Dirty Havana Trilogy

by Gutierrez, Pedro Juan

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Faber and Faber. January 2, 2002. Paperback. Very Good. The streetwise gutsiness of Bukowski and Miller pervades Cuban poet Guti rr ez's raunchy, symbolic, semi-autobiographical debut novel of life in 1990s Havana. Although the title suggests a triptych, the work more closely resem bles a mosaic of short stories bursting with vivid images of exhilaration, depravity, desire and isolation. Narrator Pedro Juan, middle- aged and fed u p, has rejected his career as a journalist because "I always had to write a s 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 thro ugh a series of menial jobs. His rooftop apartment in central Havana has a spectacular Caribbean view but is, like all dwellings in the decaying econo my, frequently without water. Pedro Juan is imprisoned more than once for m inor crimes; after one lengthy sentence, he returns home to discover that h is 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 of fers 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." Guti rrez's talent lies in creating a macho, self-abusive protagon ist who remains engagingly sympathetic. This searing, no-holds- barred portr ait 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 ph