Elizabeth Graver
asked
Aaron Hamburger:
What was the hardest thing about writing Hotel Cuba? And the most fun?
Aaron Hamburger
I have to say writing Hotel Cuba was the most pleasurable writing experience I've ever had. I started by wanting to solve the mystery of my grandmother's true life story, and so delving into the research, traveling to the places she traveled to (like Havana and Key West) and trying to imagine them through her eyes, going to the National Archive, finding her immigration and marriage records online, reading primary and secondary sources, this was all fun, fun, fun to me! I could have gone on forever. What was hard? There was so much I had to leave out to make this a novel, in particular what happened to her and her fictional avatar Pearl after the end of these pages (which I note briefly in the book's acknowledgments). Also my grandfather's story was a novel in itself. But in the end, I think Hotel Cuba's overall shape as a story is the better for it. Thanks for this question!
More Answered Questions
A.E. Ellis
asked
Aaron Hamburger:
I'm writing a historical fiction novel about my grandfather, who in 1918 immigrated to Havana from Colfax, WA, so he could live in Cuba long enough (6 months) to get a Cuban visa to work as a pineapple farm supervisor in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution (a time when Americans weren't welcome). How difficult was it for your grandmother to obtain a Cuban residency visa and how long was she allowed to live in Cuba?
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more