While we are on the subject of translations, DaÃna Chaviano could do with a better one too. Idiom is a hard thing to translate, especially if the language you are translating into is not your native language. All too often in reading The Island of Eternal Love I found myself thinking that the prose was stilted because while the words had all been faithfully translated the idiom was still Spanish. Maybe I’m spoiled by reading the superb translations of Zoran Zivkovic’s work, but I think Chaviano deserves better.
The book is actually fascinating. 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 don’t know enough Cuban history to get the most out of it, but there is clearly a very good book there.