Helpful Score: 1
Didn't like the characters as much as I did in Baggage, but more suspenseful than Solo. Like Baggage, you get to see the point of view of multiple characters instead of just one, which works better for Barr (as compared to Solo). There was a psychological thriller aspect to the book that clearly worked. I wish the author could've gone into more description of Cuba, instead of one brief conversation with a Cuban about how the system works, because that's one of the true reasons why people are reading the book. A cashier even stopped me when I was checking out of Whole Foods in Manhattan to have a five minute conversation about Cuba, because I was carrying this book. Cuban life could have been more integral to the plot I thought, instead of Barr's whole "this person has a secret, let's find out how it is and how they go on to deal with their lives" formula that's so typical of every book I've read by her. I mean Barr started out as a travel writer by trade so you'd think she's say something more than it's beautiful and the people there dress well and love children. I thought the effects of the socialist system were simplifed.
A little darker than the usual chick lit
Bit disturbing but a thought-provoking book.
Excellent story unlike any I've read before. Wonderful descriptions of Cuba.
chick lit. wished it had more about cuba.
Maggie discovers that she can overhear her neighbors on a baby monitor bought as a gift, so she keeps listening. The young couple are planning a trip to Cuba with their baby, and Maggie decides to go along.
Although promoted as a chick lit type of book, this is actually avery disturbing story. Maggie, who hasn't dealt with her past becomes fixated on her neighbors after accicentally overhearing them on a baby monitor she bought as a gift and decides to test. Libby is struggling to deal with new motherhood and the decision to stay at home and raise her baby rather than return to work as a lawyer. The more obsessed Maggie becomes, the more she denies it to herself. She inserts herself into this family's life by following them to Cuba. The reason why Maggie is so twisted is slowly revealed and there is a nice tidy ending. I am not really sure if I liked it or not. It tended to drag on in places.
