Arts and Literature of Cuba

Havana, seedy and decaying, usually figures prominently in the novels. Padura’s is a hard-boiled yet literary style reminis- cent of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, two American writers he’s said he admires. In 2005’s Adios Hemingway , Padura describes Conde’s sense of alienation thus- ly: “He was a . . . private detective in a country with neither detectives nor private people; he felt like a bad metaphor for a strange reality.” In addition to his detective fiction, Padura’s other impor- tant work includes the 2009 novel El hombre que amaba a los perros ( The Man Who Loved Dogs ). It’s a sweeping account of the 1940 murder of Leon Trotsky, a communist who’d fallen out with Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

Text-Dependent Questions

1. Which novelist is also known for his masterful study of Cuban music? 2. Who wrote Three Trapped Tigers ? 3. Name the book that launched the testimonial narrative genre.

Research Project Interview a grandparent, parent, or other older adult you know about a spe- cific period in their life. Then write a two-page testimonio , in which you try to tell, in the adult’s voice, his or her story.

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