Christine Bell (1)

It's a shame I waited almost twenty years to read this book. It was a delightful read that delivered the serious realities of the Mariel Boatlift in a way that I could manage without feeling depressed, and yet in no way undervalued the struggles and emotions of the people leaving Cuba in such tense circumstances. All of the characters were 'real' to me, it only took a couple of pages for me to be caught up in the story, and I enjoyed getting to laugh out loud more than once as things began show more coming together.

The ending had a bittersweetness to it, but it was the right ending, and the sweet was much stronger than the bitter. I was thoroughly satisfied with this book and will probably read it again in the future. show less

Too real to not be funny, and too wonderfully written to not be clever, this is a wonderful read. Though the synopsis makes the book sound incredibly boring, and the most popular cover of the book doesn't really help, Bell's writing is a treasure, and the story is wonderfully hilarious. And in the midst of the poetry of Bell's language, and the humor of the situations spun by an American woman dropped into the middle of an extended South American family, there's also a poignant and show more worthwhile story of a woman in the middle of her life, unsure of her marriage and her direction, and fighting what seems like absurdity on all fronts.

Bell's protagonist, Rubia, is utterly believable, and hugely entertaining. The backstory: as a college student from New York, she fell in love with a man from South America, and followed him back to his hacienda after they got married. Bell's novel picks up the story fifteen years later when Rubia is smack in the middle of her husband's huge and quirky family, living on the outskirts of a small city in South America, known mostly for its saints. If not for her ill mother-in-law, she might have already left her husband, but then again, maybe not. If not for her business, she'd probably be going crazy, but then again, maybe not. And then, there are those miracles...

Simply, the book jacket synopsis makes this sound mundane at best, boring or absurd at worst, and the primary cover of the book doesn't do much better--though, on a side note, my old used edition has a much more entertaining cover which has an opposite (though no better) effect on potential readers. But, only a page in, I was hooked, and found the whole read unspeakably brilliant. It's possible that readers with no familial connection to large South American families won't be quite so entertained...but I think they will, though readers with some direct exposure to families blended from very different cultures will probably get an added kick from it all.

In any case, I can't recommend this highly enough--consider it the reality-based version of Christopher Moore, or think of Modern Family set in South America, slightly dated and slightly less loving, and with an ironic eye toward religion and progress. All together, this is just a wonderful read.

Highly recommended. show less

Lily Declan is grieving. It’s approaching the one-year anniversary of her husband’s death. The anxiety and torment resulting from accompanying him through chemotherapy and his long wasting away have been replaced by the disorientation, pain, anger, depression, and hypersensitivity of grief. It’s a time when many others think you should have gotten over it by now. It’s also a time when a rude stranger hitting your car in a parking lot can send you into an angry rage. These are common show more experiences for the bereaved, but Lily has an additional concern, she’s been receiving unwanted and unexpected gifts from someone, that are both benign and bizarre: a valentine from someone claiming to be one of her husband’s former girlfriends, an anonymous gift of a sexy nightgown, a free landscaping job and house cleaning including a rearrangement of her furniture.

Bell’s portrait of grief and the setting of her novel in middle Tennessee are vividly accurate, and the book’s nail-biting, page-turning conclusion kept this reader wide-awake until midnight. Five stars for both accuracy and thrills! show less

I read this a long time ago, so I don't remember much in the way of specifics, but I do remember that I loved it. I didn't realize there was a movie-with Marisa Tomei!-I'll have to search it out. I'm also searching out more of Bell's books.