In the Cold of the Malecón

by Antonio José Ponte and Cola Franzen

Book Overview

In these renegade stories, set in Cuba during the hard times following the collapse of the Soviet Union, people go to work only to find that their jobs no longer exist. They joke and tell stories from the past, live aimlessly, uncertain about what the future holds. While living in this state of suspension, Ponte's dynamic characters create their own startling worlds.

Departing from both the utopian-political and the romantic-baroque styles...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0872863743
• ISBN13: 9780872863743
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: City Lights Books
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Haunting and Lyrical

In these seven short stories set in contemporary Cuba (mostly Havana), Ponte conveys a spirit, a terrain, a population and a challenging social and economic reality in beautifully spare and haunting prose. Reminiscent of masters like Borges, Cortazar and Camus, Ponte's lyrical and enigmatic work leaves the reader happily floating in an almost hallucinatory state, the after-effects of reading a true artist of the short story form. This is the real thing! I, for one, am on my way to find more of his work.