Book Reviews
A Little Piece of Cuba
A Journey to Become Cubana-Americana
Barbara Caver
She Writes Press
December 2, 2025
ISBN-13 979-8896360148
Contact: Lydia Rasmussen, lydia.rasmussen@smithpublicity.com
Reviewed by Edith G. Tolchin (edietolchin.com/book-reviews); EGT@edietolchin.com
“I boarded a plane in New York City in 2017 and three hours later, I walked into an airport hangar in Havana in 1961.”
Barbara Caver’s mother, Carmen, was born in Havana 65 years before the author, herself, had stepped back into time during a visit in 2017.
Caver’s grandparents left Castro’s Cuba “like a bad divorce” in 1959 for vacation in the USA, and never returned, settling in South Carolina, leaving their granddaughter with no significant Cuban background.
At NYU, the author’s yet-undiscovered culture began to unroll. Years later, when the Obama administration eased “travel restrictions for Americans going to Cuba,” Caver made the decision to visit with husband, Todd.
That visit awakened Caver’s senses to her Cuban culture. “I don’t speak Spanish until it’s time to order food . . .” but a familiarity evolved. Then the location of her great-grandmother’s home that matched Caver’s ancient photo became a reality.
Now a residence of the British ambassador to Cuba, the colorful tiles and the “M” for (family name) Mendoza confirmed their location. Caver’s issue was that Spanish knowledge evaporated as her mom’s siblings assimilated and spoke only English. Caver’s Mom married very Southern-American Tony.
Caver was named Carmelina Barbara—Carmelina after her Cuban grandmother, and Barbara after her dad’s (American) mother. From kindergarten, she used “Barbara” because it was easier for the Southerners to pronounce.
Schoolmate “Sara the Real Cuban” gently aroused Caver’s curiosity for Cuba. She and Caver spotted Cuba from a senior trip cruise ship.
Jumping back to Caver’s youth summers, her family traveled from South Carolina to visit “Grandma Faraway” (her mom’s mom) and grandfather at Valle Farm—a drive that took two days to Louisiana. It was her own idyllic version of summer camp, complete with sunburn and insect bites, and a taste of her grandparents’ life in Cuba.
Back to Caver’s 2017 Havana trip with Todd, they located the church (Sagrada Corazon) which held “a trove of family history,” including that of her great-great grandparents, her grandparents, and her mom’s school. But they couldn’t find their grandmother’s home because street names were changed.
Their trip brought back childhood memories of certain dishes served while visiting her Cuban grandparents in Louisiana; Caver began to cook those dishes, without recipes. And a dream about “Señora Cuba” granted Caver the choice of her heritage, “. . . to proudly claim and tell my story.”
Of note is that the slightly disjointed narrative jumps back and forth from present (trip to Cuba) to past (Caver’s childhood), while Caver explores her southern and Cuban roots.
Proofreading by a translator would have corrected the repeated “Vámanos” to the actual, “Vámonos;” “Ay!” to “¡Ay!”
A Little Piece of Cuba, by Barbara Caver, is, however, a work of art and sarcastic humor, full of gorgeous descriptions of locale which make the reader anhelar un viaje back in time to picturesque Cuba.