Cuba: The Land of Miracles: A Journey Through Modern Cuba [Paperback]

Stephen Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2005

Cubans describe their nation as “The Land of Miracles,” in ironic tribute to the privations of life in a Communist country. Stephen Smith went to live there, and his search for the real Cuba become, inevitably, a search for Fidel Castro. Before meeting his quarry, Smith traversed the island in an old American car, along the way dining on giant rat, checking into a Love Hotel, posing as a second-hand arms dealer, and getting his head down on Castro’s bed. This is an insightful, disarmingly witty portrait of a country where communism and voodoo co-exist, and where the influence of its leader continues to throw a long shadow.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A writer's writer, Smith's reportage is nearly flawless as he recounts his journey in search of the real Land of Miracles (a sardonic reference made by Cubans to the beautiful but impoverished island). In heat "like being swaddled in freshly steamed laundry, though not so aromatic," Smith leads readers through formerly grand hotels, local religions that mix odd histories with blood sacrifice, and other unique cultural landmarks (the one horse town on "Treasure Island," the 50-year-old cars, the weapons trade). Genuine and game, Smith is equally at ease recording a heart-to-heart with a down-and-out prostitute as he is a side-splitting account of a tango lesson in a tiny apartment, in which he learns how to hurl his partner "and save her in the nick of time from dashing her brains out against a refrigerator with a languid and yet utterly masculine catch." A large cast of characters fleshes out Smith's gutsy wanderings, including both Castro and his dissidents, one of whom sums up the island's forlorn beauty and diminished spirit thusly: "After 36 years of repression ... we're an exhausted people... I believe that we're peaceful-more prepared for receiving tourists than making war." Though earmarked for travelers, this could easily become a classic look into the shuttered world of Cuba.
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About the Author

Born the same year as the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, Channel 4 News reporter Stephen Smith has been fascinated by the island since he first heard the hijackers' slogan 'Fly me to Havana!' He is a regular contributor to the LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS and other newspapers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0349119678
• ISBN-13: 978-0349119670
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.2 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,573,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Way too British, April 12, 2010

By 

David Samson (Efrat, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba: The Land of Miracles: A Journey Through Modern Cuba (Paperback)

I disagree with an earlier reviewer -- this is indeed a travel journal. The author describes his experience living temporarily in Cuba, and the tango lessons and the cult ceremony are all part of that. However, my primary objection is that he writes in either an extremely British style, or in a haughty style (it might be a mixture of both). I read a lot in many genres, but many times I found myself saying "What is he talking about?!"

Interesting subject; mediocre book.

2.0 out of 5 stars Cuba - Everything you already knew about Cuba, October 9, 2007

By 

Bjørn Chr Tørrissen "World traveller" (Oslo, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuba: The Land of Miracles: A Journey Through Modern Cuba (Paperback)

Ok, so I may have approached this book from the wrong angle. I sort of expected a travel journal kind of book, covering the interesting corners of Cuba, but that's not what it is. Instead it's just a limited number of topics related a little bit to Cuba, but more to the author himself. (The author taking tango lessons, the author paying good money to participate in a religious cult ceremony, the author describing his lack of success in and nervousness of arranging an interview with Fidel Castro, the author seeking out places he's read about or seen in a movie, the author almost becoming romantically involved with his official guide, and so on.)

At times the author approaches funniness, but he soon leaves that trail. A lot of his references have to do with obscure British personalities, maybe it would make more sense to an Englishman than to a Norwegian like me.

Stephen Smith is no traveller, he is a reporter or a journalist who spent a long time in Cuba, but who seldom could be tempted to leave Havana. I wanted to read about Cuba, not about lazy people at the Cuban press centre or a bland piece about there being prostitutes in Cuba despite the official claim that there are none.

For a travelogue, look elsewhere! For an introduction to life in Havana, maybe it's good enough, but I found it lacking in many respects.

3.0 out of 5 stars good insights but far too egocentric, October 27, 2005

By 

Carno Polo "adventure traveler" (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuba - the Land of Miracles (Paperback)

This is a good book about life in Cuba in the mid-nineties, and not much has changed 6 years on, so most of the content is not out of date. He conveys a good sense of what Cuban daily life is. Smith is a careful observer, though not as careful a researcher of facts and figures; his analysis is a bit superficial and unsystematic.

The main problem I have with the book is that the author is too egocentric. The word "I" must appear a million time, and the prose often reads more like a book about the author himself than about Cuba. Would have been better if he had taken a bit of a step back here and there.