Book 5 - Tomorrow They Will Kiss

Tomorrow They Will Kiss by Eduardo Santiago was a bit of a risk read. I picked it up off the library's new books display, mainly because of the rather lurid cover. It actually looks pretty raunchy to me - something about the high-contrast colours I guess. But the story actually turned out to be intriguing and the characters really made it.

Three Cuban women share their stories - from growing up together in the village of Palmagria to working the same conveyor belt in a doll factory in New Jersey. Graciela is a free spirit, a woman who lives life to the full and wants to leave her past, with its mistakes, behind. Imperio and Caridad are two judgemental women who are quite happy to remember Graciela's past for her, and pounce upon every move she makes in trying to forge a new life in America.

The key to this novel is the three voices - the chapters cycle through each woman's narrative. Graciela focuses on the present and the future, which the other two fill in the history of their life in Cuba. Each perspective is entirely subjective - the reader must decide what is "truth" by assessing each woman's narration of the event taking into account her character and perspective.

I also learned a lot about the Cuban revolution and the migrant experience of middle-class Cubans - the book is set in the years just before and after the revolution in 1969. The heady excitement of the revolution was quickly followed by cold reality as they were stripped of their possessions. The poverty grew worse as the US trade embargo struck. Getting permission to leave the country was a year-long ordeal. As soon as the application was made an official would come and make a catalogue of every item in the house - and if anything was missing or broken when the application finally went through a year later, then permission might be refused.

Imperio and Caridad speak of returning to Cuba "soon" and cling to their old ways. Graciela is the only one with the courage to create an American life. Their situation - and that of many Cubans - is made all the more poignant by the fact that it is only now, 48 years on, that Fidel Castro has retired and the Castro brothers' grip on Cuba is loosening.