I *finally* finished Book #8!

It took me forever to finish my latest book, Cuba and the Night by Pico Iyer. Being Cuban-American, I always gravitate toward fictional stories based in or about Cuba. This was no exception. It was set in the 80’s, during the days of the Cold War and Reagan. The story is mostly narrated from the viewpoint of a journalistic photographer who travels the world following political issues and wars and whatnot. As you can predict, the formula is tried and true: the typical, can’t-settle-down American photographer falls in love with the pretty Cuban girl.

The author actually weaves the story well but it just drags on… My husband told me to just give up on it but I actually was compelled to finish it, I just wasn’t compelled to finish it quickly. It didn’t help that the book really doesn’t have chapters but rather long sections so it is hard to get to a good stopping point.

The book itself is not that big but for whatever reason, it took me several months to get through. I guess the reading just got tedious, not because of the language but because the main character just re-hashes his emotions and rationalizes everything. It gets old after a while. One more complaint – I never feel like I get to know any of the characters despite all the pages written focusing on them. Maybe that is the point… I don’t know. I am just so middle of the road on whether or not I’d recommend this book so there you go… I guess I’m ambivalent.