Dirty Havana Trilogy : A Novel in Stories

Rating:
Summary: Griity look at modern Cuba
Review: Following the collapse of the silver spoon better known as the Soviet Union, Castro decided to "reform" the Cuban economy in the early nineties. However, the slight change in what a local can own and sell has little effect on the disenfranchised intellectual community.

As an idealistic youth, Pedro Juan expected to become a great writer, but by early 1993, he can no longer deal with journalist reports that treat everyone as if they are morons. He quits his day job and becomes a Communist entrepreneur selling anything and everything including his body. At time he crosses the economic legal line and lands in jail. As he becomes more depravingly self-centered, Pedro Juan seeks wine, women, and weed with no hope for more than a bleak decaying future even with the beautiful Caribbean just outside his reach.

DIRTY HAVANA TRILOGY is a gritty, at times deliberately written in poor taste, series of grimy vignettes loosely tied together through the main character. The story line is not for the faint of heart as Pedro Juan Gutierrez paints a grim, gray look at modern Cuban society. Readers will loathe and sympathize over the downward spiral of the antihero, who compensates from a lack of mental activities with many me-me physical pursuits. Bluntly, Pedro Juan is a racist, sexist person, who deserves no empathy, yet manages to garner plenty from the audience. This novel is quite graphic sexually. It is also a no holds look at a decaying society that Pedro Juan symbolizes in every way possible, spiraling into depravity. This well-written quasi-autobiography will either bring adoring fans to the author or condemnation for bad taste without counting how Fidel will react.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: My Favorite book of all time
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Dirty Havana Trilogy
Review: I came across this book while vacationing down in Mexico. An excellent read if you prefer a sparse, terse style of a gritty subject matter. NOT for the faint of heart, nor for politically correct bores.

"Dirty Havana Trilogy" is a series of short chapters, vignettes, of daily life in Havana during the harsh mid-90s. If you have been to Cuba, or are planning on visiting, then read this book.

When conditions become so harsh as to drive a population to harsh measures, they will be taken. The alternative is slow starvation and death. With this as a backdrop, read Pedro Juan Gutierrez's book with great empathy. The graphic descriptions of sex and rum and cigars lift the crushing weight of a painful, meager daily existence.

I found myself reading a chapter or two aloud to a table of friends. Inevitably, some were put off, but many more gathered around, wanting to hear more. Many times, we were all doubled over with laughter. Try it and see for yourself.
I read the book straight through from cover to cover. I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest outside of the United States.

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