Outcast [Paperback]

Jose Latour (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1999

With this important new release, Akashic Books introduces readers in the United States to Jos Latour and the harsh, tense, caustic tradition of Cuban Noir, of which he is an established master. The first Cuban crime novel to be written in English and published in the U.S., Outcast is a smart, multi-voiced, savagely unsentimental tale that blends cultural critique, personal discovery, and explosive violence to reveal the callous, impersonal dysfunction of both contemporary Cuban socialism and its self-congratulatory, free-market alternative in Miami. The son of a Cuban mother and a U.S. laborer stationed on the island before the Revolution, the novels protagonist, Elliot Steil, is a down-and-out school teacher in Havana. Quietly resigned to the tedium and simplicity of his life, he has, like many of his fellow Havanans, systematically distanced himself from all aspirations for a better future. Steils hopes suddenly resurface when he is offered a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance to escape his current situation by a mysterious visitor to the island who claims to be a friend of Steils late father. When the stranger quickly turns from savior to would-be assassin, Steil finds himself perilously immersed in the waters of the Florida Straits and in the images of a past that he had spent most of his adult life trying to forget. Steil survives the ordeal, but his journey to find his betrayer and to discover the mystery of his bicultural past lure him into the heart of the underworld of Miami. In the end, the tangle of deceit, corruption, and mutual interest that binds Steil and his enemies results in a dramatic stalemate that perfectly embodies the complexity, and the cynicism, of late twentieth century capitalism.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The recent explosion of Cuba-mania means that people who don't speak a word of Spanish are singing along with Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, and the rest of the Buena Vista wunder-octogenarians; that Cuban cigars are more chic than clichéd; and that José Latour, popular Cuban thriller writer, is publishing his first English-language novel. Set partly in Havana and partly in Miami, Outcast will provide many Anglophone noir fans with their first glimpse of that genre as practiced in a country still largely tantalizing in its inaccessibility.

Elliot Steil, born of a Cuban mother to a long-vanished American father, may not love his life in Havana (as an English teacher earning the equivalent of $2 a month, who would?), but he loves the city itself for its tattered elegance and the warmth of its people. His response to the communist political philosophy that underpins and overlies Cuba is one of generally resigned apathy. The arrival of Dan Gastler, who claims to be an old friend of Elliot's father, catapults Elliot from apathy to action when Gastler offers the teacher a chance to escape to the U.S. on his sailboat.

But Gastler shoves Elliot overboard mid-journey, leaving him to die in the Florida Straits. The serendipitous arrival of a family of Cuban rafters prevents him from drowning, but does little to assuage Elliot's baffled fury. The answers come slowly, as the teacher tackles a dual mission: to survive financially and psychologically as a Cuban refugee in Miami, and to uncover the identity and motive of his attacker. The former pulls him gradually into the city's grungy criminal underbelly, and the latter entangles him in a treacherous web of bitter family history and political machinations--with deadly consequences.

Though Latour is no Vladimir Nabokov (his grasp of English, while certainly commendable, doesn't prevent a host of bizarre phrasings from jarring the reader's eye and ear), Outcast is at heart a workmanlike thriller. Its innate straightforwardness, however, is often at odds with Latour's efforts to fancy things up with arbitrary chronological leaps and shifts in narrative perspective, which undermine the novel's pacing and plot. But for readers looking for a glimpse into Cuban American life through a rarely used prism, Outcast will deliver the goods. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"Cuba has been a closed world for most of us for decades now, and Cuban crime fiction has remained a well-kept secret. It's alive and well, and brilliantly represented by Jos Latour. Don't miss this one --it's terrific!" -- Lawrence Block, author of Eight Million Ways To Die

"Jose Latour is a master of Cuban Noir, a combination of 50's unsentimentality and the harsh realities of life in a socialist paradise. Better, he brings his tough survivor to the States to give us a picture of ourselves through Cuban eyes. Welcome to America, Sr. Latour!" -- Martin Cruz Smith

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Product Details

• Paperback: 220 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books; 1 edition (October 14, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888451076
• ISBN-13: 978-1888451078
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,832,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a book., February 1, 2000

By 

Carl Granados (Stuart, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outcast (Paperback)

Wow! What a book. I usually don't like books written by foreign writers (other than English) and was suprised. It reads more like a thriller than a mystery. Yet it also explores the depth of its characters in the tradition of a "John D. McDonald" (Travis McGee novels). Still it is more. It is philosophical, introspective, and much of its language is poetic. A mystery with a lot meat.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Thriller, Great on Cuba, August 17, 2001

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Outcast (Hardcover)

One might easy lump Latour's gritty thriller in with the plethora of serviceable South Florida crime fiction on the shelves, but that would be overlooking its' value as a window into modern Cuban society. Set in 1994, the book starts with Elliot Steil, a Cuban English teacher and apathetic Marxist who ekes out a dreary existence in a Havana where food is scarce, and the state's omnipresence stifles expression. His life is thrown into turmoil when an American tourist shows up, claiming to be a friend of his long-vanished father, and offering to help him escape to America. However, in a stunning reversal, Elliot is left to die in the waters off Florida. Rescued by fellow Cuban rafters, he makes it to Miami, where he must learn a whole new way of living in the land of the almighty dollar.

The book is at its' best in showing the unpleasant reality of life in modern Cuba (one completely absent from Daniel Chavarria's Cuban crime caper "Adios Muchachos"), and the bewilderment of a refugee adjusting to life in America. As Elliot gets his measure of America and manages to scrape some cash together, he starts to wonder who would try to kill him and why. His fairly straightforward investigation is broken up with lengthy flashbacks and backstory which are a little awkward, but not overly so. An engaging supporting cast helps him in his quest, from the car thief Hairball, to former student Tony, to a tough Jewish businessman. Less well-conceived are the villains of the piece, who suffer from weak characterizations and unlikely actions. The outcome is not overly surprising, but the book is well worth reading for Latour's thoughtful contrast of modern Cuban and American societies, and the flaws of each.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Cuban crime fiction!, September 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Outcast (Paperback)

It is so hard to find books by Cuban authors. This book was thrilling and I literally could not put it down. Embedded in the sociopolitics of Cuba and the US, this book gave me a refreshingly even-handed look at the shortcomings of both societies while maintaining an incredibly suspenseful (and unpredictable!) story line. A must read for anyone interested in Cuban literature or excellent crime writing.