The Eternal Forest: A Memoir of the Cuban Diaspora by Elena Sheppard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Living under a dictatorship and miserable conditions, the author’s family must leave their beloved home in Cuba, many friends, and relatives. Elena Sheppard takes us through her family history, and we see how difficult it is for her to separate herself from her genealogy.
The story takes us back and forth in time, inner feelings and memories pitted against global occurrences. A little poetic while trying to be accurate.
I found reading or listening to this on Kindle’s text-to-speech feature less than ideal, even though I felt I followed the author’s tale well. I would have loved it more with a narrator, preferably the author. One thing TTS does horribly is other languages. Even though Ms. Sheppard translates her few statements and poems gracefully, I would rather hear the language of Elena’s life. Then again, I am not fluent in Spanish. I’d still need the translation.
I was lucky to get this copy from NetGalley.
Darswords 