The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
An Interview with Chanel Cleeton
In this week’s Q&A, bestselling author Chanel Cleeton discusses the moving new novel she calls “her love letter to books”, The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes, as well as the family story and real historical events that inspired it all.
“The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes intertwines three strong women in different timelines, all linked through the connection of a cherished book. Chanel Cleeton expertly draws back the curtain on life in Cuba under Fidel Castro’s regime and demonstrates how a single book can impact lives. A moving tribute to the power and comfort of books, this is a must read for book lovers.” -Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Booklover’s Library
How do you like to introduce The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes to readers?
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes is my love letter to books and the powerful impact they have on our lives. It’s the story of three incredible women spread across continents and over a century of time whose lives are linked by one unforgettable book. In 1900, Eva travels from Havana to Harvard to attend a summer school for Cuban teachers at a pivotal time in Cuba’s bid for independence. The novel she pens while she’s there touches the lives of Pilar—a Cuban librarian living in post-revolutionary 1960s Havana—who is entrusted with safeguarding the book, and Margo—an American expat in modern-day London—who is hired to track down the book amid secrecy and danger.
You’ve shared that you grew up on stories of your family’s exodus from Cuba following the Cuban Revolution. Was something in particular from one of those stories the kernel of inspiration for this new book?
In some ways, I think of this novel as an extension of the journey I began when I published Next Year in Havana. In that novel, I was inspired by a family story of when my family was forced to leave Cuba in the 1960s and they buried their valuable and sentimental possessions in their backyard for when they would be able to return. It was a common practice in Cuba at the time as was entrusting your important possessions to a trusted friend or family member, and in The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes my heroine Pilar is similarly given the responsibility of watching over a mysterious book by her neighbor who is fleeing Cuba. In this novel, I was also able to write for the first time about Cuban-American relations in the 1960s from the perspective of a heroine who was still in Cuba at the time as my family was.
In the novel, Eva travels from Havana to Harvard for a special summer program for teachers. Was this based on a real program, and does anything stand out from your research into this storyline?
This was a real program that took place in 1900 where over twelve hundred Cuban teachers travelled to study at Harvard for the summer. It was the largest cultural exchange of its kind. I first came across a mention of the Cuban Summer School when I was researching one of my previous novels The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba. That book was set during the Cuban fight for independence from Spain and the Spanish-American War which was a difficult period in Cuban history. I was fascinated by the idea that this cultural exchange was born in the aftermath of such a seminal moment in history and knew it was something I would want to incorporate into a future book.
I’d imagine that weaving together the three timelines for this book was quite a challenge! How did you approach the writing process?
I’ve had the opportunity to work with multiple timelines and povs for many of my historical books, and it’s something I really enjoy. I always draft in Scrivener, and I find it to be a very useful tool for moving scenes around when working with multiple timelines. I do a lot of shifting of chapters during the revision and editorial process to make sure that each individual timeline stands alone as a complete story arc as well as to ensure that they are interwoven into a cohesive story. A lot of it is trial and error until I settle on a finished result that I am happy with.
What book is your “A Time for Forgetting”? One that has meant as much to you as Eva’s novel means to Pilar?
I love this question! There are so many books that come to mind, books that found me in a particular time in my life when they really resonated with me. One recent book that exemplifies this is Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire. I read it a little over a decade ago, and it was the first time I saw my family’s experience represented on the page. It had such a powerful impact on me and really reignited my desire to know more about my heritage and family history.
Originally from Florida, Chanel Cleeton grew up on stories of her family’s exodus from Cuba following the events of the Cuban Revolution. Her passion for politics and history continued during her years spent studying in England, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Richmond, The American International University in London, and a master’s degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Chanel also received her Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Learn more: https://www.chanelcleeton.com/