Dancing to 'Almendra'

by Mayra Montero (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2008

  $106.35

  Havana 1957. On the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber's chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from Havana Zoo. Joaquin Porrata is the young Cuban journalist assigned to cover the latter story but, told by a secretive zookeeper that he 'knows too much', he soon discovers that the two events are not as unconnected as they might initially seem. An ardent and thrilling tale of innocence lost, of Havana's secret one-time world of violence, fantastic characters and extravagant crimes, Dancing to 'Almendra' is a triumph of story-telling from one of Latin America's most impassioned and intoxicating voices. 'Brilliant ...Montero moves her story along at a lick, but in the giddy swirl of events she leaves plenty of space for absurdist humour. She handles this blend of fact and fiction with brio' Observer 'Combining the dangerous world of violence with the glittering surface of Havana's nightlife, this is an intoxicating tale' Metro 'A sensitive and touching novel' Big Issue 'Brilliant ...Dancing to 'Almendra' is an exuberant must-read' Observer

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $3.28

  In Havana in 1957, on the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber's chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from the zoo and is shot and killed by its pursuers. Assigned to cover the zoo story, Joaquin Porrata, a young Cuban journalist, finds himself embroiled in the mysterious connections between the hippo's death and the mobster's when a secretive zookeeper whispers to him that he 'knows too much'. In exchange for a promise to introduce the keeper to his idol, the film star George Raft, now the host of the Capri casino, Joaquin gets information that ensnares him in an ever-thickening plot of murder, mobsters, and, finally, love. The love story is another mystery. Told by Yolanda, a beautiful ex-circus performer now working for the famed Sans Souci cabaret, it interleaves through Joaquin's underworld investigations, eventually revealing a family secret deeper even than Havana's brilliantly evoked enigmas.In Dancing to 'Almendra' , Mayra Montero has created an ardent and thrilling tale of innocence lost, of Havana's secret world that is 'the basis for the clamor of the city', and of the end of a violent era of fantastic characters and extravagant crimes. Based on the true history of a bewitching city and its denizens, 'Almendra' is the latest triumph from one of Latin America's most impassioned and intoxicating voices. Praise for Mayra Montero's previous novels includes: 'A literary tour de force...A tale of unforgettable beauty' - Los Angeles Times on The Messenger . 'A dazzling, original fugue on love and extinction' - New Yorker on The Palm of Darkness .