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Close But No Cigar
WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 2017
'In its tragic absurdity, Close But No Cigar reads like a Graham Greene story, with a cast of characters to make Hemingway proud' Daily Telegraph
For over a decade Stephen Purvis had been a pillar of Havana's expat community, one of many foreign businessmen investing in Cuba's crawl from Cold War communism towards modernity. But for reasons unknown to him he was also under State Security's microscope. One morning during the height of President Raúl Castro's purges in 2012, while his family slept, the unmarked Ladas of State Security arrived at his home and he was taken away into the absurd and brutal world of Cuban justice.
In this engrossing memoir, Purvis recounts his fifteen-month ordeal. Accused at first of selling state secrets, he is taken to the notorious interrogation centre Villa Marista, where he endures brutal conditions designed by the KGB and Stasi to break the bodies and minds of spies and political prisoners, and resists the paranoia and incompetence of his jailers. Later, held in a maximum-security prison, he finds himself surrounded by a motley crew of people-smugglers and drug-runners together with a handful of confused businessmen also awaiting formal charges.
From his arrest to his farcical secret trial and sudden release, Purvis exposes the madness of modern Cuba with wit, grit and a sharp eye for character. As tourists flock to Havana to marvel at a city frozen in time, he shows that despite reforms and international reconciliation the Castro regime remains a corrupt, dictatorial relic. Close But No Cigar is part thriller, part comedy and part morality tale, but most of all a true story that takes the reader into a dark side of a sunny place that remains an enigma.
'In its tragic absurdity, Close But No Cigar reads like a Graham Greene story, with a cast of characters to make Hemingway proud' Daily Telegraph
For over a decade Stephen Purvis had been a pillar of Havana's expat community, one of many foreign businessmen investing in Cuba's crawl from Cold War communism towards modernity. But for reasons unknown to him he was also under State Security's microscope. One morning during the height of President Raúl Castro's purges in 2012, while his family slept, the unmarked Ladas of State Security arrived at his home and he was taken away into the absurd and brutal world of Cuban justice.
In this engrossing memoir, Purvis recounts his fifteen-month ordeal. Accused at first of selling state secrets, he is taken to the notorious interrogation centre Villa Marista, where he endures brutal conditions designed by the KGB and Stasi to break the bodies and minds of spies and political prisoners, and resists the paranoia and incompetence of his jailers. Later, held in a maximum-security prison, he finds himself surrounded by a motley crew of people-smugglers and drug-runners together with a handful of confused businessmen also awaiting formal charges.
From his arrest to his farcical secret trial and sudden release, Purvis exposes the madness of modern Cuba with wit, grit and a sharp eye for character. As tourists flock to Havana to marvel at a city frozen in time, he shows that despite reforms and international reconciliation the Castro regime remains a corrupt, dictatorial relic. Close But No Cigar is part thriller, part comedy and part morality tale, but most of all a true story that takes the reader into a dark side of a sunny place that remains an enigma.
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 5, 2026
I saw this book mentioned in a WSJ article, and decided to read it right away.
Stephen Purvis moved his family from England to Cuba in the early 2000s, to live and work there as an architect and developer. About 10 years in, he was arrested on false charges and spent 18 months in jail. This book is his own recollection of that ordeal.
I went to Cuba as a tourist in 2004. In speaking with local people, what shocked me the most was that it felt like everyone was terrified. Behind the smiles and the easy-going attitude, it literally felt like a monster lived on the island who would randomly snatch someone here and someone there, shredding them to pieces. Depression and terror were the real feelings that lurked underneath everything, especially if you even hinted at trying to approach a conversation about their government.
And that’s exactly what life has been about in Cuba since La Revoluciòn. An open-air gulag, a communist hell on Earth, a stalinist Russian province bizarrely located in the tropics.
The extent of injustice, suffering, tears and misery that this regime has caused over many decades is probably impossible to quantify or even imagine.
Fidel is already rotting in the deepest circles of hell, while a gang of devils are saving a special room for his brother Raul.
History will judge them and the regime very harshly.
As for the author, he does not give away much about himself — which is ironic, in writing a whole book about himself, but also very much in line with the English tradition of being hyper-reserved and emotionally repressed.
One thing is clear: he is not a soft little flower, and that’s why he could survive this experience at all.
Only towards the end he decides to give us a bit more color on a puzzling comment he makes in the first chapters, about having “escaped a civil-war ridden” African country, where he spent his gap year. He says that experience left him with some psychological scars, something that he doesn’t explain in the detail, but that sounds a bit like PTSD.
So, it’s pretty clear that, while he’s obviously been unlucky, he also spent his life looking for more trouble than what the typical westerner does.
In any case, while this is not an exceptional book, it is an important testimony that I would recommend especially to those monumentally ignorant and vapid westerners who celebrate the Cuban revolution as if it was a symbol of good triumphing over evil, and admire worthless, dirty criminals like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.
Stephen Purvis moved his family from England to Cuba in the early 2000s, to live and work there as an architect and developer. About 10 years in, he was arrested on false charges and spent 18 months in jail. This book is his own recollection of that ordeal.
I went to Cuba as a tourist in 2004. In speaking with local people, what shocked me the most was that it felt like everyone was terrified. Behind the smiles and the easy-going attitude, it literally felt like a monster lived on the island who would randomly snatch someone here and someone there, shredding them to pieces. Depression and terror were the real feelings that lurked underneath everything, especially if you even hinted at trying to approach a conversation about their government.
And that’s exactly what life has been about in Cuba since La Revoluciòn. An open-air gulag, a communist hell on Earth, a stalinist Russian province bizarrely located in the tropics.
The extent of injustice, suffering, tears and misery that this regime has caused over many decades is probably impossible to quantify or even imagine.
Fidel is already rotting in the deepest circles of hell, while a gang of devils are saving a special room for his brother Raul.
History will judge them and the regime very harshly.
As for the author, he does not give away much about himself — which is ironic, in writing a whole book about himself, but also very much in line with the English tradition of being hyper-reserved and emotionally repressed.
One thing is clear: he is not a soft little flower, and that’s why he could survive this experience at all.
Only towards the end he decides to give us a bit more color on a puzzling comment he makes in the first chapters, about having “escaped a civil-war ridden” African country, where he spent his gap year. He says that experience left him with some psychological scars, something that he doesn’t explain in the detail, but that sounds a bit like PTSD.
So, it’s pretty clear that, while he’s obviously been unlucky, he also spent his life looking for more trouble than what the typical westerner does.
In any case, while this is not an exceptional book, it is an important testimony that I would recommend especially to those monumentally ignorant and vapid westerners who celebrate the Cuban revolution as if it was a symbol of good triumphing over evil, and admire worthless, dirty criminals like Che Guevara and Fidel Castro.
February 28, 2021
A decent man tells the story of what happens to him when he is wrongly accused of espionage in Cuba, at the time of the transfer of power from Fidel Castro to his younger brother, Raul. The book is well written and easy to read. Stephen conveys the horror of how he was treated and the dark side of the Cuban legal and penal system but he does so in a way which is insightful and not too heavy. He has a nice self-deprecating sense of humour and includes some interesting character portraits. I knew Stephen when I worked and lived in Cuba and I can only say how pleased I am that he obtained his freedom.
June 8, 2017
The book recounts the true story of incarceration in Cuba following the recent transition of power from Fidel to Raoul Castro. Eloquently and humorously told by an English architect working in Cuba who finds himself drawn into the Kafka-esque mysteries of the Cuban penal and judicial system. The story unfolds with the wry wit of the traveller and the tenderness of a father separated from his family . Anecdotes of life in a interrogation centre and a state prison are harrowing and hilariously farcical:4 men locked in an airless room with a floor plan the size a double mattress; A prison without seats or cutlery. Random acts of casual cruelty and human generosity reveal inmates to be both good men who do bad things and the converse. The story is a testament to resilience and fortitude and a reminder of the essential qualities of companionship, human touch, and a longing for fresh fruit and veg
August 27, 2017
Cracking good read!
Purvis has written a compelling account following his arrest and subsequent incarceration in the Cuban penal system. Written with a keen eye for detail, his tale serves as a reminder to all modern adventurers who leave the safety of home shores for a better life abroad, that sometime danger lurks unseen just around the corner. Ultimately, it is the love and support of friends and families that save his sanity, together with his discovery that he is able to transport his mind away from his gruesome surroundings, by remembering the outdoor adventures of his youth and reliving them in his head.
Despite his shocking environment and the dread of not knowing when the nightmare might end, Purvis manages to see the humour in his surroundings and describes it all with an adept touch.
Highly recommended.
Purvis has written a compelling account following his arrest and subsequent incarceration in the Cuban penal system. Written with a keen eye for detail, his tale serves as a reminder to all modern adventurers who leave the safety of home shores for a better life abroad, that sometime danger lurks unseen just around the corner. Ultimately, it is the love and support of friends and families that save his sanity, together with his discovery that he is able to transport his mind away from his gruesome surroundings, by remembering the outdoor adventures of his youth and reliving them in his head.
Despite his shocking environment and the dread of not knowing when the nightmare might end, Purvis manages to see the humour in his surroundings and describes it all with an adept touch.
Highly recommended.
February 7, 2018
A very close friend of mine knew this family while they were themselves doing business in Cuba which sparked my interest in reading this true story of things gone very wrong for the author and his family. Unusual in Cuba? Probably not.
His recount of the horrific approx 18 months lived in 2 of the worst Cuban prisons was detailed to the point of making me feel sick for him and his family. What amazed me was his ability to overcome depression and despair by holding on to the tiny thread of allowed visits from his wife, Mum, and kids.
The corruption and injustice of the Cuban legal system is shown raw and unthinkable in a world where human rights should exist. Not in the land of the Castro brothers.
On a personal basis I can only wish healing from this horrendous ordeal the whole family endured.
His recount of the horrific approx 18 months lived in 2 of the worst Cuban prisons was detailed to the point of making me feel sick for him and his family. What amazed me was his ability to overcome depression and despair by holding on to the tiny thread of allowed visits from his wife, Mum, and kids.
The corruption and injustice of the Cuban legal system is shown raw and unthinkable in a world where human rights should exist. Not in the land of the Castro brothers.
On a personal basis I can only wish healing from this horrendous ordeal the whole family endured.
October 25, 2017
I can't recommend this book highly enough. I am frankly stunned by the author's ability to transport the reader from your cosy bedroom to the deepest darkest dungeons of Cuba.
Apart from being an incredible story - and lesson - in both mental resilience and good humour, the book is packed full of amusing and fascinating insights into Cuban life from a variety of perspectives. Particularly interesting to me were the frights and delights of direct foreign investment in such an unpredictably inhospitable business environment.
This book truly has something for everyone - even your 80 year old mum (read the book to see what I mean!)...
Enjoy.
Apart from being an incredible story - and lesson - in both mental resilience and good humour, the book is packed full of amusing and fascinating insights into Cuban life from a variety of perspectives. Particularly interesting to me were the frights and delights of direct foreign investment in such an unpredictably inhospitable business environment.
This book truly has something for everyone - even your 80 year old mum (read the book to see what I mean!)...
Enjoy.
May 13, 2018
An autobiographical account of an architect/businessman who finds himself on the wrong side of charges dreamed up by the Cuban state police and his subsequent incarceration in the Cuban penal system. He describes the nightmarish conditions in which he is held in great detail, but throughout the book I felt the greatest sympathy for his wife, children and mother who clearly had to endure a hellish time until his eventual release.
June 29, 2021
Hmm I’ve got to say the bulk of this book was enjoyable but I literally couldn’t get through the last 20 pages I was simply bored out of my mind. Was definitely a super fun read though and it has given me many new topics to learn about:
- Castro’s Cuba
- Modern Cuban politics
- USSR and Cuban connections
- Castro’s Cuba
- Modern Cuban politics
- USSR and Cuban connections
May 1, 2018
An interesting read and good intro to how the justice system in Cuba works, although I can't really say I took much of a liking to the author at times - still it's worth a read if you've got a passing interest in Cuba I guess.
February 2, 2023
Gave a real insight into Stephen’s wrongful detention & highlighted the inhumane treatment he endured in the interrogation facility & Cuban prison.
A good memoir for anyone wanting to know more about the “justice” system in Cuba during Fidel/Raúl Castro ruling.
A good memoir for anyone wanting to know more about the “justice” system in Cuba during Fidel/Raúl Castro ruling.
December 2, 2017
Interesting and well written
I enjoyed the book and it certainly shone an interesting view on Cuba, but there was a _lot_ of time e spent just about tune in a Cuban goal
I enjoyed the book and it certainly shone an interesting view on Cuba, but there was a _lot_ of time e spent just about tune in a Cuban goal
July 25, 2018
Great Book. Highly recommended. It would be anyones worst nightmare to experience what the author went through. Read the whole book in one sitting.
May 12, 2020
Intresting read on Cuba under Raul
October 18, 2025
Written well. Fascinating and hard to put down.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews