Childhood | Book Chatter

Father’s Day
By Simon Van Booy
Harper, Hardcover, 9780062408945, April 2016, 304pp.

The Short of It:

A quiet non-traditional story about a father’s love for his daughter.

The Rest of It:

Harvey is just a young girl when her parents are killed in an accident. After the accident, Harvey is placed with Jason, her uncle, who was recently released from prison for a crime he committed as a teen. The two have a lot to learn and with the help of his social worker, Jason learns that fathers aren’t perfect and that the love of a child is something you have to hold dear.

I really enjoyed this story even though I found it to be very different from what I’ve previously read by this author. The language isn’t as poetic as his short story collections. The story is told plainly but the tone and quiet nature of the story really appealed to me.

I enjoyed reading about this unlikely pair. Jason is a little rough around the edges but charming and remorseful for his past actions. He comes across as very genuine and sincere. Harvey is mature and wise and the two seem to understand each other, which makes the story work so well.

In the end, all the pieces come together and what you have is a satisfying read.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher via Edelweiss.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Waiting for Snow in Havana
By Carlos Eire
(Free Press, Paperback, 9780743246415, 2004, 390pp.)

The Short of It:

A young boy’s take on Cuba before and after Fidel Castro.

The Rest of It:

Waiting for Snow in Havana is both an exorcism and an ode to a paradise lost. For the Cuba of Carlos’s youth—with its lizards and turquoise seas and sun-drenched siestas—becomes an island of condemnation once a cigar-smoking guerrilla named Fidel Castro ousts President Batista on January 1, 1959. Suddenly the music in the streets sounds like gunfire. Christmas is made illegal, political dissent leads to imprisonment, and too many of Carlos’s friends are leaving Cuba for a place as far away and unthinkable as the United States. Carlos will end up there, too, and fulfill his mother’s dreams by becoming a modern American man—even if his soul remains in the country he left behind. –Simon & Schuster

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Given the subject matter, I expected it to be more factual but Eire chose to focus on his idyllic childhood. His childhood is fantastical in nature as Carlos was a very imaginative child. His mother, referred to as Marie Antoinette and his father Louis XVI, are rather mysterious figures. They are well-off but the father is preoccupied with his material wealth, more so than his family’s well-being. So when the family is torn apart, it seems that the burden of responsibility falls on Carlos himself.

Written years later, Eire’s book is full of charm and wit but it’s apparent while reading just how painful his story is to tell. In fact, he’s often said that he wanted this to be a work of fiction, not a memoir and I must tell you, it does read like fiction so for those of you who shy away from memoirs, this might be a good one for you to grab.

My book club read this and we discussed it a couple of weeks ago. I think we were all in agreement that the writing was lovely, but many felt nothing for Carlos. He was wealthy and spoiled and this prevented many from being able to relate to his story but I don’t know, there is something horrifying about living in a dream world and then being thrown into reality at such a young age. It’s almost more tragic.

Overall, a good discussion book, lovely writing and you’ll learn a little about pre-war Cuba.

Waiting for Snow in Havana won the National Book Award in 2003.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…