Rating: 
Summary: An Original, Heroic, and Moving Story
Review: The Sugar Island tells the story of a mother and daughter trying and finally succeeding in escaping Cuba for Miami, and all the difficulties of life in both places, but beyond that the voice and tone is fresh and original. The harsh realities of life in Cuba are fleshed out in the day to day life of the 15-year-old narrator, Tanya, her family, and the people she knows. Although the story is set in the 1960's, is is very relevant to today. Lamazares has a way of making even lives and places that have nothing sing out with poetry on every page. Yet she also relates each hardship in a straightforward way that calls out for compassion and never sentimentalizes. These are memorable characters and a top literary voice on Cuba and Cuban emigrees. It's a short book, so there are no excuses. Read it! Highly worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: Lamazares is the real deal
Review: There is so much junk out there these days masquerading as good fiction that when I read a book like this I have to get up and applaud. You see two kinds of critically acclaimed writing out there today: well written, non-meaningful art stuff; and deeply felt, heart wrenching, but poorly written (or blandly written) meaningful stuff done by amateurs. It is wonderful to have the great writing and the great story come together as they do in this one. I can't wait to see the further adventures of Tania, or failing that, anything that Lamazares writes next. She is the real deal.
Rating:
Summary: Lamazares is the real deal
Review: There is so much junk out there these days masquerading as good fiction that when I read a book like this I have to get up and applaud. You see two kinds of critically acclaimed writing out there today: well written, non-meaningful art stuff; and deeply felt, heart wrenching, but poorly written (or blandly written) meaningful stuff done by amateurs. It is wonderful to have the great writing and the great story come together as they do in this one. I can't wait to see the further adventures of Tania, or failing that, anything that Lamazares writes next. She is the real deal.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: This is a wonderful book, beautifully written, almost like poetry, direct, not a single word wasted. When Lamazares writes of smells, sounds, and sights, you smell them--oil floating on the water in the harbor-- hear them, and see them. The political backdrop (Havana, Castro's takeover, his dictatorship, the Miami exile community) is the medium for telling us a young girl's story. Alternately bitter, naive, and hopeful, it does not preach or try to provide lessons. The story flows gracefully, the writing style evolving so subtly as the narrator goes from child to adolescent. A short book rich in feeling, to be read again and again.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: This is a wonderful book, beautifully written, almost like poetry, direct, not a single word wasted. When Lamazares writes of smells, sounds, and sights, you smell them--oil floating on the water in the harbor-- hear them, and see them. The political backdrop (Havana, Castro's takeover, his dictatorship, the Miami exile community) is the medium for telling us a young girl's story. Alternately bitter, naive, and hopeful, it does not preach or try to provide lessons. The story flows gracefully, the writing style evolving so subtly as the narrator goes from child to adolescent. A short book rich in feeling, to be read again and again.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: When I started reading Sugar Island I was glad it was a short book; when I got to the end I was sorry it was over. The writing is clear, vivid and beautiful. I'd love to see a movie based on this book.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: When I started reading Sugar Island I was glad it was a short book; when I got to the end I was sorry it was over. The writing is clear, vivid and beautiful. I'd love to see a movie based on this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Sugar Island
Review: Wow. I finished the book last week and I'm still thinking about it, so I thought I would write a review.The Sugar Island is a memorable book. It's one of those stories that leaves you staring and stroking the book cover. What's so great about it? Well, the writing style for one thing. Very alive, and real. The imagery the author invoked really put you in revolutionary Cuba. You can almost smell the place. The story is narrarated by a teenager named Tanya. Their is alot of dialouge and it's written in a very interesting way. The book is in English but you almost feel like you are reading Spanish. The relationship between Tanya and her mother, set in revolutionary Cuba presents a back drop for a multitude of questions about the human condition. I'm going to read it again, which will be easy because it's short. But I could have read 500 words of this story.
Rating:
Summary: The Sugar Island
Review: Wow. I finished the book last week and I'm still thinking about it, so I thought I would write a review. The Sugar Island is a memorable book. It's one of those stories that leaves you staring and stroking the book cover. What's so great about it? Well, the writing style for one thing. Very alive, and real. The imagery the author invoked really put you in revolutionary Cuba. You can almost smell the place. The story is narrarated by a teenager named Tanya. Their is alot of dialouge and it's written in a very interesting way. The book is in English but you almost feel like you are reading Spanish. The relationship between Tanya and her mother, set in revolutionary Cuba presents a back drop for a multitude of questions about the human condition. I'm going to read it again, which will be easy because it's short. But I could have read 500 words of this story.
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