"[A] superb collection . . . The 18 stories by current and former residents of Havana are gritty, heartbreaking and capture the city." Orlando Sentinel
To most outsiders, Havana is a tropical sin city. Habaneros know that this is neither new nor particularly true. In the real Havanathe lawless Havana that never appears in the postcards or tourist guidesthe concept of sin has been banished by the urgency of need. And needaching and hungryinevitably turns the human heart darker, feral, and criminal. In this Havana, crime, though officially vanquished by revolutionary decree, is both wistfully quotidian and personally vicious.
In the stories of Havana Noir, current and former residents of the citysome international sensations such as Leonardo Padura, others exciting new voices like Yohamna Depestreuncover crimes of violence and loveless sex, of mental cruelty and greed, of self-preservation and collective hysteria. Other authors include: Pablo Medina, Alex Abella, Arturo Arango, Lea Aschkenas, Moisés Asís, Arnaldo Correa, Mabel Cuesta, Michel Encinosa Fú, Mylene Fernández Pintado, Carolina García-Aguilera, Miguel Mejides, Achy Obejas, Oscar F. Ortíz, Ena Lucía Portela, Mariela Varona Roque, and Yoss.
"[A] remarkable collection . . . gritty tales of deprivation, depravity, heroic perseverance, revolution and longing in a city mythical and widely misunderstood." TheMiami Herald