The Island of Eternal Love

March 3, 2008
In Chaviano's first English translation, historical fiction is given a strong if awkward shot of the supernatural. Cecilia, a Cuban-born Miami journalist, investigates reports of a “phantom house” that appears in random areas of the city. As she tries to unlock the mystery, she becomes equally entranced by Amalia, an old woman she meets at a Little Havana bar. With only an eccentric great aunt to call family in her adopted city, Cecilia returns again and again to hear Amalia's chronicle of three bloodlines from across the planet that converge in Cuba. Replete with romance, clashing cultures and bloodshed, Amalia's story also has its share of auras, fairy music and imps (including Martinico, who haunts the women in Amalia's family). A descendant of clairvoyants, Cecilia is enthralled by the old woman, but whether readers will be enthralled is another question. Characters are more quirk than flesh, the dialogue is often stilted and though the supernatural plays a large part, the elements frequently feel uncomfortably inserted (such as the cameo of a goat-hoofed Pan). A stronger grounding—either in reality or the supernatural—might have helped this find its groove.

June 1, 2008
Cecilia, a lonely Cuban American journalist, encounters the elderly Amalia in a bar in Miami's Little Havana. They meet over and over, as Amalia recounts family histories, a melding of the lives of women in three Cuban families, one from Spain, one from Africa, and one from China. Meanwhile, Cecilia investigates a mysterious house that seems to appear and disappear around Havana; she becomes progressively more interested in magic and the gothic as she searches out supposed witnesses of the phantom house. The novel's two threads are peopled with actual Cuban musicians, living and dead. While this is not a fantasy as such, various magical events work to bring the threads together in a rich, satisfying whole. Cuban American writer Chaviano has lived in the United States for nearly 20 years. Her books have been translated into many languages, but this is the first to be translated into English. It's high time, too: this work is an absolute delight, and Chaviano's English-speaking readers will look forward to more translations. A gold medal winner at the 2007 Florida Book Awards; highly recommended for public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 2/1/08.]Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, OR

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