Cuban American novelist Chanel Cleeton (Last Train to Key West; When We Left Cuba) returns to her lush, compelling saga of the Cuban American Perez sisters in her fifth historical novel, Our Last Days in Barcelona. In 1964, eldest sister Isabel takes an impulsive trip to Spain in search of her sister Beatriz. Worried Beatriz's intelligence work and devil-may-care attitude may have put her in danger, Isabel nevertheless jumps at the chance to escape her unhappy marriage for a time. What Isabel finds in Barcelona, including an old family photograph she's never seen before, raises more questions than answers about both Beatriz's whereabouts and their family's history.
Cleeton deftly weaves Isabel's narrative together with that of her mother, Alicia Perez, who fled to Barcelona to escape her own troubled marriage in 1936, with toddler Isabel in tow. As the Spanish Civil War escalates, Alicia and her family are caught up in the violence and uncertainty, as well as other, more personal crises. Both narratives also involve Rosa, Alicia's dear friend and cousin by marriage, who must make some difficult decisions regarding her relationships and where she wants to build her life.
Cleeton vividly describes Barcelona through the eyes of her protagonists; the city, and its mixture of art and tragedy, is the perfect backdrop for Alicia's struggle and Isabel's soul-searching. The Perez women display their strength in very different ways, and Cleeton celebrates each for their fortitude. Full of rich historical detail and vibrant characters, Our Last Days in Barcelona stands on its own, but also gives readers another glimpse into the continuing story of the Perez family. --Katie Noah Gibson, blogger at Cakes, Tea and Dreams