The Island of Eternal Love

This is a fascinating blend of realism and fantasy whose aim is to show the mixture of Spanish, Chinese and African cultures in Cuba. While it is true that the African part tends to fall out, there is a lot of attention given to the other two. Chaviano gives you a (sometimes literally) hallucinatory vision of Havana and Cuban exiles in Miami. Although the fantasy part is prominent, there is a lot of history as well. I appreciated that the different sections were equally interesting. Often when a writer blends together different stories I find myself more drawn to one strand or the other, but each one was interesting in its own right. If you're interested in Cuban culture or just a good read, I would definitely recommend this book.

This novel has a little bit of many things - history, love, fantasy, supernatural events, humor, tragedy... Even though it has some subjects outside the realm of what many would consider "realistic" literature, it feels as an intimate, human tale. The characters are skillfully portrayed and full of complexities. By the end of the book, you may have two or more favorite characters--and probably one of them will not be human... Some people have classified this book as magic realism. For me, a more appropiate label would be "Caribbean Gothic". Anyway, I can't wait to read another novel by this author.

This is a book full of intrigue and mystery, not in a thriller sort of way, but more like in a ghost story. However, this is not the traditional Gothic novel either. It is a refreshing mixture of historic and love narrative, with fantastic elements that are perfectly inserted within the plot. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of fantasy, science fiction, love and historical novels, even though this book does not exactly belong to any of those genres either. Sound intriguing? It is!

This is a family saga that takes place along two parallel lines: one in our time and another that begins in the 19 Century. The modern story revolves around the paranormal investigations of Cecilia, a young journalist researching a phantom house that appears and disappears in different parts of her city, Miami. The other story is told by an old woman whom Cecilia meets in a bar. Every night, Cecilia listens to the story of that woman, which begins in the 19th century in three regions of the world; China, Africa and Spain. Different magical or supernatural events conspire to make these three stories from the past begin to mix. If you like family sagas, Gothic and fantasy literature, historical novels, and even SciFi, this is a novel for you. One of the best things is the interaction between the fantastic and the real worlds. I specially liked the connection between humans and fantasy creatures. Be aware though that this is not exactly Magical Realism, as I've read somewhere. The story is more in the tradition of novels like "Little, Big", by John Crowley, where human beings have fantasy traits. In general, the characters are complex and rich, full of contradictions and doubts about themselves. By the end of the book, you may probably have two or more favorites--and probably one of them will not be human...