nomadreader

The backstory: I so enjoyed reading Ana Menendez's most recent novel, The Last War ( my review ), I was eager to read her first novel, Loving Che . Menendez also wrote a collection of short stories entitled In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd . The basics: Loving Che takes place in contemporary Miami, as a young woman longs to uncover her past. Once she receives a package of letters and photographs, the narrative shifts to her mother's voice recalling the years of the Cuban Revolution and her love affair with Che Guevera. Then, the narrative shifts back to modern day as the unnamed narrator seeks to use the clues from letters and photographs to fill in the details of her life. My thoughts: I'm a huge fan of historical fiction featuring real people, and Che Guevera is someone I've been fascinated with quietly  for years. Loving Che is a unique piece of historical fiction. It's events are intricately linked to actual events in the very public life of Che Guevera an...

The backstory: I've read and adored Ana Menendez's essays in Vogue  in the past, but I had not read her novels. I had the intention of reading her novels since college, when I worked in a bookstore and got an ARC of In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd , which I moved an embarrassing number of times without ever reading it. I was thrilled to participate in this TLC tour for her latest novel, The Last War.  The basics: The Last War  is the story of Flash, a photojournalist married to a war reporter. The two have lived in wartorn areas throughout their marriage. This passage from early in the novel beautifully encapsulates both Menendez's writing and the characters: "We were the war junkies: Eros and Chaos, endlessly drawn to the ragged margins where other people hated and died. It was as if we believed constant movement would deliver us finally from the disappointments of ordinary life." (pg. 2) My thoughts: I loved this novel. I was captivated as muc...