yvo_about_books's review against another edition
4.0
Finished reading: April 20th 2017
“Ephemeral things are tragic because they are never repeated, but they are wonderful because they may be kept in memories in our brain, and they may be recollected as many times as we wish.”
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
Spoiler
I've been lucky enough to travel quite a lot during my early twenties and exploring different cultures/countries is still something I'm really passionate about. When I was contacted about Among Friends: Travels In Cuba I immediately knew I wanted to read this memoir, especially since one of my best friends actually went to Cuba for a month in January and I wanted to compare experiences. I admit my knowledge of Cuban history and culture is pretty basic, since my University courses mainly focused on South America... So I was looking forward to learn more about this country. One of the first things that stands out in this travel memoir written by Heather Murray is the lack of political talk, something I'm rather grateful for to be honest. Instead, the author focuses on her own experiences while visiting Cuba various times during the span of eight years; the last time being in 2015. I agree it's really hard (maybe even impossible) to get a proper feel of a country as an outsider/foreigner, but I enjoyed reading her experiences while visiting Havana and various other destinations in Cuba. Her friendship with Julian and other Cubans definitely help to shed some light on how life really was lived by the Cubans during those years... And I liked how detailed the descriptions of the various places she visited were. The prose was easy to read and all in all it was an enjoyable travel memoir. Low on social-cultural and political details, but highly entertaining for those who enjoy the genre!
Spread over a period of eight years, Heather Murray travels to Cuba various times to visit her friend Julian. What started out as two collegues writing letters grew into a friendship when she traveled to Cuba for the first time for a conference... The country and its people made a big impact and various visits followed afterwards. Both Havana and other provinced to the west and east are explored with the help of Julian and other Cubans; and the country definitely shows some changes over the years. This memoir is packed with personal experiences and many detailed descriptions of the various destinations in Cuba.
If you are looking for a well written, entertaining and 'light' travel memoir that focuses on the travel and daily life of the locals rather than the more serious topics, Among Friends is without doubt an excellent choice. The descriptions of the various destinations and excursions are very well done and I could almost imagine being there myself as well. As stated in this memoir, it shows that Cuba has been through some changes in the last ten years and it shows... At least that is what my friend told as well. Recommended!
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.
tsmasi's review against another edition
5.0
I was initially interested in this book because my son recently travelled to Cuba and it is somewhere I've always been interested in. "Among Friends: Travels in Cuba" just made me want to visit even more!
incessantbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I'll admit right off the bat that I could not help thinking about Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights whilst reading Murray's memoir..... I had to get that out of the way. Now, this narrative felt like a beautiful friendship, kindred spirits even if I pull out some Anne of Green Gables lingo. The perfect and ideal pen pal, Julian seemed like a gracious host and thrived on showing Heather the Cuba he lives and breathers. I honestly did not know much about Cuba beyond Castro and Havana so this complete immersion in the country beyond what we know in tourism was fascinating and revealing. Exploring Santa Clara, Trinidad, and Hanabanilla gave a wide range of experiences outside of the typical Havana tourist location.
At times I felt that this could just be the blog site with updates every 2-ish years she traveled to Cuba. There was a map of Cuba in the beginning pages, but I wished there were more personal photos to accompany the detailed narrative of what she was experiencing. Although this was a travel memoir about Cuba, I felt the insertion of what Heather did in between visits was not as smooth a transition and seemed random. She had traveled to other locations in between Cuba visits, and I believe it would have been interesting to expand on those as a point of comparison or omit those completely as it did not add to the personal story of Cuba. In terms of providing context and sharing stories from the people themselves, I couldn't have asked for anything more. The personal touch and breaking the stereotypes of Cuba and its people are both extremely important with educating the rest of the world beyond what we think we know or have read in the news or textbooks.
I would love to read a follow-up by her in terms of presently the embargo being lifted (for the United States). I wonder if that would change any perspectives or experiences Heather experienced (even though she is Canadian and lives in Switzerland). The fact that Heather relished in her independence to explore on her own and dive right in to the culture gives the travel bug in me more motivation to pick up and go somewhere. I feel that Heather's story is a great companion to the layperson's education of the world we may not have known otherwise.
Some memorable and relate-able quotes to leave you with:
"It was then that I thought to myself: yes that's what seems to be happening here. Cubans have been forced by historic circumstance to give new life to outdated things" (Murray 48)
"It occurred to me that revolutions must have many unintended victims like Magdalena's husband - people who, above all, want to go on as before, just doing a good job" (Murray 213)
"I lost sight of that fact that my friendship with Julian was just as rare as any protected species or environment, and just as important. He and I share a friendship that has overcome language and space and time; I can't allow misunderstandings and cultural difference to destroy it" (Murray 271)
Read Among Friends, Travels in Cuba if you like the themes of:
Friendship
Culture
Travel
Independence
Education
At times I felt that this could just be the blog site with updates every 2-ish years she traveled to Cuba. There was a map of Cuba in the beginning pages, but I wished there were more personal photos to accompany the detailed narrative of what she was experiencing. Although this was a travel memoir about Cuba, I felt the insertion of what Heather did in between visits was not as smooth a transition and seemed random. She had traveled to other locations in between Cuba visits, and I believe it would have been interesting to expand on those as a point of comparison or omit those completely as it did not add to the personal story of Cuba. In terms of providing context and sharing stories from the people themselves, I couldn't have asked for anything more. The personal touch and breaking the stereotypes of Cuba and its people are both extremely important with educating the rest of the world beyond what we think we know or have read in the news or textbooks.
I would love to read a follow-up by her in terms of presently the embargo being lifted (for the United States). I wonder if that would change any perspectives or experiences Heather experienced (even though she is Canadian and lives in Switzerland). The fact that Heather relished in her independence to explore on her own and dive right in to the culture gives the travel bug in me more motivation to pick up and go somewhere. I feel that Heather's story is a great companion to the layperson's education of the world we may not have known otherwise.
Some memorable and relate-able quotes to leave you with:
"It was then that I thought to myself: yes that's what seems to be happening here. Cubans have been forced by historic circumstance to give new life to outdated things" (Murray 48)
"It occurred to me that revolutions must have many unintended victims like Magdalena's husband - people who, above all, want to go on as before, just doing a good job" (Murray 213)
"I lost sight of that fact that my friendship with Julian was just as rare as any protected species or environment, and just as important. He and I share a friendship that has overcome language and space and time; I can't allow misunderstandings and cultural difference to destroy it" (Murray 271)
Read Among Friends, Travels in Cuba if you like the themes of:
Friendship
Culture
Travel
Independence
Education
More...