Reclaiming Paris: A Novel [Paperback]

Fabiola Santiago (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 11, 2009

Miami Herald prize-winning journalist Fabiola Santiago tells the story of a woman who switches perfumes every time she changes lovers along her journey to heal from the loss of family and country.

An exuberant poet and historical archivist living in contemporary Miami, Marisol, like her adopted city, is a sensual free spirit. Reclaiming Paris is a paean to place and memory, lavished with humor, passion, and unforgettable characters.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Santiago, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her coverage of Elian Gonz�lez in the Miami Herald, makes her fiction debut with this flat immigrants' saga. Marisol, an historian for the Miami Museum of History, recounts in jumbled retrospect the tale of her sometimes idealized, sometimes difficult childhood in Cuba. After her father's early death and her mother's subsequent unbalance, Marisol is raised by her loving abuela ("grandma"), and the two emigrate to the Cuban Miami of the Vietnam era. Santiago focuses on Marisol's love life, from her first crush as a little girl to a succession of Miami �migr�s, including a political refugee who despises the bourgeois life to which Marisol aspires, and a cardiologist who shares Marisol's nostalgic yearnings for the Cuba of old, but will not leave his wife for her. Different perfumes delineate various phases of Marisol's life (with Wind Song, White Linen and others serving as section headings). Santiago brings together the expected elements of an immigrant's tale of self-discovery and redemption, but there's little drive behind Marisol's diaristic narration. Along with the perfume conceit, the Parisian connection, made explicit by the end, feels contrived. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Santiago follows poet and historical archivist Marisol as she struggles to find love and learn more about her Cuban heritage in Miami’s expatriate Cuban community. The novel is divided into segments according to the perfume Marisol wears at each point in her life. For her, each scent represents a certain relationship or time period. As the story begins, Marisol is wearing a perfume called Pleasures, and she is having an affair with a married man who refuses to leave his wife. Later she meets Gabriel, who becomes one of her great loves, and for him she wears Habanita, a scent they discover together in Europe. Santiago elevates this seemingly merely glamorous and romantic tale above the usual chick-lit fare by smoothly integrating immigration issues and a dash of mystery into the plot. And as the novel draws to a close, Marisol’s troubles with men finally lead her to investigate her past, with the help of friends, and what she learns is both shocking and illuminating. --Katherine Boyle --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; Reprint edition (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416551131
• ISBN-13: 978-1416551133
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,799,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Fabiola Santiago is author of the debut novel "Reclaiming Paris," a story set in contemporary Miami to the backdrop of the city's Cuban culture and history. Published by Simon & Schuster and chosen for a Mariposa Award as Best First Book at the International Latino Book Awards of 2009, "Reclaiming Paris" was translated into Spanish and debuted this summer as "Siempre Paris."

Born in Matanzas, Cuba, in 1959, Fabiola grew up enamored of her family's nostalgic stories and the memory of the softest sands and the bluest beach in the world, Varadero. Exiled to the United States in 1969 with her family on one of the historic Freedom Flights, Fabiola has been a writer and editor for The Miami Herald since 1980. Her award-winning stories and essays on arts, culture and identity have been published in several magazines and anthologies in the United States and abroad. She was the founding city editor and managing editor of the Spanish-language El Nuevo Herald from 1987 to 1993, and in 2001, shared in a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the federal government seizure of the child Elian Gonzalez. A graduate of the University of Florida, Fabiola is The Miami Herald's visual arts writer. Read more about her work at www.reclaimingparis.com and www.fabiolasantiago.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transported me to another world!, October 15, 2008

By 

Dawn (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reclaiming Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

Can't wait for the author's next book! This one was amazing, I had to slow down reading because I didn't want it to end. It really brought you in and you traveled everywhere the book goes. Tastes, sounds, feelings--amazing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of steamy passion and sweet nostalgia, January 3, 2009

By 

Three Guys from Miami "Authors of Three Guys... - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reclaiming Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

Somewhere between Matanzas and Miami, Fabiola Santiago fell in love with Paris. Santiago combines her passion for the romantic city by the Seine with her personal insights into the Cuban culture of Miami. The result, "Reclaiming Paris," is an excellent first novel, rich with characterization and detail. The central character is Marisol, whose life journey is delineated by a series of unfulfilled relationships and a longing for something that seems beyond her reach.

Despite the title, the main focus of "Reclaiming Paris" is Cuban Miami, and it is an excellent book for both Cubans searching for connections to their roots and non-Cubans wanting a taste of this rich Latin culture.


Full of steamy passion and sweet nostalgia, "Reclaiming Paris" is a great read!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, June 29, 2009

By 

Valerie S. Stanton "Avid Reader" (Ft. Lauderdale, Fl) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Reclaiming Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a great book by an awesome new writer. Fabiola Santiago makes you fall in love with her character and relate to the relationships throughout her life. I picked it up and didn't want to put it down until I was done. I can't wait for her to write another book...put this on your summer Must Read list!