Synopses & Reviews
Sensuous, exotic, gritty, contradictory -- Cuba in all its gloryIn Ay,Cuba!, Andrei Codrescu and David Graham seek the heart and soul of this island ninety miles off the Florida coast and yet a world away. Carousing with Cuban prostitutes, intellectuals, hustlers, and laborers, Codrescu and Graham combine edgy narratives with stunning color photography to create a daring and compelling travelogue. Exploring the architecture, the bizarre two-tier economy of peso and dollar, revivals of both Catholicism and the Afro-Cuban religion of santeria, and the sexual and social mores of a post-cold war communist society, Ay,Cuba! uncovers the maddening and seductive complexities of this fiercely proud yet deeply divided society. This is a provocative look behind the headlines at a world both familiar and exotic.
Review
"Codrescu has a novelist's prowess for narrative tension, a sensualist's attention to detail and a humanist's knack for empathy -- all of which make for first-rate travel writing and perceptive social commentary."--
Time Out New York
Review
"Codrescu has a novelist's prowess for narrative tension, a sensualist's attention to detail and a humanist's knack for empathy -- all of which make for first-rate travel writing and perceptive social commentary."--
Time Out New YorkAbout the Author
Andrei Codrescu, who lived in socialist Romania until the age of nineteen, has been a commentator on NPR for more than ten years. He lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.
David Graham's photographs have appeared in Life, The New York Times Magazine and other publications. He lives in Pennsylvania.