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More than sex in Havana Mr. Gutierrez's book is more than just the story of promiscuous sex and survival in the Havana of 1994-5, when the economic crisis in Cuba was worse than ever. His style sometimes reminds me of Hemingways's: concise, clear, strong, makes you feel that you are there: touching chairs, feeling the breeze from the Malecon, having an encounter with a beautiful mulatta. His main character's alienation and desperation reminds one of one of those French existential characters who happens to have Di Chirico's and Hopper's paintings or posters on his wall. As bad as things were in Havana at that time, there is a certain excitement in his description that makes the reader want to get rid of many of the trappings of our consumerist society in order to experience the lightness of existing as a self. In a surrealistic manner,bbhe destroys traditional morality in order to arrive at a more honest view of what is really moral in a world where the most important thing is individual survival Some good insight to Cuba's "Special period" In this book, Pedro Juan Gutierrez writes about his tyring times in Cuba in the early - mid 1990s. This is the period of recession right after the collapse of the Soviet Union that President Fidel Castro called the "Special period". There are also short tales about the struggles of others such as Pedro Juan's neighbors. Some may find his style of writing raunchy and offensive but in light of the pessimistic environment in which he lives, it is understandable. Pedro Juan (a former jounalist) now finds himself in a downward spiral having to come up with a plan every day on how to get food in his stomach or to just temporarily escape reality through drinking or promiscuous sexual encounters. He often hops from one odd job to another, sells black-market produce, befriends foreigners, begs, sells his body or anything else to get enough money to just get by with. This book is no Shakespeare, that's for sure. However, the way it was written and the content of this book had me glued to it. I found myself several times late at night reading it, telling myself "OK....after this chapter, I'll stop".....but instead kept reading a few chapters more. I have travelled to Havana and other parts three times and have seen the desperate way of life of these truly beautiful people in that country. This book is written by someone who is living through this, not a foreigner.....so it really gives the reader a raw sense of life in Cuba. I recommend this book to anyone, but especially to those who plan to travel or have travelled to Cuba. My Favorite book of all time Having first heard of this book in of all places "Vibe" magazine , I thought it would be just another book about Castro, Che, and such. Much to my delight it was the final step in my living my life long dream of visiting Havana, Cuba. Having now gone to Havana twice I can see how the stories in this book can be or rather must be true. It showcases a man's struggle to find food, not only for the body but also for his soul, although the methods are at times not the greatest,nor always the right thing. Having talked to many people in my two trips to the island of Cuba, about the "Special Period" I find that Pedro's tales are just the tip of a shocking real life story. Dirty Havana in Stark Relief More than a political or social comment on early 90s life under Castro, Dirty Havana Trilogy is a biology tract. It depicts the habits, instincts, and behavior of human animals in the cage of intellectual deprivation, physical starvation, and social morass. Devoid of dreams for a better tomorrow or the knowledge of where the next meal is coming from, immediate physical relief -- whether brought on by food, water, alcohol, sex, or violence -- becomes the only thing attainable in Gutierrez's bleak panorama. And when the squeeze is on, his lab rats do all manner of hideous things to one another to get it. I picked up the book on a whim on the hope that I'd get an insight into contemporary Cuba. I finished the book thinking that I had instead just gotten a tour of hell, the variety of which exists in any number of poverty-stricken areas of the world. But while it lasted the tour was compelling, vivid in its savagery. A True Novel No way Pedro could have made up all of these stories! I feel that this book has been deemed a novel simply because the identities of the Cuban involved have been protected. I barely put this book down. I am surprised that Pedro still lives in Cuba after revealing so much about the troubled country. Even though the author turned many readers off with his sloppy sex scenes, racist comments, and general ragamuffin attitude, I was riveted. I can only hope that after writing the book and making some money, Pedro will no longer live off a staple of cigars and rum. I am about to order a copy to send to my buddy who is stationed in Guantanamo Bay. I refuse to give up my copy. I am sure that I will read it again. Too bad it doesn't come with a map. See also:
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