But in his fiction, hes able to shine a light on moments often lost to history.
It also tackles another atrocity often omitted from the historical record: the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane.
Many were burned alive inside the local Catholic church.
Credit: Ciro Gutierrez; Atria Books
What made you want to move the action more predominantly to Europe this time round?
But what became of the other 900 Jewish refugees who were forced to return to Europe?
Both novels required years of investigation.
They were two completely different writing processes.
I even purchased the diary of the ships captain, autographed by him.
Do you see parallels between yourself and your heroine?
As teenagers, we would joke that all Cubans suffered Marco Polo syndrome: We all wanted to leave.
Now it was a cleansing of ideas.
It was peoples minds they were afraid of, not their physical traits.
What compelled you to use that for your plot?
We have to forget to survive, at least thats the case with some.
I include myself in that group.
You cannot live carrying the past as a burden on your shoulders.
On one hand it is healthy to forget, but it can also be dangerous.
Its the dichotomy of the refugee, the exiled, the stateless.
Youve worked your whole life as a journalist, and both these books draw on actual historical circumstances.
Did you ever consider relaying these events in a work of nonfiction?
I even thought about including the interviews I did with theSaint Louissurvivors and historians.
But I wanted to stretch outside of my comfort zone.
And there are already plenty of great nonfiction books, complete works, about that tragedy.
So, I started the creative process and let my imagination run free.
Does that impact you on a personal level?
Writing to me is a very personal endeavor.
Some meditate, do yoga, go to the gym.
I write and forget the world around me exists.
Writing is a form of meditation for me.
Since my three kids were born, I tend to cry very easily.
It could be after reading a book, watching a film, even when I hear a sad story.
You write in Spanish and the version Im working from is translated into English.
I can only do this in Spanish.
Picking the right translator for my book wasnt easy.
Im honored to work with him, someone who translates writers like Isabel Allende and Arturo Perez Reverte.
Its double the work.
Sometimes, the translation has been so good that it motivated me to change the original text in Spanish.
Its a very fluid process.
Do the events surrounding theSt.
That means that every year there are fewer survivors of this tragedy.
Also, very little is known about the 28 passengers who were allowed to disembark in Havana.
The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., has done an excellent job of tracking down theSaint Louispassengers.
But my third book will be the last of this saga.
