Cuba [Paperback]

Emily Barr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 2004

Maggie's idea of starting over after breaking up with her boyfriend isn't working out as planned. Instead of the fabulous career, shopping with friends, and dinner parties she'd imagined, all she has is a lonely flat, and although it pays well, her job at Vixenz isn't worth writing home about.

Life picks up for Maggie when she accidentally discovers that she can overhear everything in her neighbors' flat. When her new neighbor David announces to his wife Libby that they and their infant son Charlie are off to Cuba on sabbatical, the travel bug is very contagious, and it doesn't take Maggie long to decide that Libby and David are not going alone...

Editorial Reviews

Review

...as the depths of Maggie's instability emerge, the story gets weirdly gripping, even suspenseful. -- Washington Post Book World, April 18, 2004

Move over, Bridget Jones. -- USA Today, May 20, 2004

About the Author

Emily Barr has written columns and travel pieces for London's Observer and The Guardian. After traveling around Asia for a year, she settled back down in England to write novels. The author of Backpack and Baggage, Emily Barr lives with her husband and two-year-old son, Gabriel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Plume (March 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452285038
• ISBN-13: 978-0452285033
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,988,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maggie, maggie.. maggie, December 31, 2005

By 

Jenny J.J.I. "A New Yorker" (That Lives in Carolinas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Cuba (Paperback)

I lifted up this book in the library and thought to give this author a try, rarely do I read "Chick Lit" books but this one was pretty good. I couldn't helped but to feel sorry for Maggie also. Maggie just needed help but unfortunately it took her YEARS to realize this.
Maggie moved to the seashore to get a fresh start after breaking up with her boyfriend, but she didn't imagine her new life would be so lonely. So when she accidentally discovers she can overhear everything going on in the next flat, she can't herself from listening in to her neighbors David and Libby. Now David and Libby just recently had a baby boy name Charlie. Libby is finding full time motherhood tedious and discovered that this is not her nitch being a house wife. Just when she thinks she's persuaded David that she should go back to her job as a high powered lawyer, he announces he's taking a sabbatical to spend six months in Cuba learning Spanish and thinking that it would shed some light into the family. The travel bug is of course contagious so when Maggie overhears there trip she also decided to pack her bags and join them in a coincidental way.
Emily Barr description of Cuba was great and made you feel as though you was there. I wouldn't mine reading her other novels due to the fact that this book had caught my attention. I do too recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This time, 2 characters!, May 15, 2005

By 

Eloi (Ely, NV USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cuba (Paperback)

That's right, two well-developed characters, Maggie and Libby.
And as in _Backpack_, there are no developed, believable male characters. But I'm finally catching on--that's intentional on Barr's part. I'm beginning to understand why they call it CHICK lit.

But like Dostoyevsky, Barr has the ability to make me interested in her characters, to hope that their plans work even when what they are doing is downright despicable. Yeah, like I felt for Raskolnikov, so do I feel for Maggie.

As with _Backpack_, Barr goes the whole nine yards in her denouement--someone needs to tell her that it's not necessary to cross every t in the conclusion.

Anyway, I've got a copy of _Baggage_ to read next, so I guess I'm an Emily Barr fan.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great chick-lit, March 30, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba (Paperback)

Yuppies David and Libby argue whether they should go on sabbatical and travel along with their newborn for a year or so. Bored playing house mother though she loves her child, Libby wants to say yes to David's pleadings, but wonders if that is a good idea for their baby. As they debate the issue of travels with Charlie, their new neighbor lonely Maggie hears everything through the paper thin walls. She becomes excited especially when the couple next door decides to go to CUBA.

Maggie decides to join her new best friend Libby and her lover David in Havana though neither of the couple is aware of their new roles in their thirty year old neighbor's life. In Havana, Maggie sets in motion a plan to accomplish her agenda starting with babysitting little Charlie.

Emily Barr takes her usual theme (see BACKPACK and BAGGAGE) of a young couple on the road in environs that neither one is prepared for as recriminations fling back and forth threatening relationships. Though somewhat by the numbers, the story line avoids going too deep into a melodramatic stalking plot by emphasizing the characters starting with Maggie's mental state and the flaws of the yuppie couple that jeopardizes their marriage. Fans of on the road and readers of psychological suspense (except travel agents) will appreciate Ms. Barr's skills of placing everyday people in extraordinary scenarios that test their mettle.

Harriet Klausner