Cubans come in two types: those who still live in Cuba, and those who have left to live elsewhere in the world (often the USA). DaÃna Chaviano falls into the latter group, but she still counts as one of Latin America’s finest writers of fantastic fiction. In 2004 she was a guest of honor at ICFA, which is a highly unusual thing to happen to a non-English-speaking writer. I didn’t get to talk to her much, at least in part because many of the male writers were following her around with their tongues hanging out. It was quite spectacular.
Chaviano’s best known work is the novel, The Island of Eternal Love, which is unfortunately titled because it makes it sound like a romance. Actually, when I wrote about it, I said:
As well as being a ghost story, it is also an examination of the roles played by different races in the history of Cuba, and a heart-felt expression of the conflicted attitudes of Cuban emigres living in Miami.
I didn’t do a full review, at least in part because I wasn’t sure about the translation. My brief remarks can be found here.
Heh – I’d forgotten till you mentioned her name. I was there in 2004, and had dinner with her, simply because I found myself standing next to her in the queue for food and we got chatting. She was very friendly to this disorientated newb, and an extremely interesting conversationalist. (Also, yes, very attractive!)