Tomorrow They Will Kiss

Eduardo Santiago
Little, Brown and Company (2006)
ISBN 0316014125
Reviewed by Linda Benninghoff for Reader Views (7/06)

"Tomorrow They Will Kiss" is entertaining and fast-moving but underpinned by seriousness.  Its heroine, Graciela, a Cuban immigrant living in the U.S., watches telenovels and can’t wait for the romantic scenes.  So do her two friends, Caridad and Imperio.  

Having cheated on her husband and left him, Graciela is still dreaming of finding the right man.  Graciela’s character is intriguing.  Although her turn of thought may appear humorous, the novel is set during the Cuban revolution and the three women who tell the story describe the gradual devastation of the country they love and dream of returning to--although they know this is unrealistic.  The novel’s historical descriptions are vivid.  For example, while they are still in Cuba, a pact circulates that says, "We will kill our children before we let Fidel Castro, or any other Castro, take them away."  It turns out that Castro does not do this, but the pact suggests that Castro is not just an economic threat but a threat to a way of life and the most deep-seated of values. 

Graciela, the heroine, is independent, charming, sexually attractive and not afraid to defy convention if it does not seem meaningful to her.  Her two friends contrast with her.   Although Graciela seeks after men, the real drama in the book seems to be between the three women.  At first I would have guessed the three were the best of friends, but then subtleties to the relationship begin to appear.  In the end these subtleties are no longer subtle--but plain instances of jealousy, rivalry and almost cruelty.  For example, Imperio describes Graciela as follows:  "She can be very sentimental when it’s convenient for her, when it’s to her advantage, when she wants to get attention, when she wants to make everyone think she’s a saint who walks upon the earth." 

Will Graciela’s daring bring her a better life?  This is a question the book asks that the reader must answer.  This book conveys something about the experience of Cuban immigrants as well as being interesting in its own right.  I couldn’t put it down.  One episode of the novel unfolds into the next and meanings get deeper all the time.

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