Tomorrow They Will Kiss: A Novel (Paperback)

by Eduardo Santiago (Author) "Telenovelas can be cruel with that first kiss..." (more)
Key Phrases: Union City, New Jersey, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Scandal catches up to the Cuban émigré community in America circa 1967 in this fresh, relevant first novel by TV writer Santiago. The story switches point of view among three women who grew up in Palamagria, Cuba, and now ride to work together every day at a Union City, N.J., toy factory. Single mother Graciela is a kind, insecure romantic hoping more than anything for the same true love that redeems the beleaguered women on the nightly telenovelas. Caridad, a vain gossip, and Imperio, bossy and sharp-tongued, share a lifelong indignation ("Imagínate!") over Graciela's nerve: in Cuba, marrying above her station and cheating on her desirable husband and in America learning English and catching the eye of the factory foreman, Mr. O'Reilly. So it's with barely contained envy—and a comical penchant for over-justifying their bitterness—that the two try to interfere in Graciela's attempts to better herself in America. Though the two antagonists can grate—their vitriol against Graciela is constant—the detailed immigrant community is vital and entertaining. (July)
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From School Library Journal
Adult/High School–Total obsession with the lives of romantic telenovela characters unites three disparate young women who have come from Cuba to New Jersey in the 1960s, in this sometimes sad, sometimes funny tale. Coming from the warm, easy pace of their homeland, and now freezing on the way to work in a doll factory, the women find hope for tomorrow both for themselves and for the TV characters whose loves and friendships they endlessly discuss. Graciela, a beautiful single mother looking for romance and a way to better herself in America, is the object of Caridads and Imperios derision and jealousy. Santiago shows readers life in Cuba before and after Castro. History students will develop a personal feeling for this period, and teens will relate to the immigrant experience as it is portrayed here. Those who liked Julia Alvarezs How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Plume, 1992) will also enjoy this novel.–Ellen Bell, Amador Valley High School, Pleasanton, CA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books (July 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316014125
• ISBN-13: 978-0316014120
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,635 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I could not put it down and I hated for it to end., July 11, 2006

By	Juanito Brockhombre (Rural South Texas) - See all my reviews

I knew I wanted this book after reading a few pages in an airline magazine. During my brief sojourn I was compelled to shop several bookstores so that I would have it for the return flight. Although I consciously tried not to raise my expectations, it was difficult not to do so. So my expectations were high. "Tomorrow They Will Kiss" greatly exceeded my highest hopes. For no reason I had worried that it was a "chick book," that I would not like it and that while the excerpt was intriguing, the whole book might not be so. I could not put it down and I hated for it to end.

While we are reading about three school girls growing up in a pre-Castro Cuba, coming of age at the time of the Revolution, and by extraordinary circumstance reuniting after fleeing to the United States at different times and for various reasons, the book is about personalities, relationships and attitudes, how these develop and once formed do not change no matter what may change in circumstance and fortune. Filtering identical events through three different frames of reference are Eduardo Santiago's forte. He enables you to see encounters and situations through three separate pairs of eyes almost as if the events were different rather than the same.

It could have been about three boys or three girls anywhere, anytime. But it was in Cuba, before and after, and in America time and time again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional First Novel, July 15, 2006

By	Nowen - See all my reviews

If knowing the author disqualifies me from having my say, so be it. But the fact is I have known and respected Eduardo Santiago for quite a few years without fully realizing the depth of his talent. His short stories pointed the way. But now in his first novel, "Tomorrow They Will Kiss," it all becomes clear. How he inhabits his three main characters, who migrate from Castro's Cuba and find themselves in the strange new world of Union, New Jersey. How he develops each woman's character, providing a wealth of details about her life in her homeland and her adjustment to the United States. How he humorously and poignantly describes their relations with each other and with various men and women in their lives. While it is true that the experiences he relates have a universal appeal, Santiago's Cuban background gives him a special understanding into the way these individuals think, speak and deal with the obstacles in their paths. His depiction of the role that telenovelas play in their lives is not only amusing but also relevant inasmuch as that form of programming will be seen on American television in the near future.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful novel, not to be missed., July 6, 2006

By	Rosa Lowinger "Roygbiv" (Los Angeles,CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a lovely, sweet, and extremely readable novel. I read it straight through on one airplane ride, and then, still teary from its poignant and unexpected ending, I began reading it again. I read pretty much all the Cuban novels that come out, and Eduardo Santiago's voice is absolutely unique in its gentleness and generosity. His descriptions of poverty and loss were heartbreaking. I highly, highly, highly recommend this novel!