I loved this, it is dedicated to ‘Lucia, with love and squalor’.
Beautifully written/translated (reads as if written in English), the central character Mario Conde is a Havana writer manqué turned somehow policeman who has more in common with Bruce Springsteen than DI Rebus or Banks, although maybe they have a bit of Springsteen in them.
The plot is the disappearance of an apparatchik in Cuban political/business life, with whom Conde went to school and whose wife Tamara he has always loved and lusted after, and yes they do get to sleep together. But really his life is quite sad and he knows it despite the bluster.
I shall read lots more in Scandinavia next week.
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