figured I would read along as well. I'm so glad I did, as I ended up loving it so much! From the first page, as August Pullman narrated his experience attending middle school for the first time after being home-schooled most of his life, I couldn't help falling in love with this smart, funny, precocious kid — a kid who had to endure more than his share of grief and pain in life because of his face, yet always managed to take everything in stride. Auggie knows he is different and by now, he is used to all the stares as well as the weird looks and whispering behind his back — but even so, that in no way prepares him for what he ends up experiencing at school or the various challenges that cropped up in his interactions with his classmates. As Auggie navigated these challenges, encountering both good moments as well as bad ones, I also couldn't help rooting for him every step of the way.

While majority of the story was told from Auggie's perspective, there were also chapters told from the points of view of various people in Auggie's life, such as his sister and her boyfriend, his classmates, his sister's childhood friend, etc. This narrative structure took me by surprise, yet I loved the way it was done, as it gave so much more depth to the story and also made the characters come alive. The narrative from the perspective of Auggie's sister Via moved me the most, followed by his classmate Jack's narrative as well as the one by Justin (Via's boyfriend).

Not surprisingly, this was an emotional read from beginning to end. Auggie's journey is heart wrenching but also uplifting, and It's impossible not to be moved by his courage as well as resilience. Even though I knew throughout the time I was reading this that the story is fictional (and R.J. Palacio emphasizes this fact in her Author's Note when she talks about her inspiration for the story), it nonetheless felt so real to me that, at times, I I would forget that Auggie isn't a real person — regardless though, what he stands for and the powerful impact of his story is the most important. Despite being marketed as a novel for children, the story actually contains life lessons for all ages and absolutely deserves to be read — though of course, be ready for the roller coaster of emotions that will undoubtedly accompany this one (I cried pretty much the entire time I was reading this, so it was a good thing that I read the entire book all in one sitting).

Lastly, I know there was a movie adaptation of the book and while I'm not a fan of adaptations in general, I heard that the movie was particularly well done, so this is one I definitely intend to watch at some point.

Review: Bloomsbury Girls (by Natalie Jenner)

My Rating: 4 stars

Natalie Jenner's Bloomsbury Girls can best be described as a companion novel to her 2020 debut novel The Jane Austen Society.  While the story itself is completely different, with an essentially new cast of characters, there are a few overlapping characters from the original story who also make appearances this time around.  First and foremost, of course, is Evelyn (Evie) Stone, the servant girl from the Chawton Great House who was a side character in that story, but is one of the main characters this time around.  Evie, along with Vivien Lowry and Grace Perkins, are the only female employees at Bloomsbury Books in London, a centuries-old bookstore helmed by general manager Herbert Dutton and his unbreakable fifty-one rules.  Though the Second World War is over and the city has pretty much returned to normal, struggles in society still exist, especially for the women who find themselves back in a world run once again by men who feel that the workplace where business is conducted is "no place for a woman."  It is against this backdrop that Evie, who despite her scholarly achievements (a degree from Cambridge as part of the first female graduating class), impeccable work ethic, and several years of meticulous research work, is passed up for a research assistant position in favor of a male colleague who did less work, but managed to ingratiate himself with the powers-that-be at the school.  Through her connection to fellow Jane Austen Society member Yardley Sinclair (the director of museum services at Sotheby's), Evie is able to secure a position at Bloomsbury, where she is tasked with cataloging the bookstore's collection of rare books on the third floor. There, she meets the stylish and vivacious Vivien Lowry, an aspiring writer whose job it is to man the front desk in the fiction department on the first floor, as well as Grace Perkins, a wife and mother who works to support her family (a rarity at that time) as the secretary for the general manager.  Together, these three women navigate an environment where they are expected to conform to certain roles, are largely taken for granted, and most frustratingly, must deal with the daily biases of the well-intentioned but misguided male staff who run the store.  As Evie, Vivien, and Grace seek to pursue their dreams and try to build a future for themselves outside of the conventions allowed by society, they are assisted along the way by some of the most famous names from the literary and publishing world of the time, such as Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday, Sonia Blair (widow of George Orwell), Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, etc.

Going into this book, I wasn't sure at first whether I would enjoy this as much as I did Jenner's first book, since this time around, I knew the story would have nothing to do with Jane Austen (as I wrote in my review of that book, I'm a huge Austen fan).  Even though I recognized Evie's name as one of the characters from The Jane Austen Society, I honestly didn't put two and two together until about halfway through the Prologue, when Mimi's name came up, then Yardley's, then recollections of Chawton and the Great House and the auction — that was when the details of that story started coming back to me. The realization that this was a "sequel" of sorts to that book definitely changed the reading experience for me, especially as I anticipated, perhaps, there would be the chance to reunite with some of the other endearing characters from that story.  While I was delighted that this happened to be the case (though only two of those characters had cameos, but that's fine, lol), I also ended up liking the characters in this story as well.  As an avid reader, I also loved the literary bent to this story, with the bookstore setting and the literary references, plus all the famous literary figures who interact with the various characters. This made for a fun and interesting read — in fact, Jenner did such a good job incorporating the literary figures into the story that I actually felt transported to that time period (to the point that I found myself fangirling over Daphne Du Maurier at the moment Vivien meets her and realizes who she is, lol). 

The "fun" part aside though, Jenner didn't skimp on addressing some of the societal issues that were prevalent during that time, such as gender bias and the role of women as well as discrimination towards those of a different race (through the character of Ashwin).  With this story, I felt the balance between serious and lighthearted was quite well done.

While it's not necessary to have read The Jane Austen Society in order to read this one, I'm actually glad I did, as having the familiarity with Evie's backstory definitely enhanced this story for me.  I look forward to reading what Jenner has in store for us next!  

Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley.

Review: Forbidden City (by Vanessa Hua)

My Rating:  3.5 stars

In her third book (and second novel), journalist Vanessa Hua explores the political history of the years leading up to and during China's Cultural Revolution from an angle that is rarely brought up or written about in mainstream works that discuss China: Mao Zedong's fascination with ballroom dancing and the resulting practice of recruiting dance troupes to entertain him as well as other Communist Party elite at various gatherings.  Hua states in her Author's Note that seeing documentary footage of "Chairman Mao surrounded by giggling young women in tight sweaters" intrigued her, but when she tried to find more information, there unfortunately wasn't much.  By piecing together some revelations about Mao's habits and proclivities relayed by his doctor in his memoir, it was understood that these young women existed, but rarely ever mentioned or acknowledged in official records.  So based on this information as well as what is publicly known about Mao's complicated relationship with his personal secretary Zhang Yufeng (who met Mao when she was 18 years old and he was in his sixties), Hua created the fictitious character of peasant girl-turned-revolutionary Mei Xiang in the hopes of giving a voice to the "impoverished women who have shaped China in their own ways yet remain absent from the country's official narrative."

Growing up as the youngest in a family of 3 daughters in an impoverished village in China, Mei Xiang dreams of becoming a model revolutionary and a patriotic heroine adored and worshipped by many.  During one of the Communist Party's recruitment schemes in the villages, Mei Xiang jumps at the opportunity to leave her plight behind.  Arriving at the capital, she comes to understand that the "duty" she was recruited for involves dancing with Party elite as part of a specially trained dance troupe.  It is at these dances that she meets the Chairman, the head of the Party as well as the country — a man that she (as well as most of the population) has been taught to idolize ever since he come to power years ago.  Soon, Mei Xiang becomes the Chairman's close confidante and paramour, and when the Chairman starts to involve her in his political missions, Mei feels she is finally on the path to achieving her dreams.  But as the Cultural Revolution becomes a reality and Mei witnesses the atrocities that result from it, she begins to doubt the truth of what she had been told her entire life.  It's not until she moves toward disillusionment that Mei starts to understand what this realization will ultimately cost her. 

Vanessa Hua's previous novel — her debut  River of Stars — covered a topic that I rarely (if ever) saw written about in fiction: birth tourism.  This time around, with her second novel, Hua once again explores yet another rarely-discussed topic — one that often gets buried when it comes to discourse surrounding China and the Cultural Revolution.  As familiar as I was with this time period and the historical context of China's Cultural Revolution, the angle of Mao's relationship with the women in his inner circle and him possibly using them in his political machinations was an altogether less familiar topic for me.  Hua's research in this regard was meticulous, with both the historical and cultural elements especially well-rendered.  Having said that though, I have to admit that I enjoyed Hua's debut so much more than this one, mostly because I found it difficult to overcome my disgust with the relationship at the center of this story (a powerful man in his sixties manipulating a disillusioned sixteen-year-old girl). Even though I understood the reality and plausibility of such an arrangement during that period historically, it was still uncomfortable to read, particularly when it came to the more graphic details of the Chairman and Mei's relationship (much of which I honestly felt was unnecessary).  Structurally, while I liked the writing, I felt that the pacing overall was a bit off and he story dragged a bit too much towards the middle, with some of the plot points also a bit repetitive.  I also found most of the characters difficult to like, which I guess isn't surprising given the nature of the story.  With that said, I did feel empathy for Mei Xiang and her harrowing, heartbreaking story — a coming-of-age story no doubt, but also one of self-discovery as well as self-preservation.

Even though I wasn't too keen on the subject matter this time around, I'm still glad I read this, if anything, for the insights it provided.  One of the things I appreciate most about Vanessa Hua's works is that she doesn't shy away from controversial topics and takes up the challenge of an uncomfortable story head-on (which probably has a lot to do with her journalist background).  I look forward to seeing what Hua will write about next!

Received ARC from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.