Welcome to Havana, Senor Hemingway

by Alfredo José Estrada

Book Overview

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 193316901X
• ISBN13: 9781933169019
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Planeta
• Length: 380 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A must for Hemingway enthusiasts

You've read all the literature by the man, all the books about the man, and now you've reached the point of reading fictionalized accounts of the man. It's all part of the natural transition of the die-hard Hemingway fan. "Welcome To Havana, Senor Hemingway" is a well researched novel that entertains and informs, covering a little known period in Hemingway's life. His relationship with Jane Mason, based on fact, is convincingly portrayed, as is the marlin fishing with Joe Russell on the "Anita". The flavor and turmoil of 1930's Cuba are effectively brought to life, giving the novel its greatest strength. Estrada is an excellent, descriptive writer.

A fascinating, original, and very highly recommended story

Based upon Hemingway's unpublished letters and journals, as well as contemporary accounts of his early years on the island of Cuba, novelist Alfredo Jose Estrada has developed an impressive and entertaining story of a young Cuban-American journalist, whose grandmother shows him a photograph of her husband posing alongside Hemingway and a giant marlin. The journalist then sets out to learn the truth about his grandfather, Javier Lopez Angulo, who supposedly got into a fistfight with Ernest Hemingway and knocked the famous author down. The journalist travels to Havana and learns how his grandfather met Hemingway and why their friendship ended so abruptly. Along the way, he discovers the myths, stories, and people involved in Hemingway's life in Cuba during Havana's golden age in the 1930s. If Welcome To Havana, Senior Hemingway were a film we would call it a "docudrama". Alfredo Estrada has done a masterful job of recreating a yesteryear populated by memorable characters in an inherently fascinating, original, and very highly recommended story.

A literary time machine that will take you to pre-Castro Cub

Reviewed by: Tyrone Vincent Banks of Betsie's Literary PageA literary time machine that will take you to pre-Castro Cuba with a fresh perspective.February 18, 2004I try to read and review the books that are presented to me within an acceptable timeframe. However, as I read the first words of this novel and proceeded to the conclusion, I did not want to miss one word! I found myself reading and rereading various sections in an attempt to take in every aspect of this book with no exceptions. In Señor Estrada's novel, he begins by painting a diverse and colorful background utilizing culture rich Havana. He assembles a combination of visual and physical necessities that create a backdrop in front of which this novel unfolds. Each character is meticulously developed through the writing and their actions described by our narrator. Once developed, these multi-faceted characters interact with the multi-faceted background to play out the story.Enter Harvard educated Javier Lopez Angulo and legendary American writer Ernest Hemingway, two of the author's main characters that form a bond after a near miss - with each others' fists. The two form a bond of sorts and Javier leads Ernest "call me Papa" Hemingway through Cuba in a series of interesting events that take place prior to and during the violence that enthralls Cuba as it approaches the prohibition era riddled with social revolution.In the author's descriptions, you sit at a small table in the nightclubs Javier and Hemingway frequent. You watch the two of them drinking together, engaged in conversation about the ladies or the fishing - two of Hemingway's many passions. Every so often you witness a patron in the bar challenge Hemingway to a fight, only to be disposed of in a melee that entertains the crowd immensely.The two characters cross each other often, either in boxing matches or in matters of the heart. You get the sense that their relationship is evolving from a state of serenity to that of rivalry. Just like the Cuba that they live in during this time, things are going to change and they do. Señor Estrada will take you on this personal journey in an attempt to discover what caused the rift in the relationship between his grandfather and Hemingway. You unravel this mystery utilizing Estrada's visual artistry in due time but every word from beginning to end will captivate you instantly.Add this one to your library, just as I have and revisit it often. Señor Estrada, thank you for the journey!

Excellent

Estrada's novel is interesting as a fictional story, but it's even more interesting as a historical look at Cuba in the 30s. For another take on Cuba in that era, watch the film "La Bella del Alhambra" or read the novel it's based on, "Cancion de Rachel" by Miguel Barnet.

Fishing with Papa

I must admit I was skeptical. After all, Hemingway's already been done. But the Cuba connection intrigued me, and I was hooked after the first page. The writing is fresh and funny. Estrada clearly knows his stuff, and a tremendous amount of research appears to have gone into the novel. The setting is Havana in 1932, and Hemingway's in town for the marlin fishing. He meets a young man named Javier---the narrator's grandfather--- and offers to give him boxing lessons in exchange for a tour of Havana. It's a friendship that will change their lives when they both fall in love with the same woman. This romantic triangle is set against the backdrop of revolution and the violent overthrow of the dictator Machado. A great read for anyone who likes Hemingway or Cuba, or wants to learn more about either.