Daniel Chavarria

The stories gathered in this anthology reflect the many complex challenges Havana’s citizens have had to endure as a result of their country’s political isolation – from the hardships of the ‘Special Period’, to the pitfalls of Cuba’s schizophrenic currency system, to the indignities of becoming a cheap tourist destination for well-heeled Westerners. Moving through various moments in its recent history, as well as through different neighbourhoods – from the prefab, Soviet-era maze of Alamar, to the bars and nightclubs of the Malecón and Vedado – these stories also demonstrate the defiance of Havana: surviving decades of economic disappointment with a flair for the comic, the surreal and the fantastical that remains as fresh as the first dreams of revolution. Translated from the Spanish by Orsola Casagrande and Séamas Carraher.

"The Eye of Cybele" is equal parts historical epic, whodunnit-style thriller, highbrow erotica and philosophical discourse. Set in fifth century B. C., the novel fictionally recreates the behind-the-scenes scandals and political intrigues that occupied the Athenian home front at the height of the Peloponnesian War. Daniel Chavarria was born in Uruguay in 1933. He has taught Latin, Greek and classical literature, and has won numerous literary awards around the world. His comic suspense novel about a bicycle hooker in Havana, "Adios Muchachos" (Akashic, 2001), won an Edgar Award and has been translated into 15 languages.