Book description
For a growing number of British holidaymakers, Cuba is a Caribbean
paradise, but it is also a land of cutbacks and economic instability.
Stephen Smith comes to live on the island, and his search for the real
Cuba inevitably becomes a search for Fidel Castro too. Before meeting
his quarry, Smith travels extensively through the 'land of miracles' in
an old American automobile. His highly-personalised account features a
bloody initiation into a voodoo-like cult, dining on giant rat, and
checking into the Love Hotel. And he goes on manoeuvres in the
Everglades with armed, but not especially competent, Cuban exiles
dreaming of a second Bay of Pigs. With disarming wit and considerable
insight, Stephen Smith investigates a country where communism and voodoo
coexist, and where the influence of its leader of forty years continues
to throw a long shadow. Born the same year as the Bay of Pigs invasion
of Cuba, Channel 4 News reporter Stephen Smith has been fascinated by
the island since he first heard the hijackers' slogan 'Fly me to
Havana!' He is a regular contributor to the LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS and
other newspapers.
