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The Wise Women of Havana [Paperback]

Jose Raul Bernardo (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)


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Book Description

February 4, 2003

Set against the exotic background of Cuba in 1938, The Wise Women of Havana is the deeply moving, lyrical, and yet earthy story of three remarkable women whose lives are suddenly intricately intertwined.

When Marguita, a beautiful and voluptuous young girl, marries Lorenzo, they find their dream home in a cozy apartment in Havana. But that dream is soon shattered. Lorenzo's once-wealthy parents, now in dire need of financial help because of the Great Depression, ask the newlyweds to move into the family's crumbling mansion with them. Marguita is hardly settled with her in-laws when Lorenzo's older sister, the spinster Lolo, behaves in a shocking way toward the young couple, seriously injuring Marguita's sense of honor and causing a dangerous rift between the two. In despair, Marguita, flees to her mother, Dolores, a truly wise woman, whose love, generosity, and resourcefulness provide the glue that promises to mend the break.


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A schematic, preachy family drama plays out against the backdrop of pre-WWII Cuba in this well-intentioned but leaden novel by Bernardo (The Secret of the Bulls). When Lorenzo and Marguita marry in 1938, even balmy Havana is feeling the effects of the Great Depression. To help Lorenzo's parents make ends meet, the couple agree to rent a room in their Old Havana house, but the night they move in, Marguita catches Lol", Lorenzo's 31-year-old sister, spying on the couple in bed. Horrified, Marguita and Lorenzo move immediately, renting a house near Marguita's parents, in a poorer neighborhood. Marguita refuses to forgive the miserable Lol", who is saddled with a virginity she finds impossible to shed in conservative prewar Cuba. When Marguita has a son, Lol" becomes even more envious. Fortune smiles on her at last or so she believes when she attends a party thrown by Lorenzo's employer, a bookstore owner who owns a beach club east of Havana. As she walks alone along the edge of the sea, she comes upon another party guest, the young Father Alonso, stretched out naked under a tree on a deserted strip of beach. These two enthusiastically rid themselves of their sexual anxieties and their virginities. For Lol", pregnancy ensues; for Father Alonso, a crisis of vocation. Lol"'s hidden pregnancy is paralleled by Marguita's, whose second child is looking like an unaffordable luxury. Should she abort it? Ra#l has produced an exercise in unabashed tropical schmaltz, plagued with squirm-inducing euphemisms ("like all virgins, [Lol"] is afraid of the unicorn of man"), stiff dialogue and awkward plotting. 5-city author tour. (Feb. 19) Habana ($13.95 paper 384p ISBN 0-06-093616-9).-- is afraid of the unicorn of man"), stiff dialogue and awkward plotting. 5-city author tour. (Feb. 19) Habana ($13.95 paper 384p ISBN 0-06-093616-9).
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“A page-turner that offers Latin-style solutions to universal problems.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch )

Product Details

  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (February 4, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0060936150
  • ISBN-13: 978-0060936150
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,734,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Hay Que Bueno, February 1, 2005
By 
Christina A. Rey (Long Island, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Wise Women of Havana (Paperback)
Set in pre-Castro Cuba during the depression, the story is woven around Lorenzo and Marguarita's settle into marital life and their ever-present family member intercessions. Richly written and descriptive to the point of excellence (not overboard droning on), this story moves at a good pace that keeps the reader interested but not riveted to the point where you are running home to read or will stay up past your bed time. What I enjoyed about this book was the fact that you get to know the main characters well and get to see their many sides. I also liked the descriptive narratives of the setting that made you feel like you were almost there, sweating on the bus and restless with anticipation to get to the beach and try Maximillano's famous cooking. I never came to fully understand what was so wise about the women and exactly where their genius lie, but all the same I would definitely recommend if you wish to take a vacation to the tropics and feel like you made some new acquaintances.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable and worth reading!, March 17, 2004
By 
dennis epstein (Corvallis, OR United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wise Women of Havana (Paperback)
I "read" this book on tape. Doomed to an hour commute daily I have read a lot of books on tape, including alot of mysteries.

This book was a delightful change. Enjoying historical novels this pre -Castro cuban story about life in poorer parts of Havana was enjoyable and the story though simple was light with insights into this latin culture and literay style.

I would like to recommend this book.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
Even though it is the middle of February, when a thick, white shroud of snow covers vast areas of North America, and winter days are at their coldest, their grayest, and their most desolate, the weather in the city of Havana is simply as spectacular as it can ever be on this incredibly beautiful morning of 1938. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
posada room, glittering silver disk, criollo woman, gypsy eyes, alai palace, mossy soil, noontime meal, shuttered doors, ten pesos, young acolyte
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Father Alonso, Father Francisco, Doctor Manuel, The Wise Women of Havana, Old Havana, Guanabo Beach, United States, Our Lady of the Perpetual Succor, Street of the Bulls, Continental Spanish, Lorenzo Manuel, Hotel Nacional, Francisca Olivar
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