Yay or Nay?: When We Left Cuba (Novel)

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When We Left Cuba is a continuation of the novel, Next Year in Havana, which you can read here. If you’re going to read this book make sure that you read Next Year in Havana first, as this novel is a side-book focusing on the character from the first, Beatriz Perez and makes reference to both political, as well as plot points made in the first. Unlike Next Year in Havana, which focused on Elisa Perez and her past, as well as her granddaughter, Marisol, this novel focuses solely on the mysterious history and present of Elisa’s sister, Beatriz, the wild card of the Perezes, and twin sister to their deceased revolutionary brother, Alejandro. 

And boy was it a wild card of a novel to read. I’m hesitant to say its AS good as Next Year in Havana was, but it was a perfectly okay novel. A companion novel, if you will, full of espionage, politics, and of course romance. It lacked the “spice” I should say, that Next Year in Havana had, but, with that said, it had all the action and conviction of a tragedy, and thats where I want to commend it. So what’s the story about? 

The Story

1960’s America. Beatriz Perez and her family are situating themselves in Palm Beach, Florida. What was supposed to be a temporary situation, has turned to be seemingly permanent. Beatriz aches to return home to Havana, and to rebuild their lives from the tyranny of Fidel Castro which forced them out. She also aches to exact revenge on Castro for the death of her brother. When offered the chance, Beatriz is recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel’s inner circle, pulled into a dangerous game in the name of exacting her revenge. 

Caught in between in a clash between Cuban/American politics, where the wrong move or the wrong choice could mean death, Beatriz must make a choice about her future— her home, or the man who’s stolen her heart? 

My Thoughts

Beatriz was always a curious character in Next Year in Havana. She was portrayed at this mysterious travelling great-aunt thats seen the world, as well as been a world-class lawyer. So seeing her youth, her coming to terms with the fact that she’s not just seen as an immigrant in the United States, but no longer in a secure or elitist position in society, as well as a woman in a time where there were women’s rights, but no exactly the ones that we enjoy today, was interesting to read. She’s a spitfire of a character, plagued with anger, and a refusal to accept what’s happened to her. But at the same time, she must learn to accept her circumstances, to understand that she had a life in Cuba that she can never return to, or fix overnight, as well as a life in America. 

One of the things I suppose I loved about this book was Beatriz’s nature. She’s certainly the unique character— one who believes she can do more, must do more, than she has in order to save the home she was forced out of. In addition to that, she believes she’s meant for a greater purpose than marrying well and being a wife. She wants that, yes, but she would like to do more with her life, like get an education, and see the world. The tragedy about this story is that she doesn’t just become the hero she would like to be, and that things are a lot more messy than she originally imagined. So while most stories would push for this type of character to get both her goals, and further her way in the world, Beatriz doesn’t (spoiler), but she does learn to make her way in the world, and realize that her lofty goals of being Cuba’s saviour might not be attainable in a day. It’s idealistic, but also realistic, and I appreciated that. 

The story in itself is a little more fantastical— its more of an espionage romance story laced with pangs of being an exiled citizen, which was a nice balance to keeping things engaged but also historically accurate. The only thing is, as I’ve said, is that it lacks the spice that made Next Year in Havana so brilliant. Its more bland than the first novel was, and thats the only thing I can fault it for. I’m not sure if this series needed a sequel, much less about a character barely mentioned in the first book. But it wasn’t unwelcome either. 

My Rating 

So I would definitely give this a borrow! Maybe not a buy unless you really love the character enough to warrant it. 

My Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐ 3 stars

~Meghan