Mangos, Bananas and Coconuts: A Cuban Love Story

Rating:
Summary: "Novas is unafraid to let the demons of desire loose."
Review: "A disarming blend of magical realism and pungent social satire, this extraordinary novel is an incandescent tale of love...her lyrical, fiercely intelligent novel, crammed with mystical phenomena and allusions to pop culture, adroitly probes the pressures facing immigrants adjusting to Yanqui realities." Publishers Weekl

Rating:
Summary: "Novas is unafraid to let the demons of desire loose."
Review: A disarming blend of magical realism and pungent social satire, this extraordinary novel is an incandescent tale of love...her lyrical, fiercely intelligent novel, crammed with mystical phenomena and allusions to pop culture, adroitly probes the pressures facing immigrants adjusting to Yanqui realities." Publishers Weekl

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful story... very magical
Review: Novas weaves together a magical tragic perverted story... sounds strangely intriguing, right? It is a pretty quick read (about 160 pages), and while I cringed at some of the occurrences because of what I, the reader, knew and the characters were still finding out, it was still a beautiful story.

Rating:
Summary: MIND BLOWING! WHAT A STORY! HOT AND DEEP AND LIFE ALTERING!
Review: THE GREATEST NOVEL! IT TRANSFORMED MY LIFE. IT TOOK ME WHERE NO MAN OR WOMAN HAS GONE BEFORE. IT STAYED WITH ME FOR MONTHS--AND IT'S WITH ME STILL. HIMILCE NOVAS IS A SUBERB NOVELIST. I THINK SHE SHOULD WIN THE NOBEL PRIZE. SHE'S LIKE A CULT FIGURE TOO. I UNDERSTAND SHE IS SOMETHING OF A RECLUSE AND DOESN'T GO FOR ALL THE AUTHOR PROPAGANDA STUFF. SHE'S THE REAL THING, BELIEVE ME. AND SO IS HER WRITING. A FRIEND OF MINE SAID HER WRITING WAS "SUBLINGUAL POETRY." I AGREE.

Rating:
Summary: Sensual and provocative with a sense of humor
Review: The story has been told before, but the way its told here with a Latin flavor, rich characters, and a great sense of humor, it allows for a good deal of enjoyment and learning. There are several mentions of cultural differences and inequalities which are central to the story of many immigrants. A very enjoyable story.

Rating:
Summary: Startling, yet cliched...
Review: The story is quick to capture one's attention, yet the drama soon turns to fluff in its abundance of super-natural occurances and extreme descriptions. Yes, it tries hard to come across as "magical realism" in the purest Latin American form; however, it eventually reads like cliched kiosk litterature. By the end of the novel I was simply tired of reading about those magnificent emerald eyes and pomegranate lips...
The incestous plot could have been just as interesting without the parties being such captivating beauties and "extreme" in all their actions. Even the repetitious love-making scenes are described with the nuance of Danielle Steele...
The story does include interesting elements of the struggle to be of South American origin living in the US, and the descriptions of the contrast between those who consider themselves "exiles" and those who remain "Cuban-to-the-bone" are colorful.
Overall a quick, but ultimately unsatisfying read.

Rating:
Summary: Great short story
Review: This book has the feeling of raw emotion pouring out on the page. It is short and so easy to read that the book flew past me and I felt I was watching a movie. I read heavy Joycian things and mindless mainstream as well, and this book slots more into the "magical" mindless mainstream, but in a very artistic way. And to top it off, it has a happy ending, which I was not expecting. Unfortunately for the real world, there is such a thing as genetics that would eventually make their life sad were they to have kids, but that is not the point of the book, so I chose to suspend that reality while enjoying the book.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! SEXY, FUNNY,MAGICAL ! NOVAS IS THE BEST NOVELIST EVER!
Review: THIS IS THE BEST NOVEL I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME. IT'S MYSTERIOUS, MAGIC, SEXY, STIRRING...IT TOTALLY TRANSPORTED ME AND TOOK ME TO A ZONE I'D NEVER BEEN TO BEFORE--THE WRITING IS PURE POETRY. IT IS HUMOROUS IN WAYS THAT ARE SO TOUCHING THAT I LAUGHED AND CRIED AT THE SAME TIME. IT IS AN IMMIGRANT NOVEL ABOUT CUBAN AMERICANS, BUT IT IS REALLY A UNIVERSAL NOVEL ABOUT TWO TWINS WHO FALL INLOVE...AND THE ENDING IS UNBELIEVABLE! NO ONE CAN WRITE LIKE HIMILCE NOVAS. I REALLY THINK SHE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST AMERICAN NOVELISTS OF OUR TIME.