El rey de La Habana
Pedro Juan Gutiérrez
FICTION | 1999 | 224 pages
El rey de La Habana tells the story of Reinaldo, a teenager recently escaped from a correctional facility; his lack of scruples and sneaky ways are his only defense on the mean streets of 1990s Havana during Cuba’s “Special Period”. As he romps his way around downtown Havana,, longing, disillusionment, rum and a good sense of humor are his only company. Until one day, he meets Magda. The two find they have a lot in common and a tragic story of impossible love ensues. Their relationship, marked by tenderness and boundless passion, will push their emotions to the limit, as they search to find a place where they can settle down and start a “normal” family. Meanwhile, the insatiable tropical storm that is everyday life in 1900s Cuba, threatens to wear them down and damage them irreversibly.
“This is the voice of the unheard”, says the author about his characters. “The people who have to scratch out a living day in day out, who are left with no time or energy for anything else. People whose one and only objective is to survive. Any how, any way. They don’t know why or what for. They are just determined to survive for one more day. That’s all.” Yet despite everything, the lives of these tormented souls are marked by love, sex and tenderness.
RIGHTS: spanish ANAGRAMA | greek METAIXMIO | Italian EDIZIONI E/O | portuguese (brazil) ALFAGUARA | bulgarian JANET 45 | french ALBIN MICHEL | german HOFFMANN UND CAMPE | romanian EDITURA TREI | hungarian MAGVETO | portuguese (portugal) DOM QUIXOTE | czech GARAMOND | spanish (cuba) EDICIONES UNION | film TUSITALA PRODUCCIONES CINEMATOGRÁFICAS
BY PEDRO JUAN GUTIÉRREZ:
Mecánica popular
SHORT STORIES, 2024
Estoico y frugal
NOVEL, 2019
Diálogo con mi sombra
MEMOIR, 2017
Fabián y el caos
NOVEL, 2015
Corazón mestizo
NOVEL, 2007
El nido de la serpiente
NOVEL, 2006
Nuestro GG en La Habana
NOVEL, 2004
Carne de perro
NOVEL, 2003
El insaciable hombre araña
NOVEL, 2002
Animal tropical
NOVEL, 2000
Melancolía de los leones
STORIES, 2000
El rey de La Habana
NOVEL, 1999
Trilogía sucia de La Habana
NOVEL, 1998