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There are currently 28 member reviews
for The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
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Katherine P. (Post Mills, VT)
Female Endurance, Rom-Com, Mystery, History and The Importance of Books ( and the Usefulness of Iron Frying Pans)
Chanel Cleeton provides them all in this book. She has chosen to reveal them all through the revolving chapters among three women, Eva a Cuban teacher living in Cuba at the turn of the 20th Century, Pilar, a librarian, also Cuban who leaves for Florida during Fidel's rule, and Margo, a Brit in modern London who is a finder for a fee of lost or stolen items for rich clients.
Needless to say the lives of Eva and Pilar and their friends and family describe the history of Cuba from its overthrow of Spanish dominian, through the short-lived influence of the United States, to the revolution that brought Fidel Castro into power and reduced the country to one of submission and fear.
It is during these chapters that we learn of Eva's experience as a member of a group of teachers who came to Harvard to learn about American educational practices and to show Cuban life and culture to their nearest neighbor now that they were free of Spanish rule and could establish themselves as an independent nation, Here, too, we are privy to the short romance between Eva and an American, James Webber. A romance that lead to heartbreak for her, not a real surprise. It also resulted in her penning of a novel she wrote about the experience called A Time for Forgetting. This book becomes the real star of Cleeton's book! And its writing is the first of Cleeton's demonstration of the importance of books--here to the writer-- allowing her to express her sorrow and grief and alleviate the pain somewhat.
Also Pilar's story takes place under Fidel's rule. Her husband has been taken by his troops. She has no idea where he is of if alive. But, in an effort to defy the regime in some small way, Pilar has taken to rescuing books of families who are fleeing Cuba and cannot take them. Some are very valuable and should be turned over to the soldiers but she hides them and as the time goes on this activity brings her into danger. Once she uses the frying pan she too must flee Cuba. But, one of the books in her care is Eva's novel and she searches for Eva and returns the book to her. Once she lells Eva of how important the book became to her in her loneliness and then grief at the loss of her husband, Cleeton's second belief that some books are meant for some people and give them the strength or hope needed to live.
And finally, we have Margo and her ex-husband Luke, in London looking for Eva's novel. No one seems to know what happened to it and they must learn its story and whereabouts without Cleeton giving them the information we, the readers, have. And this is the rom-com, mystery piece. Several people seem to be looking for the book. Margo has a client as does Luke both interested in finding it. Why? My first thought was the secret of a child in the book--an effort to keep it a secret. Then, still related to the child, I thought it was for money. Either blackmail or a claim to an inheritance. Well, money is involved--isn't it always? Along with the mystery, Margo and Luke analyze their failed marriage and look, they are getting together again--easy to see it coming. But, here is the last point of importance of books--can give someone a place in the world, a knowledge of one's heritage and its importance.
An easy read, that covers all these aspects surprisingly well with good integration. Some of it is obvious in its conclusions but the parts pursuing Eva's novel is complex enough to keep it interesting..
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MStewy (Sacramento, CA)
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
An interesting mix of historical fiction and adventure. The story braids the stories of three women over the last 125 years who have a connection with a book, The Story of Forgotten Time, written by the first woman, Eva, in 1900. Eva was a Cuban teacher who participated in an American program which brought over a thousand Cuban teachers to Harvard for a summer in a bid to Americanize Cuban education.
I very much enjoyed learning about the Harvard Cubans, something I had not known anything about. The second woman, Pilar, lived in Cuba at the time of the Cuban Revolution. She was a book-loving librarian who rebelled against the oppression of the Castro Regime by protecting books. The third woman, Margo, is an American living in London in the 2020s who is hired anonymously to find the only copy of Eva's book.
I appreciated being reminded of how rich Cuba's history and culture are, and how important books are in the lives of some. I personally had a harder time immersing myself in the action-adventure of the contemporary sections of the novel, but given how popular action thrillers are, that may not be a problem for many. I have read several of Chanel Cleeton's novels, and enjoy them.
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Joanne W. (Ossining, NY)
A novel tells the story
Once you get sorted with the three time periods/voices the book moves quickly. I especially enjoyed the voice of Eva, a young, naive Cuban teacher having the adventure of a lifetime as a summer student at Harvard. Her story was well drawn and compelling. Margo our present day narrator had a complex story and interesting life.
The author meshed their story and created the center of the story. With Pilar, the third voice, we get the insight into Cuban life during a time of great strife and difficulty. And at the core of the book lies the heartfelt novel written by Eva as a way to deal with the trauma that played out after her summer in the US.
Definitely enjoyed and would recommend to lovers of novels with strong female characters and historical fiction.
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Liz B. (Dallas, TX)
Good Historical Fiction
I enjoyed this novel which centered around a young Cuban teacher who participated in a summer school program at Harvard, which would change the course of her life as well as her descendants. The story moved between three time periods and, while easy to follow, the formula felt a bit predictable. The author's note at the end was interesting and I do enjoy her novels. Will look forward to reading another one soon.
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Amber H. (Asheville, NC)
Average Book for Me
This book is an average read for me. The plot of the story was interesting, particularly the story following Pilar. The other 2 views were a bit disjointed and almost felt like they were forced into the book to have the multiple timelines.
I think this book would have held more of my interest if it focused only on Pilar's story. Towards the end of the book, I found myself skimming through as it felt very wordy but not enough interest in the story.
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Dianne Y. (Stuart, FL)
Interesting story, but confusing
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes by Chanel Cleeton.
There are three separate story lines over three different time periods. The first is in 1900 after the Cuban War of Independence and Spanish American War. The second is during the middle 1960's under the rule of Fidel Castro. The third is set in present day. I found the first two story lines to be authentic and believable, but the third one seemed contrived and forced.
While it was an interesting read, it was difficult to follow. I think the same result could have been achieved by focusing the novel on the first two story lines and leaving out the third story line, which was not as engaging or authentic as the first two. Although the story was unnecessarily confusing, I am glad I stuck with it until the end when it did all come together.
In addition to the story lines, the novel highlights how powerful and important books can be and the emotional impact they can have on individuals. I really liked the idea of how a book can have such an impact on multiple people's lives and how it can bring people together.
As mentioned, a theme of the novel focuses on the importance and power of books, and this could make for a great discussion in a book club setting. However, I am not sure I would recommend this book to my book club because the story was overly complicated and difficult to follow.
While this is not one of my favorite books, I did learn a number of interesting things about various periods and events in Cuba. I would recommend it to readers interested in Cuba during post war and Fidel's rule.
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Donna M. (East Falmouth, MA)
Interesting and flawed
This book has three distinct characters: Margo Reynolds in 2024 who works for clients who want to get help finding rare items; Pilar, a librarian, dabbles in writing her book and protects books that Fidel's regime wants to purge in 1966; and, Eva who is a teacher of literature in Cuba in 1900. She is one of the teachers that went to Harvard for a commingling of teachers and cultures. She wrote the book after her time there.
The author rotates each character's actions, and I found it difficult to switch so frequently. The book centers around Eva's book, A Time for Forgetting, which has only one copy left. Pilar, in 1966, was given the book for safe keeping. Margo has second thoughts about trying to find the book when she is frightened by a murder and sinister characters.
I have not read much about Cuba during Fidel's reign, but this book needed a better way of chunking the chapters. The constant with from one character and time frame to another made it hard to make the time sequence smooth. Eva's book was disappointing and not worth the cloak and dagger chapters.
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