"Gripping, poignant, and enlightening...a profound meditation on the complexities of the human heart and the redeeming power of love."
-- Carlos Eire, National Book Award-winning author of Waiting for Snow in Havana
Broken Paradise
A Novel
Description
In Broken Paradise Cecilia Samartin offers heart wrenching insight into the tender balance between hope and grief that shapes the immigrant heart and exposes the struggles of everyday people amid political turmoil.
Cuba, 1956: Cousins Nora and Alicia are accustomed to living among Havana's privileged class -- lavish dinners, days at the beach, dances, and dresses.
Their idyllic lives take a turn for the worst after Castro's rise to power. Food becomes scarce, religion is forbidden, and disease is rampant. Alicia stays behind while Nora emigrates to the United States and struggles in an unfamiliar land. Both of their identities are challenged as they try to adapt to the changes forced upon them.
The situation in Cuba deteriorates and Alicia is beset by bad fortune, while Nora painfully assimilates into middle-class U.S. culture. Her heart, however, remains in Cuba. Letters between the cousins track their lives until Alicia's situation becomes so difficult that Nora is forced to return and help. But what she finds in Cuba is like nothing she has ever imagined.
Broken Paradise is an extraordinarily powerful novel about passion, love, and the heart's yearning for home.
Reviews
"It's like drinking a full bottle of Cabernet by yourself."
-- New Zealand Public Radio
"I dare anyone not to be moved...the book is ultimately uplifting -- a testimony to the strength of love and the human spirit."
-- Traveller Magazine
"A heart wrenching story of separation, love, and redemption gently told through two cousins as they confront the political realities of Castro's revolution and its aftermath. This is a story I can truly identify with. It is a story that Cecilia Samartin has told with astounding courage and grace."
-- Viviana Carballo, author of Havana Salsa: Stories and Recipes
