{"product_id":"dancing-to-almendra-a-novel","title":"Dancing To 'Almendra': A Novel","description":"Havana, 1957. On the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber's chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from the Havana zoo and is shot and killed by its pursuers. Assigned to cover the zoo story, Joaquin Porrata, a young Cuban journalist, instead finds himself embroiled in the mysterious connections between the hippo's death and the mobster's when a secretive zookeeper whispers to him that he 'knows too much.' In exchange for a promise to introduce the keeper to his idol, the film star George Raft, now the host of the Capri Casino, Joaquin gets information that ensnares him in an ever-thickening plot of murder, mobsters, and, finally, love. The love story is, of course, another mystery. Told by Yolanda, a beautiful ex-circus performer now working for the famed cabaret San Souci, it interleaves through Joaquin's underworld investigations, eventually revealing a family secret deeper even than Havana's brilliantly evoked enigmas. In 'Dancing to 'Almendra,' ''' Mayra Montero has created an ardent and thrilling tale of innocence lost, of Havana's secret world that is 'the basis for the clamor of the city,' and of the end of a violent era of fantastic characters and extravagant crimes. Based on the true history of a bewitching city and its denizens, 'Almendra' is the latest 'triumph' ('Library Journal') from one of Latin America's most impassioned and intoxicating voices. Mayra Montero is the author of a collection of short stories and of several novels, including 'The Messenger,' 'The Last Night I Spent with You,' and 'Captain of the Sleepers.' She was born in Cuba and lives in Puerto Rico, where she writes a weekly column in 'El Nuevo Dia' newspaper. Edith Grossman, the winner of the 2006 PEN\/Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation, is the translator of many works by major Spanish-language authors, including Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, and Miguel de Cervantes, as well as Mayra Montero. She lives in New York City. A 'New York Times' Notable Book of the Year Havana, 1957. On the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber's chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from the zoo and is shot and killed by its pursuers. Assigned to cover the zoo story, Joaquin Porrata, a young Cuban journalist, finds himself embroiled in the mysterious connections between the hippo's death and the mobster's when a secretive zookeeper whispers that he 'knows too much.' In exchange for a promise to introduce the keeper to his idol, the film star George Raft, now the host of the Capri casino, Joaquin gets information that ensnares him in an ever-thickening plot of murder, mobsters, and finally, love. The love story is another mystery. Told by Yolanda, a beautiful ex-circus performer now working for Havana's famed Sans Souci cabaret, it is interwoven with Joaquin's underworld investigations, eventually revealing a family secret deeper even than Havana's brilliantly evoked enigmas. In 'Dancing to' ''Almendra,'' Mayra Montero has created an ardent and thrilling tale if innocence lost, of Havana's secret world that was 'the basis for the clamor of the city,' and of the end of a violent era of fantastic characters and extravagant crimes. Based on the true history of a bewitching city and its denizens, ''Almendra'' is the latest 'triumph' ('Library Journal') of one of Latin America's most impassioned and intoxicating voices. ''Dancing to 'Almendra,' ' [Mayra Montero's] ninth novel, [is] lovingly translated by Edith Grossman: a flawless little book with a deceptively light touch . . . I devoured [the book] with absolute delight, and I'm looking forward to reading it again, and to reading anything Montero might come up with next. It's tempting to think in categories--it's tempting to me, anyway: so sue me--but a good novel denies them, nimbly and without visible effort. This novel is great fun to read, and a paradoxical thing to contemplate. When I was done, I wasn't sure if it was an","brand":"Mayra Montero","offers":[{"title":"Fine","offer_id":44274279383139,"sku":"545934-fine","price":5.0,"currency_code":"KWD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0676\/0320\/2147\/files\/view_archive_bfb573e6-69d6-4349-97b4-b416b6b2821a.jpg?v=1782096194","url":"https:\/\/qasralthaqafa.com\/products\/dancing-to-almendra-a-novel","provider":"Qasr Al-Thaqafa","version":"1.0","type":"link"}