Distant Palaces

By Abilio Estévez and Abilio Est'vez

Book Overview

Abilio Est vez conjures up the melancholy beauty of contemporary Havana with passion and eloquence in this story about a trio of misfits.

When Victorio learns that his home is about to be demolished he leaves his job, burns his possessions and takes to the streets. Wandering the city, he meets two people who change his life: Salma, a young prostitute, and Don Fuco, an enigmatic old man who performs as a clown. In the ruins of an old theatre, Don Fuco initiates his new friends into the secrets of poetry and theatre, bringing beauty, magic and exuberance into the pinched lives of Havana's citizens.

Distant Palaces is a novel about human resilience and joy in the face of crushing odds. It confirms Abilio Est vez as one of Latin America's most talented and inventive novelists.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0099468662
• ISBN13: 9780099468660
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Vintage Books USA
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.8" x 0.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

New Cuban Fiction

(...)"Estevez's second novel (after Thine Is the Kingdom) is a consummate affirmation of life amidst the squalor of Havana, with prose as lush as the Caribbean setting it describes. On the eve of the 21st century, a middle-aged (...) man named Victorio becomes homeless when the manor in which he rents an apartment is demolished. Wandering the streets, he encounters Salma, a young female prostitute, and Don Fuco, an older man trained as an acrobatic clown. The three move into a rundown theater and find solace with one another, especially while entertaining Havana's downtrodden with their clown act. Even when they must return to the harsh streets, Victorio and Salma find the strength and coursage to endure. Estevez's experience as a playwright (Night) is keenly evident in this novel's theatrical spirit. He enriches his novel further by drawing allusions, metaphors, and images from the literature and history of Cuba. Highly recommended for all fiction collections." (...)