A Corner of the World

September 8, 2014
In her first novel to be published in the U.S., Cuban writer Fernández-Pintado tells the story of a May-December romance set against the backdrop of modern-day Havana. Reeling from her mother’s death and the breakup of her first marriage, 37-year-old Marian, a professor of literature, has built a life of order and complacency at the expense of spontaneity. Things change when she’s tasked with writing the preface for a novel by the 22-year-old writer Daniel Arco, who succeeds in seducing Marian. From here, the novel proceeds down a well-trod path: as the relationship blooms, Marian opens up, allowing her well-organized life to come undone, until a string of lies and
inconsistencies reveals Daniel to be a
capricious lover. Though Fernández-Pintado’s tale is punctuated with moments of psychological acuity, it also feels half-sketched, with critical sections, such as the initial moments in its central relationship, reading less like fleshed-out narratives than skeletal outlines. And the prose, while fast-paced, is stiff and clumsy (“The bottle lay on its side. So did I.”). Fernández-Pintado is at her best when she’s sketching miniature portraits of Marian’s acquaintances, such as her ex-mother-in-law. In these passages, her
talent for characterization and deep knowledge of Cuban history shines through.

October 1, 2014
Modern-day Cuba comes to life in this story of a professor who falls in love with a young writer. Fernandez-Pintado's novel, capably translated by Cluster, challenges the tropes and stereotypes inherent in much of the literature about Cuba to add a new perspective. It's narrated by Marian, who at 37 is absorbed in her work as a Spanish literature professor in Havana. She's happy enough, though mourning the loss of her mother, who raised her alone. Each member of her small group of close friends has a story about travel, "the golden apple of our unending national desire," and how they've survived hardships-without sentimentalizing them-to maintain their roots while so many others have left, returned, left again, in cycles. Marian is on the fence. Her ambivalence is jolted a little after her ex-boyfriend Marcos leaves for London. But she's really shaken up after her boss at the university asks her to write the introduction to a new book, and she meets the author, Daniel Arco, a 22-year-old "classic erudite vagabond." Why Marian falls in love so deeply so fast isn't clear; Daniel's lines as he woos her are comical at times, verging on satire. Far more interesting are the arguments they have after Daniel proposes they leave Cuba together. He spins tales of a wondrous life in Madrid, and Marian responds that she'd rather not end up "an undocumented dishwasher in a foreign city." The novel feels a bit patched together as Marian discovers she'd like to be a writer someday. But the humor, anecdotes about the revolution and political commentary make each page worthwhile. Marian contends that the people she knows aren't like those in novels about Cuba by Jose Saramago or Paul Auster. "Real literature isn't denouncing Cuba and socialism for three hundred pages seasoned with sex and local color." A sharp, funny blend of politics and romance that strikes out in a new direction.

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October 15, 2014
To an outsider, sleepy Havana may seem like the paragon of predictability, with its embargoed borders, noonday cigars, and vintage sedans still cruising the Malecn. But when Marian, a mild-mannered Spanish literature professor, agrees to introduce the debut novel by wunderkind writer Daniel Arco, professional and romantic boundaries collapse. Soon after their first night together, Daniel professes his love for Marian and proposes they move to Spain together in search of bigger and better lives. Besides the usual hurdles to emigration, the lovers' relationship is complicated by the recent passing of Marian's mother and Daniel's abrupt affair with a former student of Marian's, not to mention Marian's reliable post at the university. Even so, Marian narrates each chapter of this escalating escapade with surprising humor and witty erudition, tossing off references to Spanish painter Diego Velzquez, French architect Le Corbusier, and Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. The resulting blend of cosmopolitan energy and page-turning prose makes for unforgettable reading and helps to explain why this author's work continues to be translated across the globe.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)