In Lilian George’s The Cuban Manuscript, Liana travels to Cuba with her husband Marko in a government work placement that assigns them housing in Guantánamo, where their daughter Alina must adapt to a school system tied to public displays of loyalty. After a hurricane contaminates the water, Liana begins writing detailed accounts of what she witnesses, recording how families get food, how illness spreads among children, and how officials track movements in the neighborhood. As she continues, her notebook becomes a record of daily life under state oversight, and she names it The Cuban Manuscript. When signs emerge that her actions are being watched, she conceals her writing and alters her behavior in public. Whether or not her manuscript is discovered will decide if her account survives or is erased—alongside her.

Lilian George’s The Cuban Manuscript is an incredible story in its detail. A classroom becomes a work site as students spend days cutting onions until their hands split and their eyes sting, and a pediatrician treats children in his own home out of necessity, as the hospitals lack even the most basic equipment. Liana is the lens through which the story is filtered, and her perspective is really well executed. I was most fascinated by the children, particularly Alina. There's a scene where she's in a school drill, and the children rehearse dealing with injuries using red liquid as stand-in blood. As a parent, her return home is a brutal reminder of how kids are impacted. The descriptions are spectacular, from a home in Guantánamo where water must be boiled to make it potable, and insects gather along cracked walls, to rural cooperative houses, with girls sleeping on straw above animal waste and a single bulb offering dim light. This is a powerful story worth every moment spent in its pages. Very highly recommended.

The Cuban Manuscript by Lilian George follows Liana, a young girl growing up in a Soviet-controlled regime in Eastern Europe, where daily life is shaped by fear, scarcity, and strict control. Liana’s childhood was spent in a cramped apartment shared with extended family, where hunger and political oppression were constant realities. Her father’s past and her family’s history make them targets, forcing them to live cautiously while enduring surveillance and intimidation. As Liana grows up, she begins to question the system around her, even as she is forced to outwardly conform. Her experiences at school, in forced labor settings, and in her community reveal the harsh realities behind the promises of a so-called socialist paradise. As she matures into adolescence and adulthood, Liana faces further struggles, including harassment in the workplace and the challenges of raising a child in a system that offers little protection.

The Cuban Manuscript is written in a direct style that places readers with Liana as she moves through each stage of her life, including the moments that connect her experiences to Cuba. The pacing is steady, blending intense scenes with quieter reflections that help readers understand her thoughts and growth over time. George relies heavily on sensory detail, using descriptions of hunger, fear, and physical surroundings to create an intense sense of place, whether in her early environment or in later connections to Cuba. Dialogue is used carefully, often revealing power dynamics without lengthy exchanges, keeping the narrative focused. The structure follows Liana closely, allowing her perspective to guide the story as she grows from a child into an adult shaped by her circumstances. Readers who enjoy historical fiction centered on personal experiences and political conditions will find this book engaging.