Es Cuba: Life and Love on an Illegal Island

I found this book to be a fantastic interpertation of life on a curious island. Well written and definitely informative, I now find myself seeking out more information on Cuba. It forced me to ask myself 'why do I know so little about life there?'. In addition, I would highly recommend it to any young traveler or international student. Read this book!

Lea Aschkenas opened a window into the daily life of the Cuban people and portrayed them with dignity. Before reading this book - Cuba only meant Castro to me. Now I think of the people who passionately love their country. Lea's story about her time spent in Cuba - finding love and living in this illegal island -was compelling. I highly recommend this beautifully written book. A sequel should follow!

This is a great book! Having just started to learn to speak Spanish, I loved all the "sayings." Anyone interested in what it is REALLY like to live in Cuba as a Cuban should read this book. Also, all of the pro-socialist readers will get a real eye opener.

If you want to find the truth of the every day life in Cuba, go deeper than what the regular news, a tourist catalog or a 3 day trip there can show you, then, you really need to read this book. It is written in a very fresh, easy-to read way that you will enjoy all through. It'll give you laughs, sadness and you'll be impressed all at the same time. As a difference with the majority of the books you will find about the island, this is not strictly touristy nor politic but it will show you both of those aspects as they directly affect the central history, which is the love between an American traveler (the writer) and a Cuban resident. I am Cuban and the descriptions and events on the book were so tangible, so real, that I felt leaving back there again!! I recommend it, enjoy your "reading travel!"

"Es Cuba" is a richly informative book about Cuba and Cubans. The author creates an intoxicating mood from the very first page and tells a story which, while it is autobiographical, is also travelogue and fascinating depiction of life in Cuba today. Her sometimes bumpy love affair with a Cuban man (who became her husband) serves to further the narrative in its examination of personal and cultural differences between Cubans and Americans. Aschkenas lived with a Cuban family in Havana, including three generations of Cuban women, who gradually wove for her and for us an anecdotal, historical tapestry starting before the revolution. The twenty-something granddaughter is involved in the country's present-day materialistic tourist economy; the grandmother and mother, on the other hand, lived through the poverty and repression of the corrupt, pre-revolution Batista regime. Other friends and acquaintances fill similar roles, giving us perspectives of musicians, educators, taxi drivers, European travelers, etc. - everyone from fervent Fidelistas to those trying to escape from the island. Aschkenaz moves lightly and objectively through the Cuban community and her observations seem born of a sensitivity and experience beyond her years. If she carries any ideological baggage (aside from a gentle humanism) to this communist nation it is not evident to this reader. If you have any interest in Cuba, its people, or its culture, don't miss this book!