1) Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton: I was slow to warm up to this book, but by the middle of it, I was hooked! Marisol Ferrera was heartbroken when, in 2017, her beloved grandmother (Elisa) passed away. Marisol had grown up listening to her grandmother's stories of life in Cuba when her grandmother was a girl. Elisa's father was a sugar baron in Cuba and the family was quite wealthy. However, by 1958, Cuba was facing great political unrest, and Elisa had met and fallen in love with one of the revolutionaries. Her family had to flee Cuba and went to Miami where Elisa married and raised her son, Marisol's father. Before Elisa died she asked Marisol to scatter her ashes in her beloved Cuba. Because Marisol was a journalist she was allowed into Cuba and stayed with her grandmother's best friend who still lived there. While in Cuba, Marisol began uncovering some family secrets and had a secret of her own when she became attracted to a man who was a political activist. It was a really good story!
2) Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout: I couldn't have loved this book more. It is the last one so far in the Lucy/William series and if you haven't read them, do so ( read them in order, however).
In Lucy By the Sea, Lucy and William (Lucy's ex-husband) went to Maine to ride out the pandemic soon after it began to hit New York. There they spent the next few months, just the two of them isolated. As time went on, Lucy and William experienced a deep connection as they navigated the pain of not being able to be with their daughters during this time, who were also going through painful times. As time went on, Lucy and William found their love again for each other.
This is such a beautiful book, especially if you have gone through Lucy's journey in the earlier books. Ms. Strout's writing continues to amaze me.
"If I had known what it would be like the next time that I saw them-Well, I did not know then.
It is a gift in this life that we do not know what awaits us."
3) Time and Again by Jack Finney: My daughter recommended this book to me when we were in New York this past fall. We were looking at the Dakota and that is where this story takes place! That made this book especially interesting to me! This book came out fifty years ago and Stephen King has called it "THE great time-travel story".
Si Morley was bored with his life. When he was recruited by a secret government entity, he decided to take the opportunity. The entity was studying/working on time travel. Si went from the 20th century back to 1882 numerous times and enjoyed seeing New York City as it was developing. Meeting a young woman there, whom he fell in love with complicated Si's life and he ultimately had to decide if he wanted to remain in 1882 or return to his modern life.
There is also a mystery involved in the story, which added good interest. It was a good read!
4) The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford: This is such an interesting book. It is a novel and is about inherited trauma, which I keep trying to explain to my family about (it was often something that I explored with clients when I was working).
Dorothy Foy had struggled with depression and dissociative episodes for years, but when her five-year-old daughter began remembering past memories from her ancestors, Dorothy decided that she had to seek help. She was fearful that her daughter might develop the same mental health issues that she had been struggling with and she didn't want that for her daughter.
Dorothy connected with a therapist who was doing some experimental treatments around inherited trauma. She was able to take Dorothy back to view her ancestor's lives and began to understand how their trauma was affecting her life.
This story also has a mystery running through it that adds to the pleasure of the story. Another good read!
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