Reviews for Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana

The average rating for Cuba Diaries: An American Housewife in Havana based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-02-10 00:00:00 Marie Burdett Having just returned from a two week visit to Cuba, I can't seem to stop reading people's accounts and experiences of this amazing island. This account is very dated by almost 20 years, so my experience of Cuba was quite different. Yet, I recommend it as both a personal account of a northamericano's experience during the time of the 'periodo especial' after the Soviet Union's withdrawal of aid - very hard times for Cubans! I also recommend it because her family's lifestyle is in such contrast to what most Cubans had to endure. Her family is posted in a mansion in a "wealthy" part of Havana. The container of goods that she packs is eye opening and jaw dropping, as well as, the goods she and her husband leave Cuba with. I had problems with many of her comments and characterizations of the people she met. And I found many of her entries lacking in detail and missed opportunities. I suppose trying to edit four years of journal entries is a bit difficult, but I think she fails to go deeper on many occasions. She was very taken by men's fashion with many long descriptions of what people wore. If you are planning to go to Cuba, read it for the contrast you will experience. I also recommend an even better book, "Es Cuba" by a younger woman in her 20's, who had a much deeper experience than Mrs. Tattlin.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-12-29 00:00:00 Margaret Hughes Isadora Tattlin is a pseudonym and most of the names in her Cuba Diaries have been changed. However, this takes nothing away from the extraordinary insights into life in Cuba during the late 90's and the periodo especial en tiempo de paz (special period in time of peace) immediately after the withdrawal of economic subsidies from the Soviet Union. Her love/hate relationship with Cuba over four years has been documented with shopping lists, brief political discussions, history lessons and loads of observations and day to day stories. Yes, Tattlin was living a privileged life in Cuba, but then again, most visitors to Cuba would fit that category, especially during the 90's. Her husband worked as an executive for an unnamed European energy company and they mixed in exalted company, eventually having Fidel Castro himself to dinner a couple of times in their final year in Cuba. Tattlin's obsession with shopping (of the art and jewellery and furniture variety) wore a bit thin by the end, but her daily observations - the everyday fears, worries and delights of living in a foreign country were captured succinctly and sincerely. As a future visitor to Cuba, I lapped up every word. Full review here -