Havana World Series by
Jose Latour
hbk out October 04
Published by Orion
at £17.99
A good 'heist' story, set in the unusual locale of Havana, Cuba, in the
'fifties, an era now becoming very popular in fiction.
The author was born there and the authenticity of his local knowledge
shines through. He now lives in Spain and has written five novels in
Spanish and three in English - a remarkable feat, given the perfection of
the language in this book, which is not a translation.
The plot is complex, mainly from the plethora of characters, many of
whom have Spanish or Portuguese names, which are sometimes hard to
differentiate by an anglicised ear. Basically, the story concerns Meyer
Lansky, a successful American Mafioso, who over many years has built
up an empire in Havana, mainly around a casino. He has managed to keep
out the mainland Mafia from invading his territory, but they eventually
plot to defeat him by organising a massive robbery of his casino takings,
using a gang of ex-convicts recruited for the purpose. It seems that
Cubans will bet on anything and the US Baseball World Series brings in a
massive boost to the loot held in Lansky's safe at the time of the robbery,
hence the title of the book.
The book describes a web of inter-lacing corruption in the period at the
end of Battista's reign, when Castro's revolution is beginning to take hold
in parts of the island. The crooks are unsure about the attitude of the
potential new regime towards the multifarious forms of vice that is
currently encouraged in the name of economic growth and a crooked
police chief is hedging his bets and preparing to flee the island on a boat
provided by the casino owner.
Most of the narrative revolves around the gang who pull off the heist and
though a complicated story, it makes good read with an interesting
historical slant on that colourful country.
(
Bernard Knight
ex Home Office Pathologist and author of the highly acclaimed Crowner John series)
Havana World Series by
Jose Latour
