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Mapas difusos / Vanishing Maps
La aclamada autora de Soñar en cubano nos entrega la continuación de su novela, donde le sigue la pista a cuatro generaciones de la familia del Pino a través de los tumultuosos panoramas contemporáneos de Cuba, Estados Unidos, Alemania y Rusia.
Celia del Pino, matriarca de una extensa familia cubana, ha visto a sus descendientes migrar a todas partes del mundo, luchando por comprender sus identidades transnacionales y las tensas relaciones entre unos y otros.
En Berlín, el carismático pero conflictivo Ivanito se presenta en el escenario con su personalidad de drag queen , mientras se siente acosado por el fantasma de su madre. Pilar Puente, a la deriva en Los Ángeles, es una escultora y madre soltera con problemas financieros. La prima de Ivanito, Irina, se ha convertido en la acaudalada dueña de una empresa de lencería en Moscú, pero aún se siente profundamente sola tras la muerte de sus padres y el distanciamiento de su herencia cubana. Mientras tanto, en La Habana, Celia se prepara para reunirse con su amante perdido, Gustavo, y se pregunta si la edad y las décadas separados habrán alterado el vínculo que los unía.
Alejados de sus raíces cubanas, pero sintiendo todavía la ineludible atracción de la isla, Ivanito y su familia intentan descubrir el lugar al que pertenecen, y junto a quién. A lo largo de un año memorable, cada uno lidiará con su historia mientras son llamados a Berlín para una última y explosiva reunión.
Situada veinte años después de los eventos de Soñar en cubano , la nueva novela de Cristina García es una historia épica sobre la familia, la devoción y la búsqueda eterna del hogar.
“Una hermosa hilarante en un momento, acechante después”. —Chris Bohjalian, autor de The Flight Attendant y The Lioness
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
From the acclaimed author of Dreaming in Cuban, a follow-up novel that tracks four generations of the del Pino family against the tumultuous backdrops of Cuba, the U.S., Germany, and Russia in the new millennium
"A beautiful hilarious one moment, haunting the next.” —Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness
Celia del Pino, the matriarch of a far-flung Cuban family, has watched her descendants spread out across the globe, struggling to make sense of their transnational identities and strained relationships with one another. In Berlin, the charismatic yet troubled Ivanito performs on stage as his drag queen persona, while being haunted by the ghost of his mother. Pilar Puente, adrift in Los Angeles, is a struggling sculptor and the single mother of a young son. In Moscow, Ivanito’s cousin Irina has become the wealthy owner of a lingerie company, but she remains deeply lonely in the wake of her parents’ deaths and her estrangement from her Cuban heritage. Meanwhile, in Havana, Celia prepares to reunite with her lost lover, Gustavo, and wonders whether age and the decades spent apart have altered their bond.
Cut off from their Cuban roots, yet still feeling the island’s ineluctable pull, Ivanito and his extended family try to reimagine where—and with whom—they belong. Over the course of a momentous year, each will grapple with their histories as they are pulled to Berlin for a final, explosive reunion.
Set twenty years after the events in Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina García’s new novel is an epic tale of family, devotion, and the timeless search for home.
Celia del Pino, matriarca de una extensa familia cubana, ha visto a sus descendientes migrar a todas partes del mundo, luchando por comprender sus identidades transnacionales y las tensas relaciones entre unos y otros.
En Berlín, el carismático pero conflictivo Ivanito se presenta en el escenario con su personalidad de drag queen , mientras se siente acosado por el fantasma de su madre. Pilar Puente, a la deriva en Los Ángeles, es una escultora y madre soltera con problemas financieros. La prima de Ivanito, Irina, se ha convertido en la acaudalada dueña de una empresa de lencería en Moscú, pero aún se siente profundamente sola tras la muerte de sus padres y el distanciamiento de su herencia cubana. Mientras tanto, en La Habana, Celia se prepara para reunirse con su amante perdido, Gustavo, y se pregunta si la edad y las décadas separados habrán alterado el vínculo que los unía.
Alejados de sus raíces cubanas, pero sintiendo todavía la ineludible atracción de la isla, Ivanito y su familia intentan descubrir el lugar al que pertenecen, y junto a quién. A lo largo de un año memorable, cada uno lidiará con su historia mientras son llamados a Berlín para una última y explosiva reunión.
Situada veinte años después de los eventos de Soñar en cubano , la nueva novela de Cristina García es una historia épica sobre la familia, la devoción y la búsqueda eterna del hogar.
“Una hermosa hilarante en un momento, acechante después”. —Chris Bohjalian, autor de The Flight Attendant y The Lioness
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
From the acclaimed author of Dreaming in Cuban, a follow-up novel that tracks four generations of the del Pino family against the tumultuous backdrops of Cuba, the U.S., Germany, and Russia in the new millennium
"A beautiful hilarious one moment, haunting the next.” —Chris Bohjalian, author of The Flight Attendant and The Lioness
Celia del Pino, the matriarch of a far-flung Cuban family, has watched her descendants spread out across the globe, struggling to make sense of their transnational identities and strained relationships with one another. In Berlin, the charismatic yet troubled Ivanito performs on stage as his drag queen persona, while being haunted by the ghost of his mother. Pilar Puente, adrift in Los Angeles, is a struggling sculptor and the single mother of a young son. In Moscow, Ivanito’s cousin Irina has become the wealthy owner of a lingerie company, but she remains deeply lonely in the wake of her parents’ deaths and her estrangement from her Cuban heritage. Meanwhile, in Havana, Celia prepares to reunite with her lost lover, Gustavo, and wonders whether age and the decades spent apart have altered their bond.
Cut off from their Cuban roots, yet still feeling the island’s ineluctable pull, Ivanito and his extended family try to reimagine where—and with whom—they belong. Over the course of a momentous year, each will grapple with their histories as they are pulled to Berlin for a final, explosive reunion.
Set twenty years after the events in Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina García’s new novel is an epic tale of family, devotion, and the timeless search for home.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 18, 2023
69 people are currently reading
6808 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
February 6, 2023
"Vanishing Maps is a beautiful novel: hilarious one moment, haunting the next. Cristina Garcia brings us to Cuba, Germany, Russia, Spain, and the United States in this wonderful mad dash of a tale, but the topography she knows best is the human heart. I devoured this book. You will, too."
October 10, 2023
Beautifully written and full of charm but I'm not sure I entirely got it (largely I felt like this book was smarter, better dressed than me and funnier than me if you know what I mean). I didn't know it was a follow up to another novel when I picked it up and I don't think it diminished my enjoyment.
There were more characters than I would usually prefer but Garcia managed to give the characters really unique voices so it wasn't too confusing for me.
There's a fair amount of lines in German and in Spanish so I'd recommend going with the print/kindle version if you're not conversational in both and you don't want to miss anything.
There were more characters than I would usually prefer but Garcia managed to give the characters really unique voices so it wasn't too confusing for me.
There's a fair amount of lines in German and in Spanish so I'd recommend going with the print/kindle version if you're not conversational in both and you don't want to miss anything.
June 22, 2023
Eleven years ago, Christina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban was released. It's a book I love for its blend of honesty, humor, and unexpectedness. It follows the lives of members of a Cuban family. Some supported, and still support, the revolution. Others have left for the U.S. to build new lives. They form a sort of sampler of the Cuban experience from beginning in the mid-20th Century.The fabric Garcia weaves with the threads of their lives makes for a engaging reading experience and offers a broad range of viewpoints on life in Cuba and in the US and of the relationship between these two nations..
Now, Garcia has written a follow-up to that novel—Vanishing Maps. It includes the characters from Dreaming in Cuban and introduces new ones. The family is now even more widely dispersed: Cuba, the US, Russia, Germany, Spain. The characters have also developed wonderfully. Ivanito, a teenager who left Cuba (by default as much as deliberately) in the first volume is now popular drag performer in Berlin. Pilar, an artist who as a teenager created a controversial mural for her mother's bakery, is now living in California and has a young son, Azul. Lourdes, Pilar's right-wing mother, has become spokesperson for a young Cuban boy who has been found floating in an inner-tube off the Florida coast, the only survivor of a disastrous attempt to travel by boat from Cuba to the US (think Élian González).
It was an utter delight to spend time with these characters again. You'll enjoy Vanishing Maps, whether or not you've read Dreaming in Cuban, but I would suggest you read both in publication order. This family's story is complex and you should give yourself every opportunity to share it in detail.
I received a free electronic copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Now, Garcia has written a follow-up to that novel—Vanishing Maps. It includes the characters from Dreaming in Cuban and introduces new ones. The family is now even more widely dispersed: Cuba, the US, Russia, Germany, Spain. The characters have also developed wonderfully. Ivanito, a teenager who left Cuba (by default as much as deliberately) in the first volume is now popular drag performer in Berlin. Pilar, an artist who as a teenager created a controversial mural for her mother's bakery, is now living in California and has a young son, Azul. Lourdes, Pilar's right-wing mother, has become spokesperson for a young Cuban boy who has been found floating in an inner-tube off the Florida coast, the only survivor of a disastrous attempt to travel by boat from Cuba to the US (think Élian González).
It was an utter delight to spend time with these characters again. You'll enjoy Vanishing Maps, whether or not you've read Dreaming in Cuban, but I would suggest you read both in publication order. This family's story is complex and you should give yourself every opportunity to share it in detail.
I received a free electronic copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.
Read
December 17, 2024DNF at 70%
September 6, 2023
Mixed feelings! I think there were too many characters for me to keep track of here, and the time jumps left me a little more confused. I did like the many settings & family drama/connections, but the ending wasn’t super satisfying. There were also a few (brief but) brutal SA scenes that I was not expecting. Might’ve had a better experience if I’d read the novel this is a follow-up to. Thanks to the publisher for the gifted copy!
August 18, 2023
✨ Review ✨ Vanishing Maps by Cristina García
I read this WITHOUT realizing that it's a follow up book to Dreaming in Cuban (which I clearly hadn't read yet). That said, it was still an incredible book, and while reading Dreaming in Cuban first would have enriched my read probably, I still got so much out of this.
Vanishing Maps explores the Cuban diaspora through three generations of a Cuban family -- with a special focus on this third generation which is spread through Germany, Russia, and the U.S. (Miami and L.A.). It feels like García has crafted a web of family members made up of a series of one-way tickets as the characters have moved about.
There's something so incredible about the range of the character's identities and their connection to their cubanidad across this book -- from the family's matriarch's obsession with El Líder to the younger generation's contested relationships with Cuba and their elders -- we see such a range. My favorite character was Ivanito -- a part-time translator and adjunct professor and part-time drag queen. I'm not sure I've ever used the word zeitgeist but it seems appropriate here to describe what García has captured.
This definitely won't be a book for everyone -- there are a lot of characters, there's not necessarily a neat resolution, and within, chaos reigns. I found it such an incredible work of art that made me think about diaspora -- its traumas and its joys -- in new ways.
...off to go read Dreaming in Cuban!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: literary fiction, historical fiction with touches of magical realism
Setting: Cuba, Miami, LA, Berlin, Russia, etc.
Pub Date: July 2023
Read this if you like:
⭕️ complicated family webs with lots of POV
⭕️ narratives of immigration and diaspora
⭕️ Cuba / Miami / Soviet / Eastern Europe topics
Thanks to Knopf and #netgalley for an advanced copies of this book!
I read this WITHOUT realizing that it's a follow up book to Dreaming in Cuban (which I clearly hadn't read yet). That said, it was still an incredible book, and while reading Dreaming in Cuban first would have enriched my read probably, I still got so much out of this.
Vanishing Maps explores the Cuban diaspora through three generations of a Cuban family -- with a special focus on this third generation which is spread through Germany, Russia, and the U.S. (Miami and L.A.). It feels like García has crafted a web of family members made up of a series of one-way tickets as the characters have moved about.
There's something so incredible about the range of the character's identities and their connection to their cubanidad across this book -- from the family's matriarch's obsession with El Líder to the younger generation's contested relationships with Cuba and their elders -- we see such a range. My favorite character was Ivanito -- a part-time translator and adjunct professor and part-time drag queen. I'm not sure I've ever used the word zeitgeist but it seems appropriate here to describe what García has captured.
This definitely won't be a book for everyone -- there are a lot of characters, there's not necessarily a neat resolution, and within, chaos reigns. I found it such an incredible work of art that made me think about diaspora -- its traumas and its joys -- in new ways.
...off to go read Dreaming in Cuban!!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: literary fiction, historical fiction with touches of magical realism
Setting: Cuba, Miami, LA, Berlin, Russia, etc.
Pub Date: July 2023
Read this if you like:
⭕️ complicated family webs with lots of POV
⭕️ narratives of immigration and diaspora
⭕️ Cuba / Miami / Soviet / Eastern Europe topics
Thanks to Knopf and #netgalley for an advanced copies of this book!
October 10, 2023
A beautiful use of magical realism in modern literature I love everything is woman writes!
July 19, 2023
Review to come.
I do hope Garcia doesn't wait another 30 years to revisit the family. I want more, though it may be time to let the cousins rest in the peace they've cobbled together.
“Names were destiny, I said. So, why pick one with a history of suffering?”
“Our pasts were littered with heartbreak’s debris. Were our fates a family curse? Or were we lucky to have known passion at all?”
In 1992, Cristina García’s debut novel, Dreaming in Cuban, was published. The novel focused primarily on the del Pino women – Celia, Lourdes, Felicia, and Pilar and their fractured borders within a volatile Cuba – and it provided a crash course in the Cuban revolution while also translating any non-English words. It was a very polite novel for its readers, despite covering very harsh realities. Over 30 years and several novels later, García returns to the del Pino family with Vanishing Maps (Knopf 2023). The novel globe trots from Havana to the States, to Berlin, and to Moscow. This time, it’s a sink or swim approach for the reader – smatterings of Spanish, German and Russian are not translated, and the scars of the Revolution are loudly present but the impact and resulting diaspora are not really explained. I like the firm, chin up and steely eyes approach of the novel – the one that says, “you should know these things already.” I would recommend reading Dreaming in Cuban first to get a better understanding of these women, their scars, and the paths they choose.
Dreaming in Cuban opens with Celia scanning the ocean for adversaries. Twenty years have passed since we last saw this family, and Vanishing Maps opens with Celia’s grandson, Ivanito, performing as La Ivanita to her adoring fans in Berlin. It’s a different world, but much remains the same. Celia is still a staunch supporter of the Revolution and El Lider. Lourdes, now living in Miami, has involved herself in politics; involving herself in the matter of a young Cuban boy whose custody battle is modeled after that of Elián González. Pilar is in her 40s and a mom, but she’s still as angry and punk as she’d been in her youth – it’s just redirected; she’s still trying to find where she belongs.
The heart of this novel, however, is with Ivanito. As a young boy, Ivanito was whisked away from Cuba against Celia’s wishes - Cuba was going to eat him whole or his mother was going to kill him – she’d already tried once. His mother’s ghost is now haunting him, trying to convince him to join her in the afterlife – the smell of cigarettes and gardenias an assault on his senses as he wonders if her madness is now his. When Pilar arrives with Azul, it couldn’t have been at a better time. She saves him twice – once in her involvement in getting him out of Cuba and again in Berlin when the walls are closing in.
Vanishing Maps is a story of the children of the diaspora. Of Ivanito, Pilar, Luz, Milagro, Irina and Tereza. It’s a world where “the boys became men who lost their way while the women soldiered on.” And while we see Ivanito losing his way, we also see how La Ivanita soldiers on. It’s a story of family without borders, of motherhood, of loss, and of blood, separated by secrets and circumstance, becoming a found family.
Read this book.
I do hope Garcia doesn't wait another 30 years to revisit the family. I want more, though it may be time to let the cousins rest in the peace they've cobbled together.
“Names were destiny, I said. So, why pick one with a history of suffering?”
“Our pasts were littered with heartbreak’s debris. Were our fates a family curse? Or were we lucky to have known passion at all?”
In 1992, Cristina García’s debut novel, Dreaming in Cuban, was published. The novel focused primarily on the del Pino women – Celia, Lourdes, Felicia, and Pilar and their fractured borders within a volatile Cuba – and it provided a crash course in the Cuban revolution while also translating any non-English words. It was a very polite novel for its readers, despite covering very harsh realities. Over 30 years and several novels later, García returns to the del Pino family with Vanishing Maps (Knopf 2023). The novel globe trots from Havana to the States, to Berlin, and to Moscow. This time, it’s a sink or swim approach for the reader – smatterings of Spanish, German and Russian are not translated, and the scars of the Revolution are loudly present but the impact and resulting diaspora are not really explained. I like the firm, chin up and steely eyes approach of the novel – the one that says, “you should know these things already.” I would recommend reading Dreaming in Cuban first to get a better understanding of these women, their scars, and the paths they choose.
Dreaming in Cuban opens with Celia scanning the ocean for adversaries. Twenty years have passed since we last saw this family, and Vanishing Maps opens with Celia’s grandson, Ivanito, performing as La Ivanita to her adoring fans in Berlin. It’s a different world, but much remains the same. Celia is still a staunch supporter of the Revolution and El Lider. Lourdes, now living in Miami, has involved herself in politics; involving herself in the matter of a young Cuban boy whose custody battle is modeled after that of Elián González. Pilar is in her 40s and a mom, but she’s still as angry and punk as she’d been in her youth – it’s just redirected; she’s still trying to find where she belongs.
The heart of this novel, however, is with Ivanito. As a young boy, Ivanito was whisked away from Cuba against Celia’s wishes - Cuba was going to eat him whole or his mother was going to kill him – she’d already tried once. His mother’s ghost is now haunting him, trying to convince him to join her in the afterlife – the smell of cigarettes and gardenias an assault on his senses as he wonders if her madness is now his. When Pilar arrives with Azul, it couldn’t have been at a better time. She saves him twice – once in her involvement in getting him out of Cuba and again in Berlin when the walls are closing in.
Vanishing Maps is a story of the children of the diaspora. Of Ivanito, Pilar, Luz, Milagro, Irina and Tereza. It’s a world where “the boys became men who lost their way while the women soldiered on.” And while we see Ivanito losing his way, we also see how La Ivanita soldiers on. It’s a story of family without borders, of motherhood, of loss, and of blood, separated by secrets and circumstance, becoming a found family.
Read this book.
July 26, 2023
My maternal aunt married a dashing Cuban American. We called him Uncle Joe, but my aunt called him Jose'. I have learned that his father was born in Spain and married a Cuban girl whose family I can trace back two generations in Cuba. In Buffalo, NY, Joe's father worked as a waiter in a posh restaurant. I visited their home in as a girl. These people are all long gone, and I am left with questions about what experiences caused Joe's parents to immigrate. For I understand that no one leaves their homeland without reason.
What was nostalgia except the last refuge of those who'd lost their worlds?
from Vanishing Maps by Cristina Garcia
Vanishing Maps by Cristina Garcia continues the story of the family from Dreaming in Cuban. There is the eighty-seven-year-old grandmother who reunites with the lover of her youth. And, the deceased mother who idolized Castro, who haunts her son. The family is dispersed across the globe until by coincidence and choice, six cousins find themselves reunited in Berlin.
Ivanito is haunted by his deceased mother, whom he loved in spite of her mental illness. His cousin Pilar and her young son Azul have joined him after years of separation; they had been close in their younger years, part of a punk band.
I resonated to Pilar's awareness of the transient relationship between mother and son: "But there were things I would never know about him. And these unknown things would multiply with each passing day, each passing year, until we became loving, receding strangers to each other--a mother-and-son mystery."
The separated twins Irina and Tereza come across each other at a Berlin tango dance, amazed to encounter their double, for they had no knowledge of being twins.
"We're products of the Cold War," Tereza understands. "The political and the personal are inseparable," Ivanito knows; "Hadn't all of them been torn up by their roots? Their lives misshapen by one upheaval or another: revolution, immigration, dislocation?" He had lived in four countries, fleeing a family divided by political allegiances.
I appreciated the insight into Cuban history and the Cuban diaspora. The characters' conflicting political beliefs were interesting to me. One daughter, living in Miami, is a staunch capitalist and becomes an activist working to prevent an illegal immigrant child from being returned to Cuba and his father. Another character idolizes Castro.
With themes of division and reunification, being haunted by the past, and the struggle for self realization and identity, the novel gives insight into the particular while addressing the universal.
Thanks to A. A. Knopf for
What was nostalgia except the last refuge of those who'd lost their worlds?
from Vanishing Maps by Cristina Garcia
Vanishing Maps by Cristina Garcia continues the story of the family from Dreaming in Cuban. There is the eighty-seven-year-old grandmother who reunites with the lover of her youth. And, the deceased mother who idolized Castro, who haunts her son. The family is dispersed across the globe until by coincidence and choice, six cousins find themselves reunited in Berlin.
Ivanito is haunted by his deceased mother, whom he loved in spite of her mental illness. His cousin Pilar and her young son Azul have joined him after years of separation; they had been close in their younger years, part of a punk band.
I resonated to Pilar's awareness of the transient relationship between mother and son: "But there were things I would never know about him. And these unknown things would multiply with each passing day, each passing year, until we became loving, receding strangers to each other--a mother-and-son mystery."
The separated twins Irina and Tereza come across each other at a Berlin tango dance, amazed to encounter their double, for they had no knowledge of being twins.
"We're products of the Cold War," Tereza understands. "The political and the personal are inseparable," Ivanito knows; "Hadn't all of them been torn up by their roots? Their lives misshapen by one upheaval or another: revolution, immigration, dislocation?" He had lived in four countries, fleeing a family divided by political allegiances.
I appreciated the insight into Cuban history and the Cuban diaspora. The characters' conflicting political beliefs were interesting to me. One daughter, living in Miami, is a staunch capitalist and becomes an activist working to prevent an illegal immigrant child from being returned to Cuba and his father. Another character idolizes Castro.
With themes of division and reunification, being haunted by the past, and the struggle for self realization and identity, the novel gives insight into the particular while addressing the universal.
Thanks to A. A. Knopf for
Read
September 12, 2023For my MFA program! Getting to ask the author questions today!
February 24, 2024
Vanishing Maps is probably a perfectly good book but I did not get into it. I read almost to the end and wanted to move on. So, I did what I hardly ever do and I DNF. Sometimes a perfectly good book just doesnt fit a person at a specific time and that was probably my case. It didnt help that I just finish reading Las Madres by Esmeralda Santiago which I LUVVVV.
December 7, 2024
Fascinating. I really enjoyed this. Lots of magical elements
April 29, 2023
This book provides a nuanced perspective of the Cuban revolution and its aftermath by providing authentic characters who have wildly yet realistically different views on the situation. Migration experiences become another vivid character in this story that spans four countries across multiple generations. Vanishing Maps celebrates family, and all of its messiness. I’ll continue reading books by this author!
September 19, 2023
Too many characters populated this book. It was hard to keep them all straight, and, frankly, I never really got to caring much whether I did or not. The characters never came alive for me. I found myself bored through the whole book.
Garcia writes in what I’ve come to know as a very typical Latin American writing style with tangents and many characters and a lot of surrealism. Someone like Isabel Allende can pull that off, as in The House of the Spirits, BUT Garcia, sadly, can not!
Garcia writes in what I’ve come to know as a very typical Latin American writing style with tangents and many characters and a lot of surrealism. Someone like Isabel Allende can pull that off, as in The House of the Spirits, BUT Garcia, sadly, can not!
January 16, 2024
I am not quite sure why I kept reading this book. From the get go, I just could not get into it, but I kept thinking it would get better. Unfortunately that didn’t happen.
I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters; they all felt superficial and not well developed. The stories seemed disconnected and some of the plots came out of nowhere and left me wondering why did the author bothered to even include them. I truly had to force myself to finish it.
Not a keeper!
I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters; they all felt superficial and not well developed. The stories seemed disconnected and some of the plots came out of nowhere and left me wondering why did the author bothered to even include them. I truly had to force myself to finish it.
Not a keeper!
September 23, 2024
I read about 9% of this book. It started so weird that I didn’t want to continue.
September 18, 2023
[3.5/5 stars]
Set against the tumultuous backdrops of Cuba, the story centers around four generations of the del Pino family - a single mother and sculptor, a drag queen and translator, a wealthy owner of a lingerie company and a (ghost) grandmother.
Spanning across Germany, Russia, US, Cuba and Spain, the chapters alternate between each member of the Pino family. Growing up in a post-revolutionary Cuba, some are torn up by their roots while others are cut off from their (Cuban) heritage. In an attempt to avoid the terror of erasure, the characters reimagine their lives, fighting to survive as warrior or exiled. García captures the vibrancy, the Latinx's affection that is symbolic of homesickness.
There are devastating judgments from those who aren't abused by the revolution, immigration and political system, ones who learn to incorporate these characters and struggles as they long to restore some equilibrium. The sisterhood, motherhood and in short, family leave an effective imprint on one's psyche, broadening the perception of a world in which the stories/fate meld into a tender whole.
With a huge cast of characters to keep track of and an unresolved ending, this book might not be for everyone. VANISHING MAPS is a story of searching for home and mending relationships of the Cuban diaspora. It's heartfelt, beautiful and complex.
note: I read this book without realizing that it is a follow-up to the novel 'Dreaming in Cuban', however I think this didn't affect my reading experience.
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Knopf publishing . All opinions are my own ]
Set against the tumultuous backdrops of Cuba, the story centers around four generations of the del Pino family - a single mother and sculptor, a drag queen and translator, a wealthy owner of a lingerie company and a (ghost) grandmother.
Spanning across Germany, Russia, US, Cuba and Spain, the chapters alternate between each member of the Pino family. Growing up in a post-revolutionary Cuba, some are torn up by their roots while others are cut off from their (Cuban) heritage. In an attempt to avoid the terror of erasure, the characters reimagine their lives, fighting to survive as warrior or exiled. García captures the vibrancy, the Latinx's affection that is symbolic of homesickness.
There are devastating judgments from those who aren't abused by the revolution, immigration and political system, ones who learn to incorporate these characters and struggles as they long to restore some equilibrium. The sisterhood, motherhood and in short, family leave an effective imprint on one's psyche, broadening the perception of a world in which the stories/fate meld into a tender whole.
With a huge cast of characters to keep track of and an unresolved ending, this book might not be for everyone. VANISHING MAPS is a story of searching for home and mending relationships of the Cuban diaspora. It's heartfelt, beautiful and complex.
note: I read this book without realizing that it is a follow-up to the novel 'Dreaming in Cuban', however I think this didn't affect my reading experience.
[ I received a complimentary copy from the publisher - Knopf publishing . All opinions are my own ]
July 19, 2023
Books like this are why I read!
I was transported by Cristina García's novel about multiple generations and branches of the del Pino family, in Cuba, Miami, L.A, Berlin, and Moscow. We are presented with, among other characters: the ailing, ageing matriarch; a vengeful and possibly murderous ghost, my favourite character (although she’s quite abominable); and a very cool and rather unworldly drag queen, my second-favourite character. There are lovers, family fights, and a delightful little boy. There’s a great deal of pain, as there always is in families. All of this is held together by strong, vividly portrayed women.
I hesitate to use the cliche, but this is a book that delights in magical realism. The aforementioned ghost is fully realised as a member of the family. Fidel Castro is present too, with his beard and cigar. All of the dark moments of the novel are perfectly balanced out with laugh-out-loud ridiculousness, and each character is given enough space to work through their life issues (except, perhaps, for the little boy, who comes to the story late).
An altogether enjoyable and wonderful novel, that caused me to completely forget where I was while I was immersed in it, and that I couldn’t put down. I’m grateful to Cristina García for a very satisfying ending, too, which, for a while, I wasn’t sure would come about.
Thank you to Knopf and to NetGalley for the ARC.
I was transported by Cristina García's novel about multiple generations and branches of the del Pino family, in Cuba, Miami, L.A, Berlin, and Moscow. We are presented with, among other characters: the ailing, ageing matriarch; a vengeful and possibly murderous ghost, my favourite character (although she’s quite abominable); and a very cool and rather unworldly drag queen, my second-favourite character. There are lovers, family fights, and a delightful little boy. There’s a great deal of pain, as there always is in families. All of this is held together by strong, vividly portrayed women.
I hesitate to use the cliche, but this is a book that delights in magical realism. The aforementioned ghost is fully realised as a member of the family. Fidel Castro is present too, with his beard and cigar. All of the dark moments of the novel are perfectly balanced out with laugh-out-loud ridiculousness, and each character is given enough space to work through their life issues (except, perhaps, for the little boy, who comes to the story late).
An altogether enjoyable and wonderful novel, that caused me to completely forget where I was while I was immersed in it, and that I couldn’t put down. I’m grateful to Cristina García for a very satisfying ending, too, which, for a while, I wasn’t sure would come about.
Thank you to Knopf and to NetGalley for the ARC.
May 2, 2024
" 'The political and personal are inseparable,' Ivanito interjected, hoping to establish common ground. Hadn’t all of them been torn up by their roots? Their lives misshapen by one upheaval or another: revolution, immigration, dislocation?”
A multigenerational diasporic saga about the struggle for self-realization and what it means to connect to Cubanidad, this novel uses the magical realism of ghostly intervention and the real repercussions of secrets to explore how family survives across borders and distance. García grapples with communism and capitalism, revolution, familial matriarchy, drag as art and identity, and how people translate their identities across countries, contexts, and relationships.
When I picked up this book, I did not know it was a follow up to a previous novel, Dreaming in Cuban, and while I wish I had had the context and character development, the reading experience was not particularly diminished.
July 27, 2023
This started a little slow for me, this one is written from a different persons perspective on each chapter. It is the story of extended family with a rough history with each other as well as their home country of Cuba. The middle section of the book was engaging, I rather liked the interactions with Irina & Tereza and Pilar & Ivanito.
Towards the there were a few sections that were rather confusing and rather threw me for a loop - like what happened with Ivanito on the boat in the lake? I assumed one thing, but the next chapter contradicted. And Celia's storyline over all was just rough.
I did love Ivanito, learning of his struggles and how he was able to develop himself after all he had been through. But the fragile balance of it all was heart breaking. Pilar's engagement and learning of how to be a mom was honest. Irina & Tereza learning that they were twins separated at birth and delving in to how different their lives were, plus the struggle of why thy were separated all was an interesting twist for the story.
I actually won this one in one of the giveaways.
Towards the there were a few sections that were rather confusing and rather threw me for a loop - like what happened with Ivanito on the boat in the lake? I assumed one thing, but the next chapter contradicted. And Celia's storyline over all was just rough.
I did love Ivanito, learning of his struggles and how he was able to develop himself after all he had been through. But the fragile balance of it all was heart breaking. Pilar's engagement and learning of how to be a mom was honest. Irina & Tereza learning that they were twins separated at birth and delving in to how different their lives were, plus the struggle of why thy were separated all was an interesting twist for the story.
I actually won this one in one of the giveaways.
June 26, 2023
I haven't read Dreaming in Cuban, and my sense upon finishing this follow-up novel is that I might have been more invested in the characters and what happened to them if I had. As it is it felt like too much of the book was backstory, without enough action in the present day timeline to justify it. Maybe all that looking-back fills in gaps between the first book and this one?
There's a lot I liked about the feel of the novel, the multilingual ease of it (be ready for lots of Spanish and German both and a bit of Russian to boot), and the tracing of how political dislocations embed themselves not just on political and physical geographies but that of families and individuals and some of the most intimate relationships. But I do wish that I'd found the main story more compelling; I finished it more for the sake of finishing than for any real desire to know what happened.
(Note: read an ARC; book forthcoming in July)
There's a lot I liked about the feel of the novel, the multilingual ease of it (be ready for lots of Spanish and German both and a bit of Russian to boot), and the tracing of how political dislocations embed themselves not just on political and physical geographies but that of families and individuals and some of the most intimate relationships. But I do wish that I'd found the main story more compelling; I finished it more for the sake of finishing than for any real desire to know what happened.
(Note: read an ARC; book forthcoming in July)
May 19, 2023
Wonderfully written and very descriptive. A VERY GOOD and exciting read. Both dramatic and humorous. Loved all the characters. I would have given this book 5 starts except that I am not fluent in Spanish, German or Russian so I needed to lookup/translate many of the words and phrases to English to understand things. If not for that I would have gotten much more out of the book and it definitely would have been 5 stars. There were a lot of blank pages throughout the book. Not a bad thing but I wish the blank pages were filled with words because she is such a good author. This book could have been twice a long and I would have enjoyed it twice as much. I will read more of Cristina Garcia’s books. I want to thank Goodreads and Penguin Random House for the early copy of this book. It was a pleasure reading it.
May 23, 2023
This novel follows multiple family members from different generations with roots in Communist Cuba after many of them have moved to other parts of the world. It's a vibrant look into a culture and worldview I was unfamiliar with, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading and thinking about the dynamics at play between different personalities, political ideologies, sexualities, languages, etc.
The characters were dynamic and interesting. That said, I didn't feel like the story as a whole had a cohesive narrative. Each character changed a bit from beginning to end, but there didn't feel like there was a definitive point.
Overall, it was still an interesting read, and I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories vs. more plot-focused options.
The characters were dynamic and interesting. That said, I didn't feel like the story as a whole had a cohesive narrative. Each character changed a bit from beginning to end, but there didn't feel like there was a definitive point.
Overall, it was still an interesting read, and I'd recommend it for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories vs. more plot-focused options.
July 3, 2023
It wasn't until after I started reading this book that I realized that it was a sequel to a previous novel, Dreaming in Cuban. Maybe I would have been less confused if I had read that one first. There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I had to keep flipping to the front of the book and referring to the family tree to keep everyone straight.
Vanishing Maps is a combination of multi-generational family saga, magical realism, and emigration experience. The story bounces between different geographic locations and the narration alternates among the many characters. It almost seemed like a series of short stories loosely tied together rather than one cohesive novel. And there were a couple of loose ends that lead me to wonder if there will be another sequel.
Vanishing Maps is a combination of multi-generational family saga, magical realism, and emigration experience. The story bounces between different geographic locations and the narration alternates among the many characters. It almost seemed like a series of short stories loosely tied together rather than one cohesive novel. And there were a couple of loose ends that lead me to wonder if there will be another sequel.
September 8, 2023
I went into Vanishing Maps without knowing that it is a sequel to the author's 1992 nove, Dreaming in Cuban. Although it works well enough as a standalone, I do wish I read the other book first.
This book spans the globe. One family finds themselves living in Cuba, Berlin, Moscow and the United States, and between the huge cast of characters, the world in flux, and the multiple settings, the book can be a bit hard to follow at times. The women come to us with all the scars they took away from book one, which left me wanting a bit more background. The politics of time and place transported me to a different world, though, and although the book is fast-paced, it also felt intimate.
This is one I may need to reread in a few months.
This book spans the globe. One family finds themselves living in Cuba, Berlin, Moscow and the United States, and between the huge cast of characters, the world in flux, and the multiple settings, the book can be a bit hard to follow at times. The women come to us with all the scars they took away from book one, which left me wanting a bit more background. The politics of time and place transported me to a different world, though, and although the book is fast-paced, it also felt intimate.
This is one I may need to reread in a few months.
November 15, 2024
cw: sexual assault, rape, murder
this book is equal parts funny and serious, moving at a very fast pace; there are some deeply disturbing moments and some moments that feel like pure joy and love, a little chaotic. it is an interesting metaphorical and literal exploration of the impact of the Cuban revolution on one specific family, how the choices each person makes leads the family to be divided across continents, across beliefs, across political affiliations but also, how when we really see each other, our connections carry us through and leave us loving each other even harder
i really wish i would have known this is a follow-up to Gracía’s novel, Dreaming in Cuban; i think i would have enjoyed it even more. so here’s my PSA to read Dreaming in Cuban first
this book is equal parts funny and serious, moving at a very fast pace; there are some deeply disturbing moments and some moments that feel like pure joy and love, a little chaotic. it is an interesting metaphorical and literal exploration of the impact of the Cuban revolution on one specific family, how the choices each person makes leads the family to be divided across continents, across beliefs, across political affiliations but also, how when we really see each other, our connections carry us through and leave us loving each other even harder
i really wish i would have known this is a follow-up to Gracía’s novel, Dreaming in Cuban; i think i would have enjoyed it even more. so here’s my PSA to read Dreaming in Cuban first
January 16, 2025
A beautifully written transcontinental, trans generational, trans dimensional book about politics, trauma, family dynamics, defense mechanisms, and resilience. Trigger warning: there are several horrific and haunting scenes of sexual violence that I found very disturbing but were also critical to the story. I loved all of the complex, vibrant characters. I loved the look inside Cuba. I loved using my translate option often on my kindle to translate the phrases uttered by the polyglot characters (I loved learning what that word means!) I was very invested and satisfied by the layering and unfolding of this plot. I have mixed feelings about what I feel was not a very clear end. In some ways that was fitting, but in some ways felt a bit anti climatic after such a long journey.
November 26, 2025
I bought this book first and then realized it was a sequel, so I checked the prequel, DREAMING IN CUBAN, out of the library. I really enjoyed that book, but found this book somewhat disappointing. While some characters carry over between the twenty years that separate the characters between these two books (mainly, Celia and Pilar), most were very minor characters in the earlier book. Very little of this book takes place in Cuba or the US, with most of the story taking place in Berlin where long lost cousins find each other. I found the circumstances of them connecting to be somewhat implausible; the magical realism, which worked in the previous book, also seemed too implausible here; and I was not that fond of what the characters had become, except for possibly Celia, in this book.
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