THE WISE WOMEN OF HAVANA

Before the Bay of Pigs--even before Castro--there was the Cuba of sunshine, expansive beaches, the tango, and in the 1930s, the Great Depression. This is the Cuba of Marguita and Lorenzo, the newlyweds whose lives are impacted by their need to give financial aid to Lorenzo's parents and by the wisdom dispensed by Marguita's mother, which gives perspective to their problems. As the announcer presents the title, we can hear his mild accent, at which point the sound of Spanish music would raise this audiobook into another realm, instead of being one more of the same. Maria Tucci's reading is very good. Maybe she was asked to make up for the missing music, for she reads everything with the same lilting sound. It would be more effective for the listener to have the lilt only in dialogue and a straight reading for the narrative. J.P. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 03]