Author: Humberto López y Guerra
- Fiction
- Editorial Verbum
- ISBN: 9788479627386
- Release Date: 06-15-2012
-Reviewed by: Maria del Carmen Rivero
The novel begin with a gripping account of how the hardliners Communist want to stop the demise of the Soviet bloc and how the Cuban government is instrumental in trying to set up a highly secret organization to foil the plans of the West. Along the way, there are other subplots like Cuba's possible ties to drug trafficking, and their plot to cover their tracks after the apprehension of Manuel Noriega by the US government in Panama. Also, how spying can be difficult on the individuals who are in this line of work. The fragility of being a spy, the constant surveillance and stress is an important theme of the novel. However, sometimes it is still possible to create alliances and friendships with the many unscrupulous characters involved in the world of espionage. This is the case of our protagonists Mario Paredes (el traidor de Praga, a Cuban agent) and Javier Puig (a former Cuban spy who defected to the CIA in the 1960's.
The author uses important figures of the Cuban Revolution and other Communist countries to craft a novel that seems real or could have been real along with fictional characters who moved in the fast paced environment of world politics and espionage.
Mario Paredes, our protagonist and our Cuban spy is simply tired of his life as a spy for the Cuban model, even though he loves his country. In many ways, it parallels Javier's life who is the liaison between him and the CIA, who also defected from Cuba in the 1960's but dreams of returning to Cuba. Javier tries to convince his CIA handlers of Mario's true aspirations and we see how the CIA is sometimes weighted down by his internal procedures and bureaucracy. The reader does not find out until close to end what important information Mario has about the Cuban government's plot regarding the invasion of Panama.
One of the best characters developed is that of Liz -, alias Sara, who lands in Cuba to help built a school. She is a young, wealthy German who is idealistic about the Cuban model. However, she is immediately perceived as a useful idiot by Mike of the Cuban DI (Directorio de Intelligence) and her naiveté is manipulated into working for the corrupt Cuban government in getting millions out of Panama. Her life is ultimately sacrificed without much remorse by her Cuban handlers and she becomes a casualty of their goals. Also, the two beautiful but ruthless Russian spies, Irina and Tania who are killing machines. The description how they are able to extract millions from the bank of Panama are some of the best chapters in the novel. They know the Soviet Bloc is ending and a couple of millions dollars in a Western bank would help them adjust to the political changes.
The spy novel is a genre par excellent in the English speaking world so this novel will be suitable for translation and could find a wide audience of aficionados of the cold war and Cuba- US relations. The US apprehension of Noriega in Panama, the trial of General Ochoa in Cuba and the subsequent fall-out of the end of the Soviet bloc are all themes that have a wide audience in the US market. As a added bonus Ana Belen Montes , the Cuban spy who worked for the US government, also makes an appearance in the novel an so do some business men from the US.
There are few loose ends in this lengthy novel of almost 400 pages but overall the writer is able to construct an interesting and realistic plot about the end of the Cold War, and the dynamics of espionage. The author uses a very useful ploy to organize his many subplots by having a header of the location and date of the events he is about to narrate. It is much needed because the novels takes place in Yemen, Washington, DC, Paris, Madrid, Havana, Varadero and Panama just to name a few.
This is the first novel by Humberto Lopez y Guerra, born in Cuba, and who is a film producer and film director.
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