Havana: A Subtropical Delirium by Mark Kurlansky

Havana: A Subtropical Delirium Reviews

• 
  Diane S ☔

  I have never been to Havana, the closest I have gotten is San Juan, Puerto Rico which I loved but which the author makes clear is a poor substitution for Havana. This was just enough of a biography of a city that has been remade several times over, though some things always stay the same the city has been through many upheavals. The Spanish, a pirate's paradise, the Americans and the mob, the storms that have ravaged the city, the fires set that have burned it down, but always it rises again.
  
  The food, the culture, slavery, the mix of people, the mulattas, the music, the food, narrow streets, the architecture, and the dirt and grime. Hemingway is revered here, this was the place he made his longest home, drank in the bars, ate in the restaurants. The revolution, Castro and the things that changed. Interesting trivia, Hemingway hated sugar and Castro loved ice cream. Havana seems to be a city of its own, own vibes, its own atmosphere, its own smells. Beliefs, all the different beliefs combined, mix and match, Santeria from the African influence, so many blends of cultures here. Quite fascinating.
  
  Loved the writing style but this is in no way a in depth study of the city but just enough for me, learned quite a bit and was entertained by this city I will probably never visit. Could quite literally not take the heat, and of course the sweat that permeates the air, covers the people, I do not find enticing. The city though I find extremely interesting, in thought only of course and I enjoyed the drawing, pictures and recipes that were included.
• 
  Esil

  I've been to Cuba many times on holidays to warm my bones and get away from the cold Canadian winter for a few days. These were mostly resort vacations on Cuba's beautiful beaches. Quite a few years ago, a childhood friend and I were marking a common big birthday and we decided to spend a week in Havana, which was a different vacation altogether. We explored the neighbourhoods, we visited museums, monuments and the famed cemetery, we spent time on a beach with locals and we happened upon a huge political demonstration. I don't speak Spanish but my friend speaks Spanish, so we also had an opportunity to have some interesting conversations with a few residents of Havana -- for example, our female taxi driver who was a trained engineer but made more money driving taxis, and a journalist who gave us some insight into the challenges of reporting in Cuba. I came away amazed at this complex city with its beautiful crumbling old buildings and complex economic and social layers. And I felt like I only touched the tip of the iceberg.
  
  Havana, written by Mark Kurlansky who also wrote Salt and Cod, was a great companion to my trip. In this relatively short book, Kurlansky surveys Havana's history, including the history of its slave trade, years of wealth and political turmoil, and more recent revolution. He explores issues of race and gender. He delves into Havana's literary, religious, architectural and musical histories. He explores Africa's influence on Havana and the Spanish spoken in Cuba. And much more. Every topic is explored briefly, so there isn't much room for depth but there's enough information to make it interesting. He also approaches Havana from a seemingly politically neutral position -- neither condemning nor romanticizing contemporary Havana but rather seeing some positive and some negative. Unusually for an American, Kurlansky appears to have traveled to Havana regularly since the early 1980s and his book is informed by research and his own observations and experiences. Ultimately, Havana feels like an ode to a complex, flawed but much loved city. I really enjoyed it given my own experience there, but I'm not sure how meaningful it would be to anyone who has not been to Havana or who doesn't plan to travel there. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.
• 
  Lorna

  Havana: A Subtropical Delerium was a beautiful book by Mark Kurlansky, a journalist for thirty-five plus years, much of that time spent in the Caribbean as a foreign correspondent. This book focuses on the historic colonial city of Havana throughout its rich and colorful history from the early 1500's when the Spanish conquistadors developing it as a world class port, throughout its history with Batista and Castro. Each chapter features wonderful passages from Cuban writers as well as Kurlansky's own beautiful and illustrative pen-and-ink drawings to enhance the narrative. He talks about Columbian writers as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and features Latin American and Cuban writers such as Abilio Estevez, Jose Marti, Cirilo Villaverde, Cecelia Valdes, and Jose Lezama Lima featuring the epigraphs for each chapter. Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana is frequently referenced, too. It needs to be mentioned that Ernest Hemingway, drawn to deep sea fishing, spent a lot of time in Havana and he is one of their favorites, actually magical in how they revere him. After all, Ernest Hemingway spent thirty-plus years in Havana.
  
  Cuba has long been on my list of places to go. There was a short window when Barack Obama was president, but that opening of diplomatic relations between President Obama and Raul Castro has been shut down by the Trump administration, but I still hope. . . Meanwhile, the book also has delightful recipes for everything from the perfect Mojito to picadillo to a variety of flavors of ice cream, some Fidel Castro's favorites. But we also have the delightful Havana and Cuban music that is son and said to have consumed the daily life of Havana as it pulses through the life of this city.
  
  "The Malecon completely changed Havana's perspective. Until its construction, Havana was a city on the bay. Once the Malecon was built, Habaneros turned their heads from the bay to the ocean. Havana became a city on the sea, on the Atlantic, the Straits, facing the Gulf Stream--the city to which Hemingway was drawn. The Malecon is still a favorite spot--the place to go fishing, the place for lovers to walk along while listening to a rumbling sea or to embrace in the shadows, the place to pick out a tune on the guitar at night, the only place with Atlantic breezes on a relentlessly broiling day, the place to cool off at nighttime, the place to take refuge behind the endless columns of the buildings along the boulevard, the place to face the sea where the ocean runs a bit wild and whitecaps lap and splash over the edge of the road. It was thrilling to dive past the waves."
• 
  Ethan

  And yet--and perhaps with the same perversity with which moviegoers find film noir romantic, even though they are sad stories of luckless people--Havana, for all its smells, sweat, crumbling walls, isolation, and difficult history, is the most romantic city in the world.
  
  As someone who has actually been to the wonderful city of Havana, but who knows very little about it, I was excited to read Mark Kurlansky's Havana: A Subtropical Delirium so I could gain a more complete and intimate knowledge of the city and its history. I was not disappointed. Kurlansky's book details the history of the city all the way back to the colonization of Cuba by the Spanish over five hundred years ago, economically moving from then to the city's modern history, and most places in between, in a book that's somehow only 272 pages long.
  
  Seemingly everything you'd want to know about the city is covered, and Kurlansky pulls no punches. Havana, like many cities in the Americas, was heavily reliant on African slaves brought in as part of the Atlantic slave trade. These slaves were treated horribly, could be mutilated publicly for people's amusement, and were treated like cattle. Kurlansky doesn't shy away from telling this and other difficult parts of the city's history, like the Spanish colonization and subsequent genocide of the Taino people, who were the native inhabitants of Cuba pre-colonization, and the city's class system, which is largely based on race and racism.
  
  Topics covered include the city's history as it relates to the Cuban Revolution, its history and relationship with the United States, its religions, food, important buildings, music, climate, architecture, races, customs, languages, sports, statues, neighbourhoods, tourism, and much more. For a book that includes so much detail on so many topics, it is rarely boring, and as I mentioned is quite short, so it's easy to get through if you do end up getting bored.
  
  A few minor criticisms. For better or worse, the book is a bit scatterbrained, jumping between comprehensive historical accounts of some parts of Havana's history and more relaxed factoids, like that of Fidel Castro's affection for ice cream. To highlight this jumping between the two, one chapter had "Death" in the title, initially discussing a somber part of the city's history, but by the end of the chapter the author was discussing Havana's restaurants and listing recipes for some of its local food and drink. It seemed a bit disconnected to me.
  
  The book also does have pictures, but I personally found they were somewhat scarce. I would have liked to see more pictures of some of the important people, places, buildings, and statues mentioned in the book. That being said, I did like the pictures that were included, and found they complimented the text well.
  
  The food recipes were also a bit of a disappointment. When I found out this book had recipes for Havana's food, I was really excited to read them, so I could try to make them myself at home. But it turns out you can't really use some of them. Some don't have any quantities listed for the ingredients, and some require hard-to-find ingredients, such as roots that are native to Cuba.
  
  Criticisms aside, I enjoyed Havana. It's a fairly comprehensive and clearly well-researched account of the history of one of the world's most incredible cities. I came away with a far more intimate knowledge of the city than I had before, so I'm very glad I decided to pick this one up.
  
  Recommended!
• 
  Jenny (Reading Envy)

  "Havana is not a city for people who are squeamish about sweat. Sweat is one of the many defining smells in redolent Havana and is a leitmotif in almost all Havana literature."
  
  If you are familiar with Kurlansky's other non-fiction, for instance
  Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World or
  Salt: A World History, imagine the same thorough look at a singular subject applied to the city of Havana. Mark Kurlansky has visited Cuba for decades, and has a great love for the city of Havana.
  
  He examines history, architecture, politics, trade (especially ports!), food, music, and literature. Throughout the book he references characters or stories from Cuban literature, which I liked. At the end is an extensive bibliography of more reading, both fiction and non-fiction.
  
  Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.
• 
  Jason Pettus

  (Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
  
  Although I enjoyed Mark Kurlansky's newest nonfiction book Havana, I don't actually have a lot to say about it, simply because there's not much to it in the first place; not exactly a travel guide to this capital of Cuba, not exactly a history, and not exactly a memoir, it's instead a curious mix of them all, what you might call a "biographical sketch of a city" in the spirit of Peter Ackroyd's London. As such, then, it makes for pleasant surface-level reading, a book that has a general theme per chapter but then spits out random factoids within each of these chapters, full of interesting trivia (did you know that the Sloppy Joe sandwich was invented in Cuba?), but that never really digs down into a deeper or more meaningful look at this fascinating, complicated city. With the Obamian normalization of relations between the US and Cuba, now has never been a better time to read a light but engaging book like this, one that will give most Americans their first look at this most curious of Caribbean destinations; hopefully it will serve to whet your appetite for more.
  
  Out of 10: 8.5
• 
  Christopher

  With the normalization of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, the easing of travel restrictions to the island, and the death of Fidel Castro last year, more Americans will have the opportunity to visit this gem of the Caribbean soon (assuming the Trump administration doesn't decide to muck it all up). But large numbers of Americans have not visited the island in over 50 years. So what will they experience when they arrive? This book, written by a former foreign correspondent in Havana for the Chicago Tribune, not only gives people a sense of the history of the capital city, Havana, but of the people who have lived there in good times and bad.
  
  Starting with the founding of the city by Spanish colonists in the 16th century, Mr. Kurlansky takes readers on a voyage through 400+ years of Havana history and culture. While following a broadly chronological order, the book also jumps from topic to topic as they crop up. It is a nearly flawless meshing of two different narrative methods of organization and I love it. But one of the greatest things Mr. Kurlansky does is root his history in the culture and struggles of the local people, the "Habaneros" as they call themselves.
  
  One of the best examples of this is how Mr. Kurlansky peppers his narrative with the Habaneros' dark sense of humor, much of which is laugh out loud hysterical. One example that I can't pass up comes from the end of the book: In chapter 12, Mr. Kurlansky discusses Habaneros' preoccupation with martyrdom. Nothing moves a Habaneros quite like a martyr for the cause according to Mr. Kurlansky: "Just when he was riding high, though, [Eddy "El Loco" Chibás] made a mistake by railing against an alleged incident of corruption that seemed false- it seemed that Chibás had been misinformed. He started to lose his credibility./ This being Havana, it was time to consider martyrdom for the cause. At the end of his next broadcast, on August 5, 1951, Chibas announced, 'This is my last call,' a declaration often mockingly repeated for months in the heartless humor of Havana. Then he took out a .32 caliber revolver and shot himself in the stomach, a slow and painful way to die. The final pronouncement, the shot fired, the body thumping onto the table by the microphone- it was all supposed to be a dramatic message for his listeners. Except that, as Cabrera Infante said, 'being a true Cuban politician,' Chibás talked beyond his allotted time, and during the whole grand finale the station cut to a coffee commercial." It's moments of dark humor like this that keep the reader engaged beyond just your typical political and social history.
  
  Filled with fascinating historical moments, cultural insights and dark humor, Mr. Kurlansky gives readers a glimpse of the character of the Habaneros themselves. And that, to me at least, is more important than where to find the best frozen daiquiris on the island.
• 
  Mariann

  Mark Kurlansky "Havanna. Subtroopiline deliirium" on minu teine kohtumine Kuubaga. Esimene oli vaid mõni nädal tagasi - Rain Urbsalu "Minu Kuuba".
  
  Havanna on linn, mis on palju näinud ning ajaloo jooksul olnud erineva ilmega. Juba linna rajamisel 1514-1519. aastatel pidid elanikud neid kimbutavate putukate ja haiguste tõttu kaks korda ümber asuma, enne kui kolisid paika, kus linn tänapäeval laiub. Havannat on kujundanud hispaanlased, kellele see oli vahepeatuseks Lõuna-Ameerikast röövitud rikkuste kodumaale toimetamisel, piraadid, kes seda rüüstasid ning maatasa põletasid, orjad ja mulatad, orkaanid, ameeriklased, revolutsioon, Nõukogude Liit ja turism. Sellest kompotist on sündinud täiesti omanäoline linn.
  
  Mulle meeldib ajalugu ning Kurlansky teos andis Havanna kujunemisest suurepärast ülevaate. Tekst ei olnud sugugi kuiv ning seega läks lugemine kiirelt. Kui "Minu Kuuba" ei tekitanud minus soovi Havannat külastada, siis "Havanna" tekitas küll reisihimu. Kurlansky maalis sõnadega nii hea pildi, et juba peaaegu tundsin, nagu oleksingi neil kitsastel kuumadel tänavatel, ninas kirbe lõhn. Mõningaid sarnasusi oli raamatute vahel muidugi ka. Näiteks üks konkreetne koht, millest oli juttu mõlemas, on jäätisekoht Coppelia. Urbsalu mainis, et seal on suurepärane jäätis, mille nimel sabas seista ning Kurlansky kirjutas koha ajaloost, kurioossest arhitektuurist ning kadunud jäätisesortidest.
  
  Autor kirjutab oma kogemusest, aga kasutab ka palju igasuguseid viiteid. Kõige rohkem meeldis mulle, kui palju oli juttu kirjandusest, nii Kuuba enda kirjanikest kui ka välismaalastest. Näiteks Hemingway on Havannaga tihedalt seotud.
  
  Muuhulgas tutvustab Kurlansky Havanna ikoonilisemaid söögikohti ning jagab koguni mitmeid retsepte. Ma ei oska küll öelda, kas keegi seda teost küll kokaraamatuna kasutaks, kui retsept algab lausega: "Tapke kana.". Silmaringi avardamiseks olid need retseptid küll huvitavad lugeda. Mind hakkas väga huvitama, kuidas maitseb jahubanaan. Samuti tekkis isu Havannas kohalikku õiget Mojitot või Daiquirit juua. Mõlemad kokteilid on ju sealt pärit.
  
  "Havanna. Subtroopiline deliirium" annab hea ülevaate linna kujunemisest, pakub palju põnevaid fakte ja paralleele. Kurlansky kirjeldab hästi, kuivõrd erilise paigaga on tegemist. Nii enda kogemusi kui ka teiste kirjanike sõnu kasutades maalib ta linnast väga elava pildi. Minul tekitas see küll kihu Kuubale sõita. Soovitan raamatut lugeda, kui sind huvitab linnade ajalugu või tahad rohkem Havannast teada!
  
  Aitäh, Eesti Raamat, raamatu eest!
• 
  Justyna W.

  
  http://www.owcazksiazka.pl/2018/06/ma...
  
  Hawana to historia i ludzie o wszystkich kolorach skóry, boscy machos i ponętne mulatas. To muzyka, taniec, pożądanie i zazdrosna miłość. To wielkie pragnienia i jeszcze większe nadzieje. To kraina rumu i lodów w dwudziestu sześciu smakach. To miejsce, gdzie chrześcijaństwo miesza się z santeríą, a samobójstwo nikogo nie dziwi. Otoczona lazurową wodą wyspa, z której dobiegające modlitwy, śmiechy i krzyki giną gdzieś pośród fal. Duszą Hawany jest transkulturacja. Przedziwny, niematerialny specyfik o trudnym do opisania, wyjątkowym smaku, który potrafi odurzyć, jak nic innego na Świecie i sprawia, że to miasto jest jak majak chorych oczu, przed którymi deliryczne wizje przelatują.¹ Kurlansky z uczuciem oddał cześć Hawanie, odmalował jej portret za pomocą słów. Wyszedł też na przeciw moim pragnieniom i przywołał wielu wybitnych, ważnych dla Kuby literatów.
  
• 
  Apratim Mukherjee

  The book is all about Havana and its people,cuisine,buildings and all that one can think of.Right from the beginning to the current state,everything is described very well.But there are no photographs of the place (for which I am docking a star)
  Otherwise,its a book for all readers interested in Havana,the capital of Cuba.
• 
  Gintarė Lialienė

  Simpatiška knyga apie Havaną, kurioje skaitytojo neapkraunant faktais, bet stengiantis perteikti atmosferą pasakojama Havanos istorija ir gyvenimo šiame Karibų salų mieste ypatumai.
• 
  Hal Brodsky

  Amusing and witty, the author shares his impressions and insights after 30 years of visiting Havana in this relatively short book.
  While his Cuban history is fairly superficial, Kurlansky delves into everything from life on the streets to Cuban music and dialect with hefty criticisms of both the Cuban government and the US Embargo thrown in.
• 
  Jane LaFazio

  I gave it a three, because I felt it was a bit uneven. Some parts were really good and some not so much. The book is a very broad overview of Cuba's history to current situation, with random facts through out. I'm going to Cuba next month, so it was a worthwhile read for me.
• 
  Melissa

  Such a well written book and just what I needed after reading a book set in Havana and needing to know more. Kurlansky's writing style is extremely engaging; it's conversational and witty while still being informative and often lyrical. Although at times I wanted more of the politics or history, the book captures the place well (I'd imagine) for such a short book that spans so much time.
  
  What's more, a place is more than just its politics, of course: it's the people, the food, the arts, the baseball, the spirit. Recipes, lyrics, jokes, etc. fill the pages of Havana here. Kurlansky seems to capture this place at full view by not just describing the location but also depicting its people -- Although I would be curious to see how a Cuban or Habanero would read the book.
  
  Overall though I learned a lot and really couldn't put the book down.
• 
  Claudia

  As an American, for the most part, Cuba is some exotic locale which has been a forbidden travel location for decades. It only came up in the news when a hurricane was passing over it or refugees from Cuba arrived in Florida. Havana was frozen in time in our thoughts and surprisingly, in reality due to the revolution and then the collapse of the Soviet Union which cut off all the assistance Cuba received from their communist brethren.
  
  But this is about Havana and it's people, the Habaneros. About the history from the indigenous people that met the Europeans and the Spanish who made it home. About the city trying to survive pirate raids. The enslavement of Africans and their ability to gain their freedom although once they achieved it, things really didn't improve much. The various classes from wealthy to poor to slaves and all variations in between. The Spanish and the Americans and the Spanish again and gangsters and the revolution. The drinks and the restaurants where incredible meals could be found and what was classic food. The poets, the artists, and the writers. About baseball and old classic cars and som music - or as it's also called, rumba. About the religions that meld Christian with the African spirits brought over by the slaves. About how Ernest Hemingway is still idolized as is Fidel Castro. How the people are warm and giving and can laugh at themselves and each other.
  
  It's a lovely book about what is likely a lovely city if one can look beyond the fact part of the city is in ruins. When the wealthy fled during and after the revolution, their homes were abandoned until squatters moved in and made it their home. But Soviet care packages rarely included building materials so the hurricanes, humidity and termites have wrecked massive amounts of damage. And there are few "new" places to move in to although since the U.S. blockade has ended, Cuba and Havana has come to realize that in order to get tourist dollars, they need places for tourists to stay and to see and to dine.
  
  I described this book to another as sitting down with an older person and asking them about a topic - in this case, Havana. They tell the tale and it may drift off into a side story or three before winding back to the original topic of the chapter. And Kurlansky does this with most of these chapters. You can tell that he enjoyed his time in Havana and his interactions with the people.
  
  Maybe I'll never get to see this exotic city but I would recommend a quick read-through if visiting Havana has come to the top of your personal bucket list.
  
  2020-171
• 
  Joanne Clarke Gunter

  If you think you already know about Cuba in general and Havana specifically or if you don't and want to learn, this is a book for you. Mark Kurlansky has been visiting Cuba for 35 years and his writing captures the vibrancy and ingenuity of the Cuban people, but particularly the people of Havana. He writes about the history, the food, the Revolution, Fidel, Che, the music and literature, the ever-creeping decrepitude of the city, the blend of cultures, the recent explosion of Cuban-owned business, Cuban baseball, and the resiliency of the Habanaros through it all.
  
  This is a short but entertaining and informative book. I enjoyed it a lot and highly recommend it.
• 
  Sourojit Das

  Most people write stories about Cuba dealing with the three S's - Socialism, Slavery, and Sugar..read on to know more..a lot more..
• 
  Susan Rainwater

  Another delightful book by Mark Kurlansky, providing an interesting portrait of Havana (and Cuba in general). A quite different view from the propaganda we've all grown up with.
• 
  John Thorndike

  Havana suffers these days from the whiplash of politics. U.S. opinions about the city, and all of Cuba, are consistently flavored by our support or condemnation of government policy on both sides of the Florida Straits. Kurlansky’s portrait of Havana is a welcome antidote. The author isn’t blind to the anguished politics of the last sixty years, but he focuses on the city's true heart, its people and their lives. He doesn’t ignore its troubles, and one of his chapters begins, “Havana, to be truthful, is a mess.” But within that mess are many vibrant stories, and Kurlansky tells them with his customary warmth.
• 
  Mae Lender

  Oo, Havanna! Tore raamat, põhjalik ja samas kaasahaarav kulgemine läbi Havanna ajaloo. Kindlasti kohustuslik lektüür enne teele minekut, just tausta tekitamise mõttes. Kuigi ega ma väida, et pärast selle läbi lugemist Havannat ja habanerosid lõpuni mõista suudaksid.
  Millest mu jaoks puudu jäi... see isiklik kogemus (jah, just see sama isiklik touch, mida paljud reisikirjanduse juures ei talu), aga mis mulle on vajalik. Kurlansky mõned üksikud korrad õige õrnalt vihjas ja andis nagu lootust, ent keeras siis sama kiirelt jälle üldise jutu peale tagasi. Eriti on mul sellest kahju, sest kogenud Kuuba külastajana (staaži on tal selles osas pikalt, alustas juba 80ndatel) oleks ta võinud jagada memuaare ajast, millest mina suurt midagi ei tea. Tänapäevaseid lugusid leidub juba ohtralt, aga just see 80-90ndate õhustik, seda oleks tahtnud rohkem saada.
  
  Ma lugesin ja tundsin, et tahaks tagasi. Kuuba on ikkagi nii-nii eriline. Kui oled seal, siis tunned, et see on väsitav ja tahaks väheke puhkust vahepeal. Siis tõmbad aga kopsud sügavalt õhku täis (jumala pärast, palun ainult mitte Havanna õhku :)) ja oled valmis uuesti sellesse sukelduma. Havanna on tõepoolest, kasutades autori sõnu, nagu saar saarel. Havanna elanikel on raske ette kujutada elu väljaspool Havannat (autori võrdleb neid selles osas nt Pariisi ja New Yorgiga), ülejäänud maailma ei ole lihtsalt nende jaoks olemas. Ja samas on see selline väike ja armas hoomatav, kohati justkui külaelu keset linna.
  Ei, ma tahan ikka päriselt nüüd tagasi.
• 
  Dеnnis

  Почему нет смысла посещать Варадеро и какой ингредиент настоящего мохито можно найти лишь на Кубе? Где гаванки ходят задом наперед и как провалился план ЦРУ по лишению Фиделя бороды? А также каково продолжение у ш��тки «Каковы три главных успеха Революции: здравоохранение, образование и спорт»? Эта свежая история Гаваны вовсе не попытка первым отметиться на новом перспективном туристическом направлении для США. Марк Курлански прекрасно знаком с городом, побывал в нем бессчетное количество раз. Уместные цитаты из знаковых литературных произведений (Х. Марти, Ф.-Г. Лорка, Э. Хемингуэй), легкоусвояемая история и география места, фирменный, полный сарказма юмор гаванцев, лингвистическая эквилибристика — не имея этой книги, покупать билеты на Остров свободы просто нельзя. Для нетерпеливых: в настоящий мохито добавляют мяту yerba buena, растущую только на острове. «Три главных провала: завтрак, обед и ужин».
• 
  Lukasz Chmielewski

  Perełka.
  Książka napisana bardzo łatwo, przyjemnie, przystępnie, a jednocześnie pięknie, świetnie oddając klimat podzwrotnikowego miasta. Kurlansky odwalił kawał dobrej roboty analizując wszystko to, co składa się na Hawanę - omówił jej historię, architekturę, tradycje kulinarne, językowo-lingwistyczne, muzyczne, sportowe, literackie w każdym rozdziale skupiając się na innym aspekcie układanki. Choć pisze o detalach - nie zanudza, ani nie zasypuje czytelnika niepotrzebnymi informacjami (a to zawsze największa pokusa piszących monografie). W efekcie "Podzwrotnikowe delirium" to książka bardzo krótka (250 stron), ale niesamowicie konkretna - zupełnie inna od ciekawego, ale niesamowicie rozwleczonego "Stambułu" Kinga czy monumenalnej "Jerozolimy" Montefiore (którą czytam pół roku i zajmie mi pewnie jeszcze drugie tyle.)
  Przed wyjazdem na Kubę: must read.
• 
  Suzanne

  My husband and I went to Havana for a week when we first started dating and we both fell in love with the city. This book really captured the contrasts of Havana, the magic of it, the warmth of its people and the lasting impression the city leaves on everyone who visits.
  
  One of my favourite sections was related to the author's intense love of mojitos. He waxes poetic about mojitos for a paragraph before admitting that he was so obsessed with them that the Cuban government agent assigned to follow him as a foreign journalist actually code-named him "Mojito." Now that is a fun fact.