Book of Havana

The stories gathered in this anthology reflect the many complex challenges Havana’s citizens have had to endure as a result of their country’s political isolation—from the hardships of the "Special Period," to the pitfalls of Cuba’s schizophrenic currency system, to the indignities of becoming a cheap tourist destination for well-heeled Westerners. Moving through various moments in its recent history, as well as through different neighbourhoods—from the prefab, Soviet-era maze of Alamar, to the bars and nightclubs of the Malecón and Vedado—these stories also demonstrate the defiance of Havana: surviving decades of economic disappointment with a flair for the comic, the surreal and the fantastical that remains as fresh as the first dreams of revolution.

Povestile adunate in aceasta antologie reflecta numeroasele provocari complexe pe care cetatenii Havanei au trebuit sa le suporte ca urmare a izolarii politice a tarii lor - de la greutatile „perioadei speciale”, pana la capcanele sistemului monetar schizofrenic al Cubei, pana la indignitatile de a deveni o destinatie turistica ieftina pentru occidentalii bine calcati.