Ay, Cuba! A Socio-Erotic Journey

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Summary: A Middle-Aged Jerk Takes a Jaunt to the Tropics
Review: Andrei Codrescu, scarcely conversant in Spanish, spent 12 days in Cuba, screwed an impoverished young woman, and fancied himself an expert.

Garnering his knowledge of Cuba from worn-out comparisons to his homeland of Romania and a pal's tales of sweet love with adolescent girls, Codrescu heads to Cuba with his opinions of the island well-formed. While there he eats at fancy restaurants presumably discovered vis-a-vis his Lonely Planet guidebook, drinks nothing but mojitos, and generally lives the shallow tourist experience. Twelve days later he returns to his cushy life as an NPR commentator with a sullied soul and no true knowledge of the enigma that is Cuba.

Redeemingly, Ay, Cuba! is veritably well-written, with witty phrasing, and enough sexist, enraging material to keep the pages flying.

Rating:
Summary: dynamic synthesis of wry text and insightful photographs
Review: Codrescu has revealed present day Cubans as only an iron curtain expatriate can. His erotic encounter with a intellectual and his interview with baseballer Ivan (El Duke) Hernandez a few days before he defected- were worth the price of the book alone. David Graham's touching photographs avoid cliches and give us glimpses of the dignity under pressure so characteristic of Cubans today. Although I have frequently travelled in Cuba, including last year when I visited San Juan Hill and the wrecks of the Viscaya and the Pluton (sunk in 1898), I could see, taste and smell Cuba again in these pages. -Al Gowan, author of Santiago Rag, a novel of the Spanish-Cuban-American war, also available at Amazon.com

Rating:
Summary: Shallow, disrespectful but funny at the same time
Review: Codrescu is a good writer with a wonderful sense of humor but, MAN, does he have strong opinions for somebody who spent less than two weeks in the country. His intensely anti-communist bias can be an obstacle at times, yet overall his opinions are a refreshing balance to the generally pro-Castro intellectual line on Cuba. The photographs are perfectly fine as travel pix, but offer few insights into the culture or people of Cuba.

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Summary: A Bird's-eye view of Cuba
Review: Codrescu may have a feel for some aspects of the Cuban scene, but he hasn't done his homework very well when it comes to Fidel. The author unfortunately repeats the old and inaccurate tale that Fidel was a major league pitching prospect (Fidel pitched in high school, but never at the University of Havana and was never offered a professional contract) and in this version even suggests a 1956 big-league tryout. Did Fidel hurl for scouts while in the Sierra Maestre? Did Che also show his stuff to big league scouts? The repeating of such a groundless fairy tale about Fidel raises serious questions about the historical accuracy of the remainder of the author's Cuban accounts. Peter C. Bjarkman, Author of "Smoke: The Romance and Lore of Cuban Baseball" (1999).

Rating:
Summary: Shallow, disrespectful but funny at the same time
Review: I have been traveling to Cuba about once every month and a half for the last 3 years and I find that that the 12 day journey of Mr. Codrescu wasn't enough for him or anyone to gain an insight about how the Cubans carry themselves and interact either with tourists or among themselves. Not enough to write a book about the subject. Not enough to give useful advice to future travelers, and certainly not enough to attempt to explain the complex and difficult situation experienced by the Cuban people everyday.

His narrative is funny and some of his descriptions of the places he visited are accurate, but I wouldn't reccomend it as a travel guide, or as a resource to gather information about the people and their socio-economic situation. Take it as the journal of some guys who went to Cuba for 12 days and had some serious fun without doing any serious research and you'll have a fun read.

For those interested in a more in-depth description of the situation and the Cuban people read Catherine Moses' Real Life in Castro's Cuba

Rating:
Summary: best Cuba travelogue ever
Review: I have had a passion for Cuba, Cuban books, and accounts of life on the island for three decades. I found "Ay, Cuba" to be the most engaging, sexiest book I ever read. Codrescu captures the flavors of the island, the warmth of the people, and the unfairness of the monstrous regime. Because of his Eastern European background, the author is able to see much deeper than most American writers. He encounters santeros, prostitutes, high-ranking Cubans, writers, and Americans in love with the Cuban mystique. There is also a spectacular interview with Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, the Yankee pitcher who helped win the World Series, just a few days before his defection. "Ay. Cuba: A Socio-Erotyic Journey" is a must for anyone interested in the island, its textures, flavors, sounds, and allure.

Rating:
Summary: tunnel vision
Review: the one star is for the few pages that were written while his mind was open.

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Summary: A superb travelogue of a society in the midst of collapse!
Review: The tragic state of cuban society is well demonstrated here. Codrescu reveals a warm, loving people with the ability to eek out a living under the harshest economic conditions. The revolution was to have resolved many of Cubas present day problems. Yet here, 40 years later, Codrescu shows how it has exchanged the poverty of some for the misery of all (except for the communist aparatchik).