Finding Manana is not fiction, but it is historical, covering the Cuban exodus, specifically 1980 in this piece. If I recall correctly, I picked this book up on the bargain rack at one of my local bookstores. It took me only a few days to read it; however, I did not read the entire book so on the can't-put-it-down-scale of one for I couldn't even finish it to ten for I was up until the wee morning hours, I would give it a three.
This book tells the autobiographical story of the author, Mirta Ojito, starting on May 7, 1980, when her family was finally given the permission and means to leave Cuba as they had been working toward doing for years. It then goes back to previous years, telling the story of why and how her family came to want to leave Cuba. Mirta's story was fascinating and well-told, but her story didn't fill the entire book. Instead, the author filled the book with stories about historical events surrounding Cuban politics as well as other stories. These are the parts I skipped.The first alternative chapters were stories told from political figure perspectives and I just couldn't get into them. They seemed distant, boring, and devoid of emotion to me; well written and valuable in their own right, but not what I was looking for after I read Mirta's chapters. Some other chapters, I believe, were told from ordinary citizens', like Mirta's, perspective and were likely quite interesting, but I was so engrossed in Mirta's story and her voice, wanting to find out what happened to her and if she was able to get to the U.S. that I skipped those chapters as well.
The switching of points of view jolted me and I don't think they were appropriate for a memoir, which I assume is a story told from the author's perspective. How can you get in someone else's head and witness events where you weren't present in a memoir or autobiography? I realize that the author likely conducted extensive research and wanted to use the results of those efforts, but I think she could've created three separate works: her memoir, a collection of stories of other refugees or ex-Cubans, and a factual non-fiction story about the political events surrounding the Cuban exodus.
Parts of the book I did read, Mirta's story, were intriguing, tension-filled, and had me turning pages, anxious to see what happened. Most of it was told well from Mirta's perspective and were consistent, except for a brief passage on page 162 where she put herself in an exchange between her mother and father when she was at school; I attribute this anomaly to editing. I greatly enjoyed Mirta's story, but because of having to flip pages to find where it picked back up, the pace was off and it reduced the ease of reading. I love the title and the dual of meaning of Manana meaning tomorrow in Spanish and it being the boat the author took to Florida.
