Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton (English) Paperback Book

Description: Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton "After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution"-- FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK"A beautiful novel thats full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice."--Reese WitherspoonAfter the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution...A HELLO SUNSHINE x REESE WITHERSPOON BOOK CLUB PICK"A beautiful novel thats full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice."-Reese WitherspoonAfter the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity-and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution...Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cubas high society, where she is largely sheltered from the countrys growing political unrest-until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary...Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisas last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth.Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cubas tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate. When more family history comes to light and Marisol finds herself attracted to a man with secrets of his own, shell need the lessons of her grandmothers past to help her understand the true meaning of courage. Author Biography Chanel Cleeton is the New York Timesand USA Today bestselling author of When We Left Cuba and the Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Next Year in Havana.Originally from Florida, she grew up on stories of her familys exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England where she earned a bachelors degree in international relations from Richmond, the American International University in London, and a masters degree in global politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She loves to travel and has lived in the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia. Review A beautiful novel thats full of forbidden passions, family secrets and a lot of courage and sacrifice.—Reese Witherspoon, (Reeses Book Club x Hello Sunshine book pick) "A sweeping love story and tale of courage and familial and patriotic legacy that spans generations."—Entertainment Weekly"This Cuban-set historical novel is just what you need to get that ~extra-summery~ feeling."—Bustle"The Ultimate Beach Read"—Real Simple "Next Year in Havana reminds us that while love is complicated and occasionally heartbreaking, its always worth the risk."—NPR"A flat-out stunner of a book, at once a dual-timeline mystery, a passionate romance, and paean to the tragedy and beauty of war-torn Cuba. Simply wonderful!"—Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network and The Huntress"Cleeton has penned an atmospheric, politically insightful, and highly hopeful homage to a lost world. Devour Next Year in Havana and you, too, will smell the perfumed groves, taste the ropa vieja, and feel the sun on your face."—Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Americas First Daughter"Dont miss this smart, moving, and romantic story."—HelloGiggles.com"A vivid, transporting novel. Next Year in Havana is about journeys—into exile, into history, and into questions of home and identity. Its an engrossing read."—David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife "An evocative, passionate story of family loyalty and forbidden love that moves seamlessly between the past and present of Cubas turbulent history...Next Year in Havana kept me enthralled and savoring every word."—Shelley Noble, New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Beach "Chanel Cleetons prose is as beautiful as Cuba itself, and the story she weaves—of exile and loss, memory and myth, forbidden love and enduring friendship—is at once sweeping and beautifully intimate."—Jennifer Robson, USA Today bestselling author of Somewhere in France"A poignant tale of aristocracy, subterfuge, tyranny, conflict, corruption and courage during the Cuban Revolution…Next Year In Havana is an extraordinary journey that connects the past and present and will enthrall readers until the very end."—RT Book Review (starred review) "An enticing and wonderful read for lovers of historical fiction and soul-searching journeys."—Library Journal (starred review) "An undeniably personal and intimate look at Cuba then and now, wrapped around the gripping story of two women torn between love and country."—Renée Rosen, bestselling author of Park Avenue Summer "Chanel Cleeton delivers an amazing and captivating read!"—Alix Rickloff, author of On the Way to London "With graceful prose, Cleeton evokes the former grandeur of 1950s Cuba, and contrasts it with modern day Miami in this sweeping family saga of loss and love."—Heather Webb, author of Last Christmas in Paris "A compelling, un-put-downable page-turner told from two equally powerful female narratives...A must read."—Lia Riley, author of It Happened on Love Street "Next Year in Havana is a ravishing jewel of romance, hope, family, and the history in Cuba."—Weina Dai Randel, author of The Moon in the Palace "This gritty tale pulls back the curtain on revolutionary and modern Cuba, allowing us a glimpse of the courage, heartache, and sacrifices of those who left their country in exile, and also those who stayed behind."—Stephanie Marie Thornton, USA Today bestselling author of Clever Girl"Next Year in Havana is a riveting, moving novel that explores the ever-relevant themes of love and sacrifice, family and duty, patriotism and resistance. Cleeton describes Havana so vividly that I felt I was there. I could not put this book down!"—Alyssa Palombo, author of The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence Promotional After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity-and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution . . . Review Quote Praise for Next Year in Havana "In Next Year in Havana , Chanel Cleetons prose is as beautiful as Cuba itself, and the story she weaves--of exile and loss, memory and myth, forbidden love and enduring friendship--is at once sweeping and beautifully intimate. This is a moving, heartfelt, and gorgeously realized story that will stay with you long after you turn the final page."--Jennifer Robson, Internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France Promotional "Headline" After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity-and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution . . . Description for Reading Group Guide Readers Guide for Next Year in Havana Discussion Questions 1. The novel alternates between Elisa Perezs life in Cuba in 1958 and 1959 and her granddaughter Marisol Ferreras trip to Cuba in 2017. Which woman did you identify with more? What parallels can you see between their personalities and their lives? What differences? 2. The first chapter ends with Elisa wondering how long her family will be away from Cuba. The final chapter ends over a decade later with her posing the same question. How are the themes of hope and exile illustrated in the book? How does the weight of exile affect the Perez family? 3. When Marisol arrives in Cuba she struggles with identifying as Cuban because she grew up in the United States and because she has never set foot on Cuban soil. How much does a physical place define ones identity? How does Marisols trip alter her views about being Cuban and change her perception of herself? How do Marisol and her family attempt to keep their heritage alive in exile? Are there stories and rituals handed down through the generations in your family? 4. Like her grandmother, Marisol falls in love with a man who has revolutionary political leanings. What similarities can you see between Pablos and Luiss dreams for Cuba? What differences are there in their worldview? How do they go about achieving their dreams for a better Cuba? 5. Sacrifice is a major theme that runs throughout the novel. How do the characters make sacrifices for one another, and what are some examples of them risking their safety and security for their loved ones? How do you think you would have acted in similar situations? 6. Family plays an important role in the novel, and each of the characters face their own struggles in their attempts to live up to their familys expectations. What are some examples of this? Did you identify with one characters point of view more? Are there certain expectations in your own family? Do you feel the need to live up to them? How have they shaped your life decisions? 7. Elisas final wish is to have her ashes scattered over Cuban soil. Do you agree with her decision? Would you have wanted your ashes spread in Cuba or would you have preferred to be buried on American soil? Do you think Marisol picked the best place to spread Elisas ashes? Where else would you have considered scattering them? Have you scattered the ashes of a loved one? What was the experience like? 8. What initially attracts Elisa to Pablo? Do you believe they would have been able to overcome the differences between them if they werent caught in the midst of the Cuban Revolution? Or was their love fueled by the urgency of the times? 9. Elisa chooses to save her letters from Pablo and her memories of their romance by burying them in a box in the backyard. If you had a box in which to bury your most precious possessions, what would you choose to keep safe? 10. What parallels do you see between life in modern Cuba and life in pre-revolutionary Cuba? What differences? 11. Pablo tells Elisa that everything is political. Do you agree with him? 12. Despite coming from very different backgrounds, Marisol and Luis share many similarities that bring them together as a couple. What are some examples of this? Why do you think they get along so well? Do you think they are a good influence on each other? 13. Pablo believes that the best way to change his country is from within. Others like Elisas family choose to leave Cuba because they can no longer support the regime. Which approach do you identify with? What are the differences between the Cubans who remained in Cuba and those who live in exile? What are the similarities? Excerpt from Book Chapter One Elisa Havana, 1959 How long will we be gone?" my sister Maria asks. "Awhile," I answer. "Two months? Six months? A year? Two?" "Quiet." I nudge her forward, my gaze darting around the departure area of Rancho-Boyeros Airport to see if anyone has overheard her question. We stand in a row, the famous-or infamous, depending on who you ask-Perez sisters. Isabel leads the way, the eldest of the group. She doesnt speak, her gaze trained on her fiancZ, Alberto. His face is pale as he watches us, as we march out of the city we once brought to its knees. Beatriz is next. When she walks, the hem of her finest dress swinging against her calves, the pale blue fabric adorned with lace, its as though the entire airport holds its collective breath. Shes the beauty in the family and she knows it. I trail behind her, the knees beneath my skirts quivering, each step a weighty effort. And then theres Maria, the last of the sugar queens. At thirteen, Marias too young to understand the need to keep her voice low, is able to disregard the soldiers standing in green uniforms, guns slung over their shoulders and perched in their eager hands. She knows the danger those uniforms bring, but not as well as the rest of us do. We havent been able to remove the grief that has swept our family in its unrelenting curl, but weve done our best to shield her from the barbarity weve endured. She hasnt heard the cries of the prisoners held in cages like animals in La Caba-a, the prison now run by that Argentine monster. She hasnt watched Cuban blood spill on the ground. But our father has. He turns and silences her with a look, one he rarely employs yet is supremely effective. For most of our lives, hes left the care of his daughters to our mother and our nanny, Magda, too busy running his sugar company and playing politics. But these are extraordinary times, the stakes higher than any weve ever faced. There is nothing Fidel would love more than to make an example of Emilio Perez and his family-the quintessential image of everything his revolution seeks to destroy. Were not the wealthiest family in Cuba, or the most powerful one, but the close relationship between my father and the former president is impossible to ignore. Even the careless words of a thirteen-year-old girl can prove deadly in this climate. Maria falls silent. Our mother walks beside our father, her head held high. She insisted we wear our finest dresses today, hats and gloves, brushed our hair until it gleamed. It wouldnt do for her daughters to look anything but their best, even in exile. Defiant in defeat. We might not have fought in the mountains, havent held weapons in our glove-covered hands, but there is a battle in all of us. One Fidel has ignited like a flame that will never be extinguished. And so we walk toward the gate in our favorite dresses, Cuban pride and pragmatism on full display. Its our way of taking the gowns with us, even if theyre missing the jewels that normally adorn them. What remains of our jewelry is buried in the backyard of our home. For when we return. To be Cuban is to be proud-it is both our greatest gift and our biggest curse. We serve no kings, bow no heads, bear our troubles on our backs as though they are nothing at all. There is an art to this, you see. An art to appearing as though everything is effortless, that your world is a gilded one, when the reality is that your knees beneath your silk gown buckle from the weight of it all. We are silk and lace, and beneath them we are steel. We try to preserve the fiction that this is merely a vacation, a short trip abroad, but the gazes following us around the airport know better- Beatrizs fingers wrap around mine for one blissful moment. Those olive green-clad sentries watch our every move. Theres something reassuring in her fear, in that crack in the facade. I dont let go. The world as we know it has died, and I do not recognize the one that has taken its place. A sense of hopelessness overpowers the departure area. You see it in the eyes of the men and women waiting to board the plane, in the tired set of their shoulders, the shock etched across their faces, their possessions clutched in their hands. Its present in the somber children, their laughter extinguished by the miasma that has overtaken all of us. This used to be a happy place. We would welcome our father when he returned from a business trip, sat in these same seats three years earlier, full of excitement to travel to New York on vacation. We take our seats, huddling together, Beatriz on one side of me, Maria on the other. Isabel sits apart from us, her pain a mantle around her shoulders. There are different degrees of loss here, the weight of what we leave behind inescapable. My parents sit with their fingers intertwined, one of the rare displays of physical affection Ive ever seen them partake in, worry in their eyes, grief in their hearts. How long will we be gone? When will we return? Which version of Cuba will greet us when we do? Weve been here for hours now, the seconds creeping by with interminable slowness. My dress itches, a thin line of sweat running down my neck. Nausea rolls around in my stomach, an acrid taste in my mouth. "Im going to be sick," I murmur to Beatriz. She squeezes my fingers. "No, youre not. Were almost there." I beat the nausea back, staring down at the ground in front of me. The weight of the stares is pointed and sharp, and at the same time, its as if we exist in a vacuum. The sound has been sucked from the room save for the occasional rustle of clothing, the stray sob. We exist in a state of purgatory, waiting, waiting- "Now boarding . . ." My father rises from his seat on creaky limbs; hes aged years in the nearly two months since President Batista fled the country, since the winds of revolution drifted from the Sierra Maestra to our corner of the island. Emilio Perez was once revered as one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in Cuba; now theres little to distinguish my father from the man sitting across the aisle, from the gentleman lining up at the gate. Were all citizens of no country now, all orphans of circumstance. I reach out and take Marias hand with my spare one. Shes silent, as though reality has finally sunk in. We all are. We walk in a line, somber and reticent, making our way onto the tarmac. Theres no breeze in the air today, the heat overpowering as we shuffle forward, the sun beating down on our backs, the plane looming in front of us. I cant do this. I cant leave. I cant stay. Beatriz pulls me forward, a line of Perez girls, and I continue on. We board the plane in an awkward shuffle, the silence cracking and splintering as hushed voices give way to louder ones, a cacophony of tears filling the cabin. Wails. Now that weve escaped the departure area, the veneer of civility is stripped away to something unvarnished and raw- Mourning. I take a seat next to the window, peering out the tiny glass, hoping for a better view than that of the airport terminal, hoping . . . We roll back from the gate with a jolt and lurch, silence descending in the cabin. In a flash, its New Years Eve again and Im standing in the ballroom of my parents friends house, a glass of champagne in one hand. Im laughing, my heart so full. Theres fear lingering in the background, both fear and uncertainty, but theres also a sense of hope. In minutes, my entire world changed. President Batista has fled the country! Long live a free Cuba! Is this freedom? Were gaining speed now, hurtling down the runway. My body heaves with the movement, and I lose the battle, grabbing the bag in the seat pocket in front of me, emptying the contents of my stomach. Beatriz strokes my back as I hunch over, as the wheels leave the ground, as we soar into the sky. The nausea hits me again and again, an ignominious parting gift, and when I finally look up, a startling shock of blue and green greets me, an artists palette beneath me. When Christopher Columbus arrived in Cuba, he described it as the most beautiful land human eyes had ever seen. And it is. But theres more beyond the sea, the mountains, the clear sky. Theres so much more that we leave behind us. How long will we be gone? A year? Two? Ojal++. Marisol january 2017 When I was younger, I begged my grandmother to tell me about Cuba. It was a mythical island, contained in my heart, entirely drawn from the version of Cuba she created in exile in Miami and the stories she shared with me. I was caught between two lands-two iterations of myself-the one I inhabited in my body and the one I lived in my dreams. Wed sit in the living room of my grandparents sprawling house in Coral Gables, and shed show me old photos that had been smuggled out of the country by intrepid family members, weaving tales about her life in Havana, the adventures of her siblings, painting a portrait of a land that existed in my imagination. Her stories smelled of gardenias and jasmine, tasted of plantains and mamey, and always, the sound of her old record player. Each time shed finish her tale shed smile and promise I would see it myself one day, that wed return in g Details ISBN0399586687 Author Chanel Cleeton Publisher Penguin Putnam Inc Year 2018 ISBN-10 0399586687 ISBN-13 9780399586682 Format Paperback Imprint Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S. Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States DEWEY 813.6 Language English UK Release Date 2018-02-06 Publication Date 2018-02-06 US Release Date 2018-02-06 Audience General NZ Release Date 2018-04-29 AU Release Date 2018-04-29 Pages 400 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:117145126;

Price: 24.27 AUD

Location: Melbourne

End Time: 2024-12-31T03:02:21.000Z

Shipping Cost: 9.45 AUD