Hotel Cuba

by Aaron Hamburger, Marie Hoffman (Narrator)

Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and the young women are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba, convinced they will find a way to overcome this setback.

At first, life in big-city Prohibition-era Havana is overwhelming, like nothing Pearl and Frieda have ever experienced--or could have ever imagined in the rural shtetl where they grew up. As the sisters begin to adjust, their plans for going to America together become complicated. Frieda falls for the not-so-dreamy man of her dreams while Pearl's life opens up unexpectedly, offering her a taste of freedom and heady romance, and an opportunity to build a future on her own terms--though to do so, she must confront her past and the shame she has long carried.

A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Jewish, Literary Fiction, Book Club, Audiobook, Judaism

13 pages, Audible Audio

First published May 2, 2023

About the author

Aaron Hamburger is the author of the novel Nirvana Is Here, a story collection titled The View From Stalin's Head, which was awarded the Rome Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and nominated for a Violet Quill Award, and a novel titled Faith For Beginners, nominated for a Lambda Literary Award. His latest novel is Hotel Cuba. In 2023, he was awarded the Jim Duggins PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelist Prize by Lambda Literary.

His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Village Voice, Tin House, Michigan Quarterly Review, Subtropics, Crazyhorse, Boulevard, Poets and Writers, Tablet, Out, Nerve, Time Out, Details, and The Forward. In addition, he has also won fellowships from Yaddo, Djerassi, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the Edward F. Albee Foundation as well as first prize in the Dornstein Contest for Young Jewish Writers.

He has taught creative writing at Columbia University, the George Washington University, New York University, Brooklyn College, and the Stonecoast MFA Program.

Aaron enjoys talking with readers - to chat, find him now on Skolay: skolay.com/writers/aaron-hamburger

Reviews

[Stacey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this.
Review to come.
UPDATE 5-18-2023

I will admit that I struggled for days with this review. It was hard to portray the essence of courage and belonging. And... although the author's writing is fabulous and passionate; I am not him.
Aaron Hamburger's subtle humor drew me in. The ease of his writing style allowed me to become Pearl for a few hours. This book read quickly and didn't seem like 400 pages.
My comments are Pearls.

I am Pearl. It is 1922 and I am in my twenties. I raised my sister Freida since our mother died when she was born. I sew very well and will tell you I am a seamstress of sorts. Our father scraped enough money together for us to escape the Soviet Revolution and go to America. But now immigration laws changed and Im not sure I made the correct choice.
The travel agent sent us on a route via Cuba. It was my fault to accept that route -which Freida refuses to never let me forget.
We did not expect to be as miserable on the ship as we were, and we were told our stay in Cuba would not be long.
You should know a few things when we stopped in Cuba. We are strangers here and poor ones at that. I myself for some reason am always hungry and love to eat. We dont have the money to buy a lot of food. Freida is the opposite and doesn't eat much..
And.. we dislike- no.. we despise the heat and bugs here but somehow I still manage to ask for seconds at meals while being drenched from the heat.
Our first meal was called beans and rice. How come the rice in Cuba is yellow? It is like one of the colors in a picture drawn on the outdoor wall of a building here.
But I can't ask. No-one speaks Polish and I do not speak Spanish or English. This makes everything else become a hardship except for a moment of comfort in finding people who speak yiddish. I didn't know about all the tourists here, or that other Jews and Americans live here. But this doesn't encourage my self confidence.
Freida and I disagree a lot. She is prettier and more feminine than me. She is also outgoing which brings her attention and subsequently friends. I am not like her and know I don't fit in here. I feel alone, but I'm not jealous. I work all the time, doing Freida's job too because she is very busy socializing. I know Im not a people person and don't know how to be one.
My private dark secret has done this to me and left me afraid. I doubt myself which is why I just work, eat, and try to sleep in this suffocating heat.
One day I am asked to do a favor for the wife of the man I work for. She is nice to me so I don't say no. Now all her friends are asking me to sew clothing for them too. This gives me extra money to save.

My sister's one and only goal is to marry her old boyfriend who lives in a place called Detroit. I am not his cheerleader, but help her leave for America illegally with the extra money I saved making clothes for wealthy people. I want her to be happy and Freida leaves.
I am alone again and a bit nervous which makes me more desperate to leave Cuba.
There is an opportunity for me to leave illegally by way of Key West that will cost a lot of money. It's not like me to chance it but Freida got out that way. Frieda must be lucky because when I arrive in Key West, I am sent back to Cuba twelve days later.
So..I start all over again in Hotel Cuba, but this time with a plan.
I'm beginning to think g-d is testing me. When will my turn come to make a life for myself .
Finally I am in New York. This place is dirty and too congested but at least it isn't hot all year round. New York City is big; this place has some very strange food. Not bad; actually its really good.
I found a job as a seamstress in a factory. Remember I told you I can sew.
At this job I recognize I am too talented but there is no choice to leave.
Freida is now in Detroit getting married very soon and I want to go.
Arriving in Detroit for the wedding, Freida makes a beautiful bride. Now I don't want to leave. Im beginning to like it here and the people are nice. The problem is my boss depends on me to return.
Well, the choice to stay and live in Detroit is made.. by me. Its my turn, so I suppose.. if I was tested, I passed.
////
There are plenty of current emotional topics incorporated throughout this book as well as crossover genres.
Aaron Hamburger addresses these themes with respect and humility. I can't say enough about how special this book is. The authors note explains how and why this book was written.
- Well Done Aaron.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did I miss something? Plenty of people with whom my tastes completely align, gave this four and five stars. I never check out other's reviews before writing my own. But I just did. I kept waiting for more, for the character(s) and stories to develop herself, and for the plot to take a turn, and untwine, and get somwhere interesting. I feel a little deprived. Like I am still waiting. A little like I want the four or five days back, that I invested in the book. Like what is it that I missed? I am not just under the rave. I can't connect with it - or find it.

This was a Jewish Book Club pick for the month of July. My synopsis just won't do. My suggestion is that you pair it with one of the many raves for what might be a truer look.

Two of many motherless siblings leave the desolation of Europe, this family is of Russian descent, but speak Yiddish. Two siblings, Pearl, and her younger sister Frieda who she has raised more like a daughter than a sibling, try to get to America to reunite with their eldest sister Basha. And for Frieda to chase what she believes is a love match with her intended Mendel, a boy from home who immigrated a year earlier with his older brother Ben (Ben the Oak.). But they cannot get there. Instead they land in Cuba, where both sisters struggle. Frieda does make it to New York, but Pearl has several botched attempts, leaving her to her own devices for much of the book stationed in Cuba alone.

Pearl is hard to like. She is closed, closed minded, not a dreamer. She does not dream of romance or fancy or love. She strives to lead a "good" life, one she thinks reflects the virtue of her father and mother country and religion. Despite this she has both feminist and lesbian stirrings, neither of which she understands or can interpret. She is so rather closed off and asexual, that marriage, nor love, is really on her mind. While we as the reader can see these nascent stirrings, none of this consciousness is a part of her world. She is an old world closed character, who feels her time is past. I kept waiting for her to emerge, for me she never did.

Pearl is a talented dressmaker and seamstress. She could go extremely far in every one of her settings. But she never seems to make more of her immense talent. It seems often and always a bit passionless and simply a means to an end. There are plenty of people who wish to support her, and plenty of people who try to trick and harm her, and they all seem to be treated and regarded equally by Pearl. She is alone, trying to survive, kind of flat, never really finding herself. She did have some kind of a trauma, a sexual assault from a soldier in the Old Country, but this is not something she ever resolves in her new life - which never really felt new or inspiring to me.

Mendel who Frieda loves, has never really seemed to be all that great shakes, and we are not surprised when he turns out to be less than ideal. Frieda is no more free in her new life, than she was in the Old Country. Neither is Pearl, nor Basha. We are not left with new hope, nor love, nor the success of the American Dream, or the fruits of Pearl's passion and talents. In fact, when she has the opportunity to truly choose an innovative path, the one that would have supported her more feminist sensibilities, she shies away. I get it, that the author (Frieda's grandson) is fictionalizing the story of his grandparents, but that would have been a better ending, and the one I was expecting and waiting for. That Pearl would bloom and find herself. But by the end of the book, I was like, what? This is how it ends? I want my 4-5 days back. I felt like I was engaged in the story, it just didn't go anywhere transformative with the plot or character development. It was a well written piece of historical fiction of a time of Jewish immigrants trying to make a better life. 3 stars, with a fallen flat feeling.

[Holly R W · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book features a Jewish Russian family in 1922. When the story opens, daughters Pearl and Frieda are living with their father and brother in their small shtetl. They cope with pogroms and other hardships as best they can. Their older sister lives in America (NYC) - the sisters' plan is to emigrate and join her. While on board the ship traveling to America, the sisters learn that too many Eastern Europeans have already come. America is blocking entry. While being unenthusiastic about the idea, Pearl (the older sister) realizes that their only viable option is to enter Cuba. They're told that America will admit them in one year.

We readers experience the sisters' lives as seen from Pearl's perspective. She is a talented seamstress who finds hidden reserves of strength. As their mother had died when Frieda was born, Pearl has raised her. Frieda is a bit spoiled and young. Pearl is 27 years old to Frieda's age of 17. The girls meet all kinds of people - some who are kind and many who take advantage of them. All are portrayed realistically.

I was much taken with the book. The portions that deal with the sisters' life in Havana, Cuba are extremely interesting. Equally riveting are the scenes describing how Pearl was smuggled to America from Cuba.

There is an author's note at the end. A. Hamburger explains that the story is based upon his own grandparents' experiences (in fictionalized form). I especially liked seeing the photo of his grandmother, whom Pearl resembles. They both were pioneers in wearing pants at a time when women were expected to wear dresses.

I'm adding the book to my favorites list for 2023.


Here is an interview with the author about his book. https://www.google.com/search?client=...

[Kremena Koleva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Четенето на Hotel Cuba беше изпълнено с емоции, които са тежки и болезнени. Героите бяха като близки, като роднини и всеки момент някой щеше да бъде откъснат, отделен и трябваше да тръгне надалеч. Исках да се връщам към образите, да се вглеждам и да запомням особеностите им. Дори ако някои черти ме дразнеха. Войната не само убива хора. Тя разпръсква оцелелите семейства по света, търсейки препитание, спасение от гонения или следвайки надежди за по - добър живот. Роднини е тлябвало да изживеят дните си разделени, без някаква мисъл, че биха се видели отново някога. Как са намирали смисъл да продължат живота си, за мен е непонятно. Но отчаяните времена водят до отчаяни стъпки. И носят отчаяно съществувание и за останалите на мястото си и за поелите към широкия свят. А когато емигриращите са млади жени, то трудностите са в пъти повече. Всеки, който срещне героите на Hotel Cuba, ще си изгради мнение за тях. И съм убедена, че мненията ще са различни. Особено за Пърл. С нейната убеденост, че винаги е права. С осъзнаването, че трябва да се придържа към моралните и религиозни принципи, с които е отраснала в Литва. Без значение, че бяга от условията на живот в същата тази Стара страна. Напуска ужасите на войната, мизерията след войната и разочарованието от отношението към евреите там. Пресича океана, за да бъде свободомислеща жена, да загърби миналите опити на други да ръководят съдбата й. Но всъщност Пърл си остава закостеняла в мисленето си , подозрителна към всеки, който се опитва да се свърже с нея и не успява грам да се отпусне в новата земя. Причината е , че дори в Америка, страна на свободата и правото да живееш от уменията и способностите си, тя ще продължи да държи хората на разстояние, ще бъде подозрителна към мотивите и целите им. Пърл просто е заключила свободолюбието и умението си да се приспособява към новото в място или време в капсулата на практичността и отговорността. За нея Америка е цел за постигане и връх за изкачване. А ако все пак постигне мечтата си? Тогава дали нещо ще се промени в нея?
Желанието да сме разчупени и независими , свободата да изразяваме себе си и умението да оставяме ужасните си преживявания в миналото - трябва да носим всички тези качества в себе си. И повече хора с тях могат да създадат своя остров на Свободата навсякъде. Ще са " стигнали " Америка, без да прекосяват океана. Ако обаче не притежаваме гъвкавост и самоуважение, и в центъра на Вашингтон да сме поставени, пак няма да успеем да се разгърнем. Всичко е в ума ни! И в страстта ни да живеем този живот неограничени. Стига да не сме моралисти и да сравняваме хората със собствените си критерии за правилно.
Много въздействащи образи, стил, който те кара да настръхнеш и през цялата книга умът е нащрек. Въпросите постоянно жужат . И съзнание е обхванато от всички обрати в сюжета.

* " Пърл обичаше да работи сама. Тя беше добра компания за себе си."
* " Той смята, че мечтите са същите като плановете.“
* " Никой – нито шеф, нито колега, нито приятел – не е като семейството."
* " Виждате ли, вярвам, че нашата материална реалност отразява нашето духовно състояние. Ако нямаме това, което искаме, нещо не е наред в сърцата ни."

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of two Russian Jewish sisters who flee the brutality against Jews (from the Reds, White and others) occurring in their small hometown after the Soviet revolution. Their plan is to go to the United States, where the young man the younger, dreamier sister has already moved. However, the US has recently closed its borders to Russian Jews and others – so the two sisters decide to go to Cuba. Their trip across the Atlantic is harrowing. When they arrive in Prohibition Era Cuba, they feel as if they have come to another planet! The author so well describes every aspect of life – from food, to drink, to dress, to dance, to culture in general – that is so different from the small Russian village of their youth. The older sister, Pearl, is an accomplished seamstress, and finds work. The younger sister, Freida, floats through life hoping to get to the US and her boyfriend. Of course, they are both taken advantage of and helped as they meet a wonderful variety of characters. Their life is extremely difficult and challenging. I really enjoyed the clarity and variety with which the author portrayed Cuba and its inhabitants at that time. The sisters are finally (separately) smuggled into the US, reunited and find peace. I thought the character of Pearl was very well done. The reader sees her burdens, her caution, her fear and her learning as she adapts to her new life. I particularly enjoyed the way her unspoken thoughts were frequently related in the novel – the reader was able to better experience her mental and emotional reaction to all the challenges she faced.

[Jarrett Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books like this are what I come to literature for: to be ushered into another world, to form a connection with a character, to learn about people and places I know little about, to marvel at superb writing and a writer's uncanny ability to tell a moving story that keeps me thinking about its plot, characters, and themes for days after I've closed the book and placed it on my shelf. In Hotel Cuba, Aaron Hamburger gives readers all of and more in a fictionalized tale of real events his grandmother endured over a hundred years ago in her desperate attempts to flee the Russian Revolution and enter the United States.

With deftness and considerable loving care, Hamburger charts Pearl's circuitous journey geographically, emotionally, and psychologically as she endures rape, displacement, hunger, poverty, and myriad challenges to the Old World conservative Jewish ideas and practices verses the secularized individualism of the New World. As Pearl is volleyed from one situation to the next, readers see the U.S. from a whole new perspective and gain a better understanding of the modern world and its continuous conflicts regarding immigration, self-identity, commerce, and women's roles within society. Any novel that can accomplish all of that without being preachy or didactic is remarkable.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

HOTEL CUBA

This was a really nice story based on the author’s grandparents’ attempt to immigrate from rural Turya Lithuania (Russia) to America in the 1920’s. The focus was on his grandmother Pearl Khan’s journey with her younger sister Frieda. Traveling on the SS Hudson, due to the ever changing immigration rules in the US, their first stop is the Hotel Cuba in Havana. How the two Jewish sisters adapt to their new tropical environment and pursue their dreams of going to America makes for a very realistic and enjoyable reading experience.

What I really liked about this book is how it gave me such a good appreciation of what these two young women had to go through to start a new life halfway around the world with so many challenges to face. Language barriers, cultural differences, supporting themselves, saving money to get to America, who to trust, getting access to the American Consulate, obtaining a visa, smugglers, changing immigration laws and tightening borders - all while struggling to develop their identities as young women in the world. Very amazing.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Aaron Hamburger, and HarperCollins Publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

[Dianne Alvine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story that truly touched my heart. It led me into a world and an era that I knew nothing about. It is the early twentieth century in Poland, where all is chaos and devastation is rampant during the First World War, or the Great War, and then the Soviet Revolution. Hamburger places our focus on Pearl and Frieda, two sisters who are Jewish, and have fled the area and are on the ship SS Hudson, which is to take them to America. But, due to changes in the U.S immigration laws, the ship heads to Cuba, when it is rejected at Ellis Island. As Hamburger points out, there are very many people on the ship that are Jewish, and are fleeing their towns that are located on the Polish and Russian Borders. Pearl and Frieda had so much to overcome in the various new worlds they are thrown into. I was deeply moved, especially by Pearl's fortitude and her strength to move on, to be hopeful, even through heartbreak and setbacks. I was in awe of their great courage, of their love for family and for each other, and I felt sadness for them for the life they left behind. Hamburger has written an outstanding story, well told, and I was glued to the story until I finished it.

[Taury]

DNF

[R.L. Maizes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read much historical fiction but I loved this. The writing was gorgeous, the characters were a satisfying mix of dark and light. Reading it now as thousands of people try desperately to cross the U.S. border for a safer, freer life for themselves and their children was especially meaningful. It made me think more about my own parents and grandparents who endured similar struggles. I can't recommend highly enough.

[Dana K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pearl and Frieda are two young girls fleeing now Russian-occupied Poland. Their family sends them away to America to give them a chance at a better life. Unfortunately, they are rejected from Ellis Island but learn that if they spend a year in Cuba they will have a better shot at getting to America to join their older sister. The story details their fish out of water life in Cuba adjusting to new climate, culture, language etc and their plots to make it to America. We see how they are sponsored and supported by other Jews as well as how they work their hardest to get ahead.

I have a particular weakness for books set in Cuba, not sure why, but I find Cuba so intriguing. This is definitely the most unique Cuban story I've ever read, I loved learning a different angle on the Jewish diaspora. There are so many stories that take you straight from Europe to America but the stopover in Cuba was really interesting. I loved Pearl's resilience and desire to build the best life for her family. Her journey was so unique and her entrepreneurism was so unusual for the time. I loved reading the epilogue and realizing the story was based on the author's grandparents. Before that, I wasn't sure I understood Pearl's final choices but hearing the truth of it made it resonate so clearly. My only criticism is that I would have loved to hear how the family back in Poland ended up, but that's minor, this is great historical fiction.

Thanks to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy. All opinions above are my own.

[Desiree Reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not finish. Read to 8%.

At 8%:
- Crude and crass description of sex.
- Reference to men taking boys for sexual purposes.
- Rape scene.

In Acknowledgments:
- Reference to “undocumented” immigrants.
- A thank you by author Aaron Hamburger to “Anthony, for so many things that I cannot begin to name.”

[Kristopher Jansma · Rating 5 out of 5]

With expert perception and a capacious heart, Aaron Hamburger weaves together the daring tale of Pearl and Frieda, refugees from Poland who journey to Havana to start a new life. Carrying little but their own unstoppable vitality, their discoveries in this strange land will dazzle readers on every page. Thrilling and magisterial, the twists and turns of their story will break your heart and fill it up again with light. With every sharp and generous line of this exquisite novel, Hamburger creates dazzling worlds within worlds that I'll be thinking about long after turning the final page.

[Helga Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hotel Cuba is a fascinating historical novel about the immigrant experience that will stay with you. Pearl, the protagonist, and her younger sister Frieda, journey from post Revolution Russia in the 1920’s to the US via Cuba. Pearl and Frieda travel to the US but are turned back and were forced to land in Havana, Cuba where they are welcomed by a large Jewish Community. Frieda was able to be smuggled out of Cuba after many months to follow her fiancé.

Pearl finds her power through her needle work and clothing designs and her determination. She had to learn to trust others with her dark secret from the past. She chooses the life she wants and makes it work. She decides to follow her sister to NY. She is smuggled to Key West, Florida but is turned back by the authorities but is helped by a Rabbi who helps her in Key West and gets her in touch with people who can help smuggle her out of Cuba and safely arrive in the US and to NY to be with her sister.

Pearl’s story is inspired by the author’s immigrant grandmother and is respectfully written in her memory. He captures the immigrant experience which is still being acted on today. In the 1920’s, the Eastern European Jews were deterred from entering the US in hopes of becoming citizens. Many were waylaid in tropical Cuba where many rich Americans went for the bohemian lifestyle and during the Prohibition, in hopes to get access to the US.

The language, history and scenery are vivid, warm, and touching. Hamburger addresses the themes with respect and humility. I enjoyed this book and appreciated the way the author immersed the reader in 1920’s Cuba, looking through Pearls eyes at exotic Cuba. The note by the author sheds valuable insight on the historical significance and value to this story which resonates today.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Want More !
I absolutely loved this novel. The story is about Life, Immigration, family, courage and the desire to belong.
I did not want this story to end . Perhaps a Part ll ?

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

1922 Russia. A Jewish family sends their two daughters to America. They wind up in Cuba. Yes it is yet another immigrant story and each one is filled with the nightmares that led to the fleeing from the the home country. Next, of course follows the every day experiences they lived through. It is hard to fathom how one can manage when one’s language, customs, clothing and foods are totally unavailable to you. Then you have to find a home and a job. Such an overwhelming experience then, and now, for so many people.

Pearl, the main character, is the older sister; she is very concrete, hard-working, introspective, and has been the caregiver of her younger sister since their mother died during childbirth. Freida, the younger sister, is spoiled, and indulged. I did enjoy Pearl’s reflections on her life, her family, her position within her family and how she responded to every conundrum, and dilemma that she/they faced. The author, by giving Pearl that voice, gives us great insight into the immigrant situation.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taking place in Post WWI Poland, Cuba of the old days , and the Prohibition era USA, Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger is the beautifully told, important and engaging story of the plight of two brave refugee sisters. Implicit in this story is a greater understanding of the predicament of all refugees thought history.
The Kahn sisters, Pearl and Frieda, are growing up in Poland , struggling in the new Soviet Communist netherworld of poverty and political upheaval . Isolated, hungry, and frightened, the Jewish sisters are sent by their parents to the USA for a hopefully better life. Not knowing that the US immigration laws were restrictive and prejudiced against people of their heritage, the sisters are left with no choice but to flee to a lively, exciting, accepting Cuban society, where they were welcomed and employed as hat makers.
Cuba was at the height of its popularity with the rich and famous, looking to exchange the severe morality of US prohibition for parties and fun. How could two sheltered emigrés possibly adjust and understand the shocking lifestyle into which they were thrust? And how might they ever gain entry to the USA and the family awaiting them there.?
The moral dilemma of the status and condition of refugees is a timely topic and the author delves deeply into the circumstances of his very well defined characters. I enjoyed every page of this novel and highly recommend it. I look forward to any future books by the author. I received an ARC of this book and sincerely thank # NetGalley and #HarperCollins publishing for trusting me to read and write an honest review.

[Sally Bellerose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of Aaron Hamburger's excellent historical, character-driven novel. Hotel Cuba takes the reader on a journey from Poland to Cuba to the U.S. with two unforgettable characters Pearl and Frieda. The plot is set between the two world wars and the details of the changing landscapes and the sisters differing reactions to their displacement makes for a riveting story. I loved this book.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this from a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
While I appreciated the historical aspects and the connection to the author's family, I found it difficult to like or connect to the characters.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A harrowing tale about a young Jewish girl navigating new horizons as she leaves her home and all that bloodshed to shed light on her new life in the americas. She learns the importance of hard work while attempting to raise her young her sister and meets many cool characters along the way. The way the author introduces queerness in the background characters is confusing at times because you think our protagonist is going to find solace in people like Martin or Safaya who emulate the working wo(man) who live a life outside of marriage and Jewish customs. She often runs into them in mysterious circumstances only to never be seen again. This really shows what life was like in the 1920s, before Facebook and cellphones allowed unlimited access to people and their whereabouts. I would have liked to see her on a journey of discovering a more sapphic sexuality but often felt the male author’s gaze when describing her actions and reasonings, which is why a star is docked. I think I much prefer women characters written by other women.

[Audrey Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for the Temple Book Club. At first I felt annoyed. Oh no, more suffering! Suffering reading the news! Suffering reading this book! Don’t I know this? isn’t this my grandfather’s story, except he left Ukraine in 1910 to escape progoms?
The answer is I didn’t know this, and I don’t know all my grandfather went through either. But reading this book gave me a renewed appreciation for every immigrant, and I love the 2 immigrants in this story. The Hotel Cuba is engaging, interesting, informative and fun. A smile for you below from Hotel Cuba:

Mendel’s the type who looks in the mirror every five seconds to visit with his best friend.

Mendel has pledged to buy her one someday—another of Mendel’s matzo promises: quick to make and easy to break.

[Michael T. McAlhaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #24 of 2023
Pearl and Frieda are two Jewish sisters fleeing Russia and the Soviet Revolution during WWI. Pearl, practical and hard working, raised Frieda when their mother died from complications shortly after Frieda’s birth.
They leave behind their cantor father, brother and older sisters in search of safety and a better life in New York where an older sister, Basha, has emigrated years prior. However, due to tightening immigration restrictions, their ship is turned away in the NY harbor and diverted to Havana, Cuba, a vibrant but frightening place the girls have never heard of and where they don’t speak the language.
Beautiful and charming, Frieda dreams of joining her betrothed in the US while Pearl sets to work earning money to keep them fed and housed, all the while saving every extra penny in hopes of smuggling their way into the states.
This a beautifully told coming of age story that touches on the horrors of war, the love of sisters, adversity and adventure and knowing one’s self and one’s worth. I loved observing Pearl in particular grow from a timid, language-challenged girl into a determined, skilled and confident young woman.

[Emma Bootsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of meeting Aaron well over a decade ago while I studied creative writing at USM’s Stonecoast program. This summer, I attended a book event for Hotel Cuba along with two Stonecoast graduates recent publications. Hearing Aaron talk about the inspiration for this book made me want to read it. Pearl and Freida’s immigration story aren’t unique, but the characters and setting bring to life what so many have endured to come to America. I really fell in love with Pearl as she evolved through the plot line. While I wish some passages moved quicker and others took more time, knowing this story is seeded in Aaron’s family history made it a favorite of this year’s reads to date.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty grim story of two sisters who flee the pogroms in Russia in the early 20's but are unable to get directly to America. They arrive in Cuba, nicknamed "Hotel Cuba," for the many immigrants diverted there as a sort of stopover. The Jewish community in Havana takes the sisters in as they try desperately to get to their sister in NYC .The story, characters and setting were really interesting, but at times things felt really hopeless and sad. The novel is based on the author's grandmother, who did indeed got to Cuba before eventually getting to the United States.

[Donna Kass · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two sisters trying to get to America in the 1920’s to escape Eastern Europe. Already there were Jewish quotas, and they were denied entry- even though their sister was already there and willing to sponsor them. Pearl wants to get out of Poland, so they head to Cuba and figure they can enter America from there.

This was based on the author’s grandmother’s story, and I appreciated the authors note at the end to get some closure on the story.

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story pulled me in and the more I read the more I wanted to know about Pearl. Her journey as a young immigrant was compelling. It was very moving for me with many correlations to my own family ancestry, language barriers, culture shock, values, religious prejudices, etc. The history was fascinating and well researched.
I was completely unfamiliar with the Cuban culture during the 1920s. Following sisters Pearl and Frieda as they left war torn Russia for America on a ship echoed stories of my grandmother. Pearl and Frieda were diverted as rules and laws kept changing. Their life in Havana is decidedly different for each of them. All Frieda dreams of is America and her fiancé, even as the engagement to Mendel is off and on. Pearl works tirelessly as a seamstress to continue their passage to America. The treatment of Jews, religious differences in each place was compelling and unique to the area. The sisters endure both the kindness of strangers and are betrayed, scammed and lied to repeatedly.
I won’t forget this piece of history, Pearl’s path to a better life, her dreams, love and dedication to family. If historical fiction is your passion do not miss this beautiful story. I had not read anything by this author and was impressed with the attention to details, vivid descriptions and expansive visuals I had while reading about so many countries and places on the immigrants journeys. It was touching and memorable.
Thanks so much to NetGalley for providing the digital advance reader copy of “Hotel Cuba” by Aaron Hamburger, HarperCollins Publishers. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

[Wendy Etheridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story of the immigration experience of two sisters. With a strong female character, Pearl, who was inspired by the authors’ grandmother, I was drawn to following her on quite an interesting journey to America, coupled with the many acquaintances she meets during the journey, all lends itself to a fabulous read! Highly recommend!

[Katie Shelburne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An engaging read about family and figuring out what you want. I loved seeing the relationship from the two sisters evolve and watching Pearl’s personality grow. Went by quickly and was a great break from the nonfiction I’ve been reading.

[Morgan Talty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything about this book. Aaron has written something so thoroughly enjoyable you won't be able to put it down. I couldn't.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read and then to find out it was based off the author’s real grandma.