I was not sure if the main theme of the book was romance or life in Cuba. It is fine to try to have a romance set in Cuba or telling the story of life in Cuba through a love story but in the end, it felt neither here nor there. I have not been to Cuba and so I can't comment on the authencity of the author's description of the country. As for the love story, I was not entirely sure what Richard and Lourdes saw in each other to fall in love. Their so-called love felt a little superficial and unconvincing. Richard always seemed impatient to have sex with Lourdes. He just appeared to me as someone not sure about what he wants and afraid to confront what he wants. In comparison, Lourdes was pretty single-minded about what she wanted. The ending was up to anybody's interpretation, was it a sad story or not? Maybe the tragedy was about Lourdes' hope that love could overcome any obstacles and Richard's skepticism about love and trust, just disillusion and regret in the end.