Find Me in Havana

Find Me in Havana by Serena Burdick 336 pages

I have to admit that I was not familiar with the name Estelita Rodriguez, “one of Hollywood’s most celebrated actresses.” However when I Googled her, I did, somewhat, recognize her, mostly from the John Wayne film, “Rio Bravo.” Estelita died in 1966, but author Bursick interviewed her daughter, Nina, to help gain insight into this interesting woman.

The story is told in letters or journal entries from Estelia and Nina, but I found them awkward; I it was hard for me to know what year each entry was in.

It starts out as a mystery. Nina discusses her mother’s death. It seems that she doesn’t know if Estelita died of natural causes or was murdered. I think that is supposed to central to the novel, but I found it mostly to be an afterthought.

One of the biggest problems I had with reading this novel is that I was never sure who was really talking because the voices sounded exactly alike. Each chapter had a title and either “Mother” or “Daughter” to delineate the difference, but after I turned the page, I would forget who was talking.  

The hardships they endured, however, could never cut the ties between the two women. In fact, the mother-child relationship takes center stage and that part fascinated me. But, for me, the plot never went anywhere. There was little tension, even in the most desperate of times. And I’,m still not sure exactly how Estelita’s life ended. Therefore, Find Me in Havana receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.