I really, really, really wanted to love this book. It just sounded so damn interesting and received so many great reviews. (Note to self: never take a review at face value when it is written in the same magazine that gives rave reviews to Snooki, Tara Reid, Tori Spelling et al and their "memoirs".)
The premise and idea of this novel is so intriguing; a wonderful history of Puerto Rico and its inhabitants, from the natives to the conquerers and to their subsequent offspring. It had all the qualities and machinations to make an outstanding work of historical fiction. The characters and the rich sensory images of Puerto Rico and San Juan could have been woven to create a masterpiece. Sadly it did not.
I know it has been likened to GWTW but it nowhere near came close to drawing me into the narrative. Most of the main characters had few empathetic traits and the characters that were worthy of the readers sympathy were glossed over and their stories incomplete.
I am not saying that this is a bad book nor a poorly written one, it is not. But I do want to place a huge CAVEAT EMPTOR upon it. If you are looking for a truly excellent work of Latin American fiction read WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA. If you want to be mildly entertained and are not too picky about character development and originality of plot then you would enjoy this book.
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