PADURA, LEONARDO
u003cpu003ePraise for u003ciu003eHavana Redu003c/iu003e, the first of the Lt. Conde series: u003c/pu003eu003cpu003e"Another winner from Bitter Lemon...an innovative take on the traditional detective story. A macho cop whose investigation into the murder of a transvestite leads him to ruminate on his own attraction to this 'philosophy of mimetics and erasure.'--u003ciu003eThe New York Timesu003c/iu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003e"A scorching novel from a star of Cuban fiction. Conde's quest follows the basic rhythm of the whodunit, but Padura syncopates it with brilliant literary riffs on Cuban sex, society, religion, even food."--u003ciu003eIndependentu003c/iu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe brutally mutilated body of Miguel Forcade is discovered washed up on a Havana beach. Head smashed in by a baseball bat, genitals cut off by a dull knife. Forcade was once responsible for the confiscation of art works from the bourgeoisie fleeing the revolution. Had he really returned from exile just to visit his ailing father?u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe novel evokes the disillusion of a generation, many of them veterans of the war in Angola, discovering the corruption of those who preceded them. Yet it is a eulogy of Cuba, its life of music, sex and the great friendships of the people who elected to stay and fight for survival.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu003cbu003eLeonardo Padurau003c/bu003e was born in 1955 in Havana and lives in Cuba. He is a prize-winning novelist, essayist, journalist, and scriptwriter.u003c/pu003e