The Handsomest Man in Cuba: An Escapade (Paperback)

~ (Author) "I've landed in a small kitchen, somewhere in Havana, Cuba..." (more)
Key Phrases: worst sailor, handlebar bag, folding bicycle, Costa Rica, Santa Clara, Sancti Spiritus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Trading her car and house for a folding bike and a series of rented rooms and campsites, Australian suburbanite Chiang embarked on a three-month solo trip across Cuba, from December 1999 to March 2000 (her memoir was published in Australia and New Zealand in 2003). She roamed without a master plan, bunking with Cuban families, spending time in the places where ordinary people lived, making friends, and seeing what life off the beaten tourist paths is like. While the book suffers from a certain repetitiveness--Chiang moves from one dirt-poor community to another, dossing down with one charming family after another--it offers us a revealing look at a Cuba we rarely see, a country whose citizens are still crippled by the government's anti-American political stance, living in poverty, finding small joys in the kind of life most of us can't even begin to imagine. And while Chiang's tone is generally light and breezy, it's the serious messages about politics and poverty behind the entertaining characters and comic misadventures that give the book its staying power. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

In the glut of Cuba travel books, this one really stands out. -- Caroline Baum, Good Reading Magazine, July 14, 2003

One of the best 'on-the-road' travel books of this generation.... you can feel the wind in your face. -- Martin Stevenson, Launceston Examiner, June 28, 2003

The only time you will put it down is when you finish it. -- Peter Sutherland, Australian Cyclist Magazine, September 2003

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Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Small Wheel Press (June 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975581600
• ISBN-13: 978-0975581605
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,052,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Other Perspective of Cuba, August 8, 2005

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There is nothing like learning about a country than cycling through its cities, villages and hamlets and living and eating with the locals.

This is exactly what Lynette Chiang, author of The Handsomest man in Cuba perceived in 2000', when she cycled the length and breadth of Cuba on a compact custom-built folding bicycle she had purchased through the mail-order from a company in Eugene, Oregon.

You not only unearth information about the country, but also it is a discovery of the people, who inhabit a particular corner of our world-their way of life, aspirations, culture, and feelings. Something you would not experience staying in the tourist compounds reserved only for foreigners and where Cubans are not allowed on the premises, except to clean and check in guests.


Chiang confesses that she left behind a cushy lifestyle in Australia, which included a decent job, a boy friend, a house, furniture, washer and dryer, microwave oven, objects d'art, and all of the goodies that are part of la dolce vita.

It certainly takes a great deal of gumption to chuck all of this away in order to experience how Cubans live on food rations, and earning as little as five dollars a month. Incidentally, Chiang pedaled through several other countries, prior to venturing to Cuba.


In all likelihood, Chiang's conversational and informative narrative will no doubt change ones perspective of Cuba. As the author points out, there were no barricades, no barbed wire, no overt military presence, no starvation, no frightened faces or loud anti-government protests, firebombs or riots.


Cubans were found to be very proud and hard working who find innovative and creative ways to survive on their meager earnings. Ration books are a way of life- doling out the year's food, soap, and cigarette allowances at exceedingly nominal prices. However, this in no way prevents Cubans from extending to foreigners amazing generosity, as was experienced by Chiang. What is also quite remarkable is that most Cubans will not accept money as payment for many services such as offering a room to a stranger for the night, as they consider this to be an act of friendship. The only way Chiang was able to get around this predicament was to say that it was not a payment but rather a gift.


The Handsomest man in Cuba is well- paced as a first-rate bicycle tour should be, and Chiang manages to weave many details into an engrossing and enlightening tale pertaining to the daily life of Cubans.

Norm Goldman Editor Bookpleasures

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally someone without an agenda.., August 5, 2005

By	Celia H. Leber "Bike Friday Rider" (Bend, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoyed The Handsomest Man In Cuba because it is something that seems like a rarity these days -- a book about a politicized subject that is not a one-sided rant. Lynette portrays Cuba as complex, often perplexing, sometimes disturbing -- the way the world really is. Travelling by bicycle, and being an outgoing Aussie, she was able to get close to the people of Cuba and get at least a glimpse of their everyday life and daily struggles and joys. Her description of life at this level - at street level - gives a valuable insight into the successes and failings of the Castro regime, one that US politicians might do well to consider.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bittersweet memories, June 28, 2006

By	Casual Reader "Southern CA reader" (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This book brought a torrent of bittersweet memories. Like Lynette I'm of Chinese descent, but born in Cuba. It's very rarely that one bumps into a very original travel account like hers. Least of all, not that many have had the opportunity to see the side of Cuba never shown to ordinary tourists. What I really appreciate is her non-biased approach as she shows the daily hardships ordinary people encounter to survive, without rambling on what's already known about living conditions there under Castro. She brings to life the resilience of the people there rather candidly. This is important - the character of the people, not the ugly politics. Lynette, when is your next bike trip back to Cuba? Please let me know I have several suggestions.