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Dirty
Havana Trilogy
Pedro Juan Gutiérrez
Other editions:
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The streetwise gustiness
of Bukowski and Miller pervades Cuban poet Gutiérrez's
raunchy, symbolic, semi-autobiographical debut novel of life
in 1990s Havana. Although the title suggests a triptych (Marooned
in no-man's-land, Nothing to do and Essence
of me), the work more closely resembles a mosaic of short
stories bursting with vivid images of exhilaration, depravity,
desire and isolation. Narrator Pedro Juan, middle-aged and
fed up, has rejected his career as a journalist because "I
always had to write as if stupid people were reading me."
Resisting the mass exodus from Cuba of August 1994, Pedro
Juan now wanders the streets of Havana like a footloose Bacchus,
indulging himself with women, marijuana and rum. He survives
through a series of menial jobs. His rooftop
apartment in central Havana has a spectacular Caribbean view
but is, like all dwellings in the decaying economy, frequently
without water. Pedro Juan is imprisoned more than once for
minor crimes; after one lengthy sentence, he returns home
to discover that his lover has replaced him with another man.
He eventually drifts back into the urban maelstrom. Prolific,
explicit sex scenes reinforce the plight of the artist, and
thus a society, limited to physical pleasures where life offers
no intellectual or creative rewards. "It's been years
since I expected anything, anything at all, of women, or of
friends, or even of myself, of anyone." Gutiérrez's
talent lies in creating a macho, self-abusive protagonist
who remains engagingly sympathetic. This searing, no-holds-barred
portrait of modern Cuba, expertly translated by Wimmer into
prose strong in the rhythms and vulgar beauty of the city,
comes complete with a sexy jacket photo. It will attract readers
who like their fiction down, dirty and literate.
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