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Havana Year Zero
It was as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss. That’s how low we sank.
The year is 1993. Cuba is at the height of the Special Period, a widespread economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet bloc.
For Julia, a mathematics lecturer who hates teaching, Havana is at Year Zero: the lowest possible point, going nowhere. Desperate to seize control of her life, Julia teams up with her colleague and former lover, Euclid, to seek out a document that proves the telephone was invented by Antonio Meucci in Havana, convinced it is the answer to secure their reputations and give Cuba a purpose once more.
From this point zero, Julia sets out on an investigation to befriend two men who could help lead to the document’s whereabouts, and must pick apart a tangled mystery of sex, family legacies and the intricacies of how people find ways to survive in a country at its lowest ebb.
WINNER Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-monde (2012)
WINNER Insular Book Award (France, 2012)
The year is 1993. Cuba is at the height of the Special Period, a widespread economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet bloc.
For Julia, a mathematics lecturer who hates teaching, Havana is at Year Zero: the lowest possible point, going nowhere. Desperate to seize control of her life, Julia teams up with her colleague and former lover, Euclid, to seek out a document that proves the telephone was invented by Antonio Meucci in Havana, convinced it is the answer to secure their reputations and give Cuba a purpose once more.
From this point zero, Julia sets out on an investigation to befriend two men who could help lead to the document’s whereabouts, and must pick apart a tangled mystery of sex, family legacies and the intricacies of how people find ways to survive in a country at its lowest ebb.
WINNER Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-monde (2012)
WINNER Insular Book Award (France, 2012)
256 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2012
22 people are currently reading
1511 people want to read
About the author
Karla Suárez
27 books36 followersKarla Suárez (La Habana, 1969) es ingeniera informática. Ha publicado este mismo año, en Cuba, el libro de relatos Espuma. Varios de sus relatos han aparecido en antologías publicadas en Cuba, España e Italia (entre ellas Líneas aéreas Lengua de Trapo, 1999), así como en revistas de México, Argentina y Cuba. Su cuento Aniversario fue adaptado al teatro en 1996. Es miembro de la Asociación Hermanos Saiz, Cuba (Asociación de Jóvenes Artistas). Actualmente reside en Roma. Silencios es su primera novela.
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February 14, 2021
A story of underdogs not getting their due but edging onwards regardless
It was, I imagine, like being in a country at war, but without the bombs, because the bomb had already exploded somewhere else and we were left with the penury, the lack of choice, the desolation.
Havana Year Zero is lovely chatty and contains a winding mystery story a bit similar to The Shadow of the Wind.
The setting is Havana in the middle of an economic collapse due to the implosion of the Soviet Union. We are talked to directly by Julia, a pseudonym, who teaches math but has a rather aimless live amidst crumbling certainties and frequent power cuts. She interacts with three men whose names are also kept from the reader. Euclid, an elder mathematician that earlier had an affair with Julia. Angel, her current love interest with an unstable sister and wavering enthusiasm for his relation with Julia. And author Leonardo, called after DaVinci.
Besides Julia the common theme is a quest for a document that provides evidence that the telephone was invented in Havana by an Italian Antonia Meucci. His life story is riddled by poverty, leading to his invention only belatedly attributed to him, for anyone interested it is a fascinating tale and testament how Bell's marketing and influence has managed to stand the test of time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio...
Everyone is divorced, power outages, housing shortages and people fleeing the country form the background to all the characters their lives.
They are all drifting, aimless, with stories forming the only escape.
Karla Suárez skillfully weaves the narrative, with some fanciful touches like people for generations being named the same, a secret passed on for centuries and the question who now has the document to prove Meucci's claim to fame.
The story keeps on oscillating between three men and three takes on reality, with Julia and the reader following along from one to another explanation.
The broader theme emerging is the resilience of a people continuously disappointed, mirrored in the lack of recognition for the inventor of the telephone Antonio Meucci.
There are caustic observations on the old system as well:
In this country, especially at that time, having a video player set you in a class above everyone else. That stuff about us all being equal just means that we have to mark the differences in small ways.
In the end the resolution of the mystery is, as often, not as important or satisfying as all that is projected upon it, but this book was a delightful trip into a world and story I had little knowledge of beforehand. Julia her chatty, hustling, often fourth wall breaking narration really drew me into my first read from Charco Press, eager to see what other stories my 2021 subscription will deliver!
It was, I imagine, like being in a country at war, but without the bombs, because the bomb had already exploded somewhere else and we were left with the penury, the lack of choice, the desolation.
Havana Year Zero is lovely chatty and contains a winding mystery story a bit similar to The Shadow of the Wind.
The setting is Havana in the middle of an economic collapse due to the implosion of the Soviet Union. We are talked to directly by Julia, a pseudonym, who teaches math but has a rather aimless live amidst crumbling certainties and frequent power cuts. She interacts with three men whose names are also kept from the reader. Euclid, an elder mathematician that earlier had an affair with Julia. Angel, her current love interest with an unstable sister and wavering enthusiasm for his relation with Julia. And author Leonardo, called after DaVinci.
Besides Julia the common theme is a quest for a document that provides evidence that the telephone was invented in Havana by an Italian Antonia Meucci. His life story is riddled by poverty, leading to his invention only belatedly attributed to him, for anyone interested it is a fascinating tale and testament how Bell's marketing and influence has managed to stand the test of time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio...
Everyone is divorced, power outages, housing shortages and people fleeing the country form the background to all the characters their lives.
They are all drifting, aimless, with stories forming the only escape.
Karla Suárez skillfully weaves the narrative, with some fanciful touches like people for generations being named the same, a secret passed on for centuries and the question who now has the document to prove Meucci's claim to fame.
The story keeps on oscillating between three men and three takes on reality, with Julia and the reader following along from one to another explanation.
The broader theme emerging is the resilience of a people continuously disappointed, mirrored in the lack of recognition for the inventor of the telephone Antonio Meucci.
There are caustic observations on the old system as well:
In this country, especially at that time, having a video player set you in a class above everyone else. That stuff about us all being equal just means that we have to mark the differences in small ways.
In the end the resolution of the mystery is, as often, not as important or satisfying as all that is projected upon it, but this book was a delightful trip into a world and story I had little knowledge of beforehand. Julia her chatty, hustling, often fourth wall breaking narration really drew me into my first read from Charco Press, eager to see what other stories my 2021 subscription will deliver!
March 1, 2021
I laughed, saying that instead of writing he should have taken up mathematics, an area where demonstrating the truth was a fundamental activity.
Havana, Year Zero (2021) is translated by Christine McSweeney from the original Habana, año cero (2011) by Karla Suárez and published by the wonderful Charco Press - their 23rd book (see my Charco shelf for reviews of all of them.)
The novel looks back, from a later period, on events in 1993, at the nadir of the Special Period (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...) in Cuba, with GDP having fallen by over 35% since 1989 and the fall of the Eastern Bloc and Cuba’s loss of both support and trading partners:
Todo ocurrió en 1993, año cero en Cuba. El año de los apagones interminables, cuando La Habana se llenó de bicicletas y las despensas se quedaron vacías. No había de nada. Cero transporte. Cero carne. Cero esperanza. Yo tenía treinta años y miles de problemas.
It all happened in 1993, Year Zero in Cuba. The year of the interminable power cuts, when bicycles filled the streets of Havana and the shops were empty. There was nothing of anything. Zero transport. Zero meat. Zero hope. I was thirty and had thousands of problems.
Our story is narrated by ‘Julia’, not her real name but rather a pseudonym taken from the French mathematician Gaston Julia, inventor of the Julia set, as Julia herself is a mathematician, with a fondness for quoting mathematical aphorisms, particularly from Henri Poincare (It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover)
The plot revolves around the real-life Antonio Meucci, an Italian, who while based in Cuba in the 19th century, arguably invented the telephone some years before Alexander Graham Bell.
In 2002, the US House of Representatives passed a motion “that the life and achievements of Antonio Meucci should be recognized, and his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged,”, with the Canadian parliament passing a counter-resolution a couple of weeks later.
Julia, and various of her acquaintances, and lovers, are in pursuit of a document that apparently definitively proves Meucci’s claims. The alliances between the different friends, and the history of the document, shift from chapter to chapter in a plot that, while set in a very different, and vividly portrayed, society to Victorian or Elizabethan London, would be worthy of a Wilkie Collins mystery or a Shakespearean comedy of errors
These characters include an author she refers to as ‘Leonardo’ (after Da Vinci, although she admits as a Cuban author Padura would make more sense as a reference), ‘Euclid’ and a woman, the former wife of her lover, called Margarita, which appears to be her real name and which for Julia invokes Rubén Darío’s poem ‘A Margarita Debayle’. McSweeney renders the opening line as “Margarita, the sea is beautiful, And the wind carries a subtle essence of orange blossom,” and Julia always refers to the woman as Margaritatheseaisbeautifulandthewind.
A key figure in the background is the real-life Dr Basilio Catania, to whom the book is dedicated, author of Antonio Meucci: The Inventor and His Times, and the scientist who eventually did find a document (albeit in the US not Cuba) that proved Meucci’s claims, and led to the 2002 House of Representatives vote.
And the novel is set in a vividly portrayed Cuba at that time, one where ironically given the origins of the instrument, even the telephones barely work, but instead live revolves around love, sex and rum.
We were living in a country being screened in slow motion and sometimes in black and white, where the only things that weren’t a struggle were a smile, making love and dreaming. That’s why we’re always smiling here in Cuba, why we make love and dream all the time. Nowadays, I’m aware that knowing who invented the telephone isn’t so important, and nor is possession of a piece of paper that proves it; but give me a crisis and I can tell you which illusion to cling to.
The French translation of the novel won the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde and the prize citation, as translated here sums up the novel’s strengths:
Recommended.
Havana, Year Zero (2021) is translated by Christine McSweeney from the original Habana, año cero (2011) by Karla Suárez and published by the wonderful Charco Press - their 23rd book (see my Charco shelf for reviews of all of them.)
The novel looks back, from a later period, on events in 1993, at the nadir of the Special Period (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...) in Cuba, with GDP having fallen by over 35% since 1989 and the fall of the Eastern Bloc and Cuba’s loss of both support and trading partners:
Todo ocurrió en 1993, año cero en Cuba. El año de los apagones interminables, cuando La Habana se llenó de bicicletas y las despensas se quedaron vacías. No había de nada. Cero transporte. Cero carne. Cero esperanza. Yo tenía treinta años y miles de problemas.
It all happened in 1993, Year Zero in Cuba. The year of the interminable power cuts, when bicycles filled the streets of Havana and the shops were empty. There was nothing of anything. Zero transport. Zero meat. Zero hope. I was thirty and had thousands of problems.
Our story is narrated by ‘Julia’, not her real name but rather a pseudonym taken from the French mathematician Gaston Julia, inventor of the Julia set, as Julia herself is a mathematician, with a fondness for quoting mathematical aphorisms, particularly from Henri Poincare (It is by logic that we prove, but by intuition that we discover)
The plot revolves around the real-life Antonio Meucci, an Italian, who while based in Cuba in the 19th century, arguably invented the telephone some years before Alexander Graham Bell.
In 2002, the US House of Representatives passed a motion “that the life and achievements of Antonio Meucci should be recognized, and his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged,”, with the Canadian parliament passing a counter-resolution a couple of weeks later.
Mr. Bob Speller (Haldimand—Norfolk—Brant, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
The minister must be aware now of the silly goings on in the United States capital where the U.S. house of representatives passed a motion claiming that somebody other than Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
I am wondering if the minister will take the time to inform the U.S. congress that indeed yes, Virginia, Alexander Graham Bell did invent the telephone.
Julia, and various of her acquaintances, and lovers, are in pursuit of a document that apparently definitively proves Meucci’s claims. The alliances between the different friends, and the history of the document, shift from chapter to chapter in a plot that, while set in a very different, and vividly portrayed, society to Victorian or Elizabethan London, would be worthy of a Wilkie Collins mystery or a Shakespearean comedy of errors
These characters include an author she refers to as ‘Leonardo’ (after Da Vinci, although she admits as a Cuban author Padura would make more sense as a reference), ‘Euclid’ and a woman, the former wife of her lover, called Margarita, which appears to be her real name and which for Julia invokes Rubén Darío’s poem ‘A Margarita Debayle’. McSweeney renders the opening line as “Margarita, the sea is beautiful, And the wind carries a subtle essence of orange blossom,” and Julia always refers to the woman as Margaritatheseaisbeautifulandthewind.
A key figure in the background is the real-life Dr Basilio Catania, to whom the book is dedicated, author of Antonio Meucci: The Inventor and His Times, and the scientist who eventually did find a document (albeit in the US not Cuba) that proved Meucci’s claims, and led to the 2002 House of Representatives vote.
And the novel is set in a vividly portrayed Cuba at that time, one where ironically given the origins of the instrument, even the telephones barely work, but instead live revolves around love, sex and rum.
We were living in a country being screened in slow motion and sometimes in black and white, where the only things that weren’t a struggle were a smile, making love and dreaming. That’s why we’re always smiling here in Cuba, why we make love and dream all the time. Nowadays, I’m aware that knowing who invented the telephone isn’t so important, and nor is possession of a piece of paper that proves it; but give me a crisis and I can tell you which illusion to cling to.
The French translation of the novel won the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde and the prize citation, as translated here sums up the novel’s strengths:
WHEREAS in simple language, shareable speech, lively writing, the novelist has been able to follow the threads of these stories to explore the peculiarities of the Cuban stance, the lived experiences of these stunning beings that have remained on their island as if at the heart of destiny;
WHEREAS she has mobilized a very unique talent where emotion and lyricism are bound by an enormous sense of reserve, but are discreetly exposed in the representation of these singular lives, the narration of ambiguous and complex existences, and the barely traced melancholy of long-kept illusions;
WHEREAS the novelist has excelled in the art of representing her country in the full light of recognition, in a moment when the consciences of the Centers and their proud blindness, have, paradoxically, never been as exacerbated;
WHEREAS she has known, from beginning to end, how to keep [the readers] in suspense, how to surprise and amaze, in the maze of relationships, intimate experiences, urban neighborhoods, and the forgotten times of histories that coalesce;
WHEREAS, at every bound and every turn, the burning formula of Cuban resourcefulness, standing against oppressive economic models, is revealed as joyful, lively, and always triumphant;
WHEREAS the writer has made us enter the powerful body of the mind, the intelligence of the men and women of Cuba: inventors, doctors, explorers, artists, poets, and creators, all of which renew the poetic material of existence itself, impressing it on us like a grace, a cardinal virtue, which—under quarantines, under embargoes—stimulates the Cuban soul, turning it into a source of rejuvenation and hope facing the old-continents;
Thus, the jury unanimously awards the Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-monde of 2012 to Ms. Karla Suárez for her novel Havana, Year Zero.
Recommended.
March 28, 2021
Charco Press is an Edinburgh-based small UK press – they focus on “finding outstanding contemporary Latin American literature and bringing it to new readers in the English-speaking world”.
This is the first of their fifth year of publication – and their first by a Cuban author. It is translated by Christina MacSweeney and reads very naturally in English (although the text is rather cliché heavy (“two and two makes four”, “different kettle of fish” etc– I assume reflecting the original - and has a few sentences which I think needed proof reading).
The book for me has an fascinating and real-life premise, an interesting time-and-place specific backdrop and setting, but perhaps a too genre-based wrapping.
The real-life premise is the story of Antonio Meucci – an Italian inventor, who invented a telephone type device many years before Alexander Graham Bell’s controversial patenting of his own device, but whose holding annually renewable patents had lapsed (due to lack of funds) before Bell’s own invention. Some of his research was done while he was working behind the scenes in a theatre in Havana.
Purely as an aside - this is like the punchline to a joke. What was more important than inventing the telephone? Inventing the second one.
The book itself is set in Havana in 1993.
Many of the characters are given mathematical type pseudonyms by our narrator Julia (as in Gaston Julia of Julia set fame) – who is herself a mathematical researcher turned college maths teacher.
The book begins with her old tutor Euclid telling her that he knows of the existence of a document that proves not only that Meucci did develop a phone using the same electomagnetic ideas as Bell, but that he first developed it in Havana. Unfortunately the woman who holds the document will not give it to him – but he wants Julia’s help to get it as he thinks it will bring him a measure of scientific fame.
Very quickly a small group of other cast members assemble around Julia and Euclid:
Leonardo – an author writing a “Name of the Rose” inspired true-fiction account of Meucci which he thinks will revolutionalise literature and make his fortune – but feels he needs the document to give added veracity to the account.
A young man – Angel – to who Julia is immediately attracted: he also knows of the document and has at least two different plans for what to do with it.
The intersection of all of the stories and the relationships turns out quickly to be Angel’s ex-wife Margarita (exiled in Brazil)
And an added complexity is an Italian journalist Barbara, also on the trail of the document and also bound it up in various relationships.
1993 in Havana is “Year Zero” as that was when the Cuban economy reached a low after the sudden and catastrophic withdrawal of Soviet Support with the collapse of the USSR in 1989. This both means all the characters are desperate for something which might promise them either escape or money and that they have very little objectively constructive to do with their time.
And this in turn leads to the book’s wrapping which is a combination of detective novel and chick lit.
The detective part – with its very tightly circumscribed cast, and with Julia (as detective) forming and rejecting a series of hypotheses and theories, and at the same time uncovering a series of revelations about the true relationships (in some cases identities) and motivations of each of the other actors – reminded me very much of the “Murder Most Unladylike” series by youngest daughter is currently loving.
Perhaps more weakly Julia seems to spend most of the book either crying about a betrayal or sleeping with whichever man she has most recently spoken to and whose account of the motivations and deceits of the other men she appears to believes holds true (despite all the evidence that all of the men are self-interested liars) – and this was like a Bridget Jones/Daniel Cleaver/Mark Darcy triangle writ large.
The book also has a rather (to me anyway) annoying framing device of being an account addressed to a third party so is sprinkled with “Get it?” “Right?” and so on. Finally the pure mathematical part – which should have been a positive for this ex pure-mathematician – was something of the opposite as it did not really work due I think to seeing maths as more of a science and bringing in ideas of Popperian falsification as a fairly key part of the novel.
Nevertheless an enjoyable tale if I think less literary and hard hitting than Charco’s normal fare.
This is the first of their fifth year of publication – and their first by a Cuban author. It is translated by Christina MacSweeney and reads very naturally in English (although the text is rather cliché heavy (“two and two makes four”, “different kettle of fish” etc– I assume reflecting the original - and has a few sentences which I think needed proof reading).
The book for me has an fascinating and real-life premise, an interesting time-and-place specific backdrop and setting, but perhaps a too genre-based wrapping.
The real-life premise is the story of Antonio Meucci – an Italian inventor, who invented a telephone type device many years before Alexander Graham Bell’s controversial patenting of his own device, but whose holding annually renewable patents had lapsed (due to lack of funds) before Bell’s own invention. Some of his research was done while he was working behind the scenes in a theatre in Havana.
Purely as an aside - this is like the punchline to a joke. What was more important than inventing the telephone? Inventing the second one.
The book itself is set in Havana in 1993.
Many of the characters are given mathematical type pseudonyms by our narrator Julia (as in Gaston Julia of Julia set fame) – who is herself a mathematical researcher turned college maths teacher.
The book begins with her old tutor Euclid telling her that he knows of the existence of a document that proves not only that Meucci did develop a phone using the same electomagnetic ideas as Bell, but that he first developed it in Havana. Unfortunately the woman who holds the document will not give it to him – but he wants Julia’s help to get it as he thinks it will bring him a measure of scientific fame.
Very quickly a small group of other cast members assemble around Julia and Euclid:
Leonardo – an author writing a “Name of the Rose” inspired true-fiction account of Meucci which he thinks will revolutionalise literature and make his fortune – but feels he needs the document to give added veracity to the account.
A young man – Angel – to who Julia is immediately attracted: he also knows of the document and has at least two different plans for what to do with it.
The intersection of all of the stories and the relationships turns out quickly to be Angel’s ex-wife Margarita (exiled in Brazil)
And an added complexity is an Italian journalist Barbara, also on the trail of the document and also bound it up in various relationships.
1993 in Havana is “Year Zero” as that was when the Cuban economy reached a low after the sudden and catastrophic withdrawal of Soviet Support with the collapse of the USSR in 1989. This both means all the characters are desperate for something which might promise them either escape or money and that they have very little objectively constructive to do with their time.
And this in turn leads to the book’s wrapping which is a combination of detective novel and chick lit.
The detective part – with its very tightly circumscribed cast, and with Julia (as detective) forming and rejecting a series of hypotheses and theories, and at the same time uncovering a series of revelations about the true relationships (in some cases identities) and motivations of each of the other actors – reminded me very much of the “Murder Most Unladylike” series by youngest daughter is currently loving.
Perhaps more weakly Julia seems to spend most of the book either crying about a betrayal or sleeping with whichever man she has most recently spoken to and whose account of the motivations and deceits of the other men she appears to believes holds true (despite all the evidence that all of the men are self-interested liars) – and this was like a Bridget Jones/Daniel Cleaver/Mark Darcy triangle writ large.
The book also has a rather (to me anyway) annoying framing device of being an account addressed to a third party so is sprinkled with “Get it?” “Right?” and so on. Finally the pure mathematical part – which should have been a positive for this ex pure-mathematician – was something of the opposite as it did not really work due I think to seeing maths as more of a science and bringing in ideas of Popperian falsification as a fairly key part of the novel.
Nevertheless an enjoyable tale if I think less literary and hard hitting than Charco’s normal fare.
February 3, 2021
In October 1835, the Italian inventor Antonio Meucci emigrated to Cuba accompanied by his wife, Ester. While there, he invented developed a method of using electric shocks to treat illness and then continued his experiments to create a device through which one could hear the human voice. He is credited by many people as the inventor of the telephone. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio...).
Skip forward to 1993 and it is the Special Period in Cuba. This was an extended period of economic crisis in the country marked by food rationing, energy shortages and a shrinking economy (all triggered by the dissolution of the Soviet Union). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...).
In Havana Year Zero we are led by Julia (not her real name, she tells us) through a twisting, convoluted story of several interconnected lives in this turbulent period. As the book begins, Julia teams up with a former lover, Euclid (also not his real name) to start the search for a document written by Meucci that will prove that the telephone was invented by Meucci and that he did it in Cuba. The search for this document becomes way more complicated than anyone envisages because of the games people play with the truth and because every step of the journey seems to uncover a new truth that flies in the face of what was previously assumed. When reading this book, be prepared to have the rug pulled from under your feet numerous times.
Because a large part of the fun in reading this book is the multitudinous twists and turns the story takes, I am not going to say anything more about the plot. You will need to read the book for yourself to see the way the possible location of the document moves around and the complex web of deceit and sex that is gradually uncovered.
But while Julia chases the truth around between Euclid, Angel, Leonardo (names are all changed to protect the innocent), Barbara, Margarita and a few others, a picture also emerges of life in Cuba through a difficult time. This is actually treated quite lightly. Food shortages, power cuts, water being cut off etc. - all these things are, for many of the characters, part of life and they are working out ways to survive. It doesn’t feel as you read that people are living in terrible hardship, though. I thought life would be more difficult than it appears to be for these people.
There’s fun to be had reading this book as you try to keep all the reveals straight in your head. It’s almost certain (this is what happened to me) that by the time you get to the end, there will have been so many alternative interpretations, so many reveals of new facts that turn everything on its head, that you will have forgotten how things actually got started and what the initial idea was. But I don’t think that matters because the fun is the craziness of the story.
There’s also a lot of re-telling of history to give an overview of Meucci’s story. At times, this feels a bit like reading the Wikipedia article I’ve linked to at the start. It is an interesting story, though.
So, this is an interesting mix of a twisting, turning story where you quickly realise you can’t trust a word anyone says with a portrait of a country in a very difficult period of its history.
3.5 stars rounded down for now.
Skip forward to 1993 and it is the Special Period in Cuba. This was an extended period of economic crisis in the country marked by food rationing, energy shortages and a shrinking economy (all triggered by the dissolution of the Soviet Union). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special...).
In Havana Year Zero we are led by Julia (not her real name, she tells us) through a twisting, convoluted story of several interconnected lives in this turbulent period. As the book begins, Julia teams up with a former lover, Euclid (also not his real name) to start the search for a document written by Meucci that will prove that the telephone was invented by Meucci and that he did it in Cuba. The search for this document becomes way more complicated than anyone envisages because of the games people play with the truth and because every step of the journey seems to uncover a new truth that flies in the face of what was previously assumed. When reading this book, be prepared to have the rug pulled from under your feet numerous times.
Because a large part of the fun in reading this book is the multitudinous twists and turns the story takes, I am not going to say anything more about the plot. You will need to read the book for yourself to see the way the possible location of the document moves around and the complex web of deceit and sex that is gradually uncovered.
But while Julia chases the truth around between Euclid, Angel, Leonardo (names are all changed to protect the innocent), Barbara, Margarita and a few others, a picture also emerges of life in Cuba through a difficult time. This is actually treated quite lightly. Food shortages, power cuts, water being cut off etc. - all these things are, for many of the characters, part of life and they are working out ways to survive. It doesn’t feel as you read that people are living in terrible hardship, though. I thought life would be more difficult than it appears to be for these people.
There’s fun to be had reading this book as you try to keep all the reveals straight in your head. It’s almost certain (this is what happened to me) that by the time you get to the end, there will have been so many alternative interpretations, so many reveals of new facts that turn everything on its head, that you will have forgotten how things actually got started and what the initial idea was. But I don’t think that matters because the fun is the craziness of the story.
There’s also a lot of re-telling of history to give an overview of Meucci’s story. At times, this feels a bit like reading the Wikipedia article I’ve linked to at the start. It is an interesting story, though.
So, this is an interesting mix of a twisting, turning story where you quickly realise you can’t trust a word anyone says with a portrait of a country in a very difficult period of its history.
3.5 stars rounded down for now.
December 19, 2019
elyunquedehefesto.blogspot.com/2019/1...
Para Julia, seudónimo de la narradora de esta novela, el “año cero” fue 1993, el más dramático de la crisis económica en que se vio inmersa Cuba tras la caída de la Unión Soviética. Esa época de cortes de luz y teléfono, de falta de alimentos y de perspectivas de futuro, donde cada uno intentaba adaptarse lo mejor posible a la situación, se denominó “Período Especial”.
Tal y como la protagonista le cuenta a un interlocutor sin nombre, La Habana de aquel año es su punto de confluencia con otros cuatro personajes, interrelacionados en el pasado y el presente, que tienen un objetivo común: encontrar un documento perdido que demostraría la invención del teléfono por Antonio Meucci, un italiano, en la capital cubana hacia 1860. [Sí, esto es real, fue él y no Graham Bell el primero en conseguir transmitir la voz por medio de la electricidad]. Todos se implican en la búsqueda de este particular Grial, por unos motivos u otros, aunque para ellos hacerse con dicho documento también implica una salida a la triste realidad que viven, un pasaporte directo a una vida mejor.
Sin embargo, que nadie espere una trepidante aventura por las calles de capital caribeña ni una novela de ritmo frenético, no estamos ante un thriller. Karla Suárez no busca componer un Best Seller al uso ni una aventura con más adrenalina que sentimiento; lo que pretende con su obra es rendir homenaje a un genio ignorado por la historia durante más de cien años y, sobre todo, sumergirnos en la manera de ser de unos hombres y mujeres representativos del pueblo cubano, que tratan de seguir adelante a pesar de todo, buscando sentirse vivos, amar y ser amados, mejorar y tal vez no herirse demasiado los unos a los otros por el camino.
Julia, matemática de profesión y de mentalidad práctica y analítica, nos plantea la búsqueda del documento como una ecuación de cuatro incógnitas (Ángel, Bárbara, Euclides y Leonardo). Todos sospechando de todos, proyectando sus estrategias en una partida cuyas posiciones cambian constantemente, buscando alianzas secretas o rompiéndolas con cada uno de los pequeños giros de la historia que se intercalan, una y otra vez, con apuntes sobre la vida del inventor.
Con una prosa sencilla y cercana, de tono irónico y humor contenido, la autora nos transporta a una Cuba agonizante donde las reuniones de amigos y conocidos no tienen fin, donde la vida triunfa sobre el pesar y donde el sexo, espontáneo y natural, funciona como válvula de escape y vehículo de expresión entre personas que ocultan rencillas, rivalidades o necesitan vencer a la soledad o la decepción.
Afortunadamente la vida no se puede plantear en términos matemáticos y aún queda margen para la sorpresa y las bromas del destino. Gracias a esto, tras una serie de batallas incruentas y derrotas inadvertidas por mezclar el amor con la búsqueda del éxito o con la consecución pequeñas venganzas mientras pierden de vista la partida que realmente importa (la de la vida), puede que alguno de los protagonistas consiga resolver el enigma aunque sea por mera intervención del azar.
Para Julia, seudónimo de la narradora de esta novela, el “año cero” fue 1993, el más dramático de la crisis económica en que se vio inmersa Cuba tras la caída de la Unión Soviética. Esa época de cortes de luz y teléfono, de falta de alimentos y de perspectivas de futuro, donde cada uno intentaba adaptarse lo mejor posible a la situación, se denominó “Período Especial”.
Tal y como la protagonista le cuenta a un interlocutor sin nombre, La Habana de aquel año es su punto de confluencia con otros cuatro personajes, interrelacionados en el pasado y el presente, que tienen un objetivo común: encontrar un documento perdido que demostraría la invención del teléfono por Antonio Meucci, un italiano, en la capital cubana hacia 1860. [Sí, esto es real, fue él y no Graham Bell el primero en conseguir transmitir la voz por medio de la electricidad]. Todos se implican en la búsqueda de este particular Grial, por unos motivos u otros, aunque para ellos hacerse con dicho documento también implica una salida a la triste realidad que viven, un pasaporte directo a una vida mejor.
Sin embargo, que nadie espere una trepidante aventura por las calles de capital caribeña ni una novela de ritmo frenético, no estamos ante un thriller. Karla Suárez no busca componer un Best Seller al uso ni una aventura con más adrenalina que sentimiento; lo que pretende con su obra es rendir homenaje a un genio ignorado por la historia durante más de cien años y, sobre todo, sumergirnos en la manera de ser de unos hombres y mujeres representativos del pueblo cubano, que tratan de seguir adelante a pesar de todo, buscando sentirse vivos, amar y ser amados, mejorar y tal vez no herirse demasiado los unos a los otros por el camino.
Julia, matemática de profesión y de mentalidad práctica y analítica, nos plantea la búsqueda del documento como una ecuación de cuatro incógnitas (Ángel, Bárbara, Euclides y Leonardo). Todos sospechando de todos, proyectando sus estrategias en una partida cuyas posiciones cambian constantemente, buscando alianzas secretas o rompiéndolas con cada uno de los pequeños giros de la historia que se intercalan, una y otra vez, con apuntes sobre la vida del inventor.
Con una prosa sencilla y cercana, de tono irónico y humor contenido, la autora nos transporta a una Cuba agonizante donde las reuniones de amigos y conocidos no tienen fin, donde la vida triunfa sobre el pesar y donde el sexo, espontáneo y natural, funciona como válvula de escape y vehículo de expresión entre personas que ocultan rencillas, rivalidades o necesitan vencer a la soledad o la decepción.
Afortunadamente la vida no se puede plantear en términos matemáticos y aún queda margen para la sorpresa y las bromas del destino. Gracias a esto, tras una serie de batallas incruentas y derrotas inadvertidas por mezclar el amor con la búsqueda del éxito o con la consecución pequeñas venganzas mientras pierden de vista la partida que realmente importa (la de la vida), puede que alguno de los protagonistas consiga resolver el enigma aunque sea por mera intervención del azar.
January 29, 2023
There was a moment when reading this that I paused and thought: "this book might be brilliant!" But then the ending I'd thought I'd uncovered didn't happen, and some of the pieces I thought would be important to the puzzle didn't amount to anything.
So, settling instead on: "very good!"
How does someone even begin to describe the plot to this book? It follows Julia, a mathematician and professor in 1993 Cuba. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cuba was left isolated, spiraling into poverty and discontent. In a few short years after that bifurcating moment, things had spiraled downward. It was in this setting that Julia overheard talk about a missing document that could prove the telephone had actually been invented right there in Cuba, by an Italian inventor named Antonui Meucci. Julia is set on a quest to fund the document, recruited by her friend Euclid who suspects her boyfriend Angel's acquaintance Leonardo might be a lead. This sets off a bizarre series of events, with love, sex, deception, and delusion, all in the name of science.
The first hundred-ish pages are spent setting up all the pieces that later click into place. During this time I kept saying to myself, this really does feel like the author is setting up for things to "hit the fan" so to speak. 100 pages in, it did not disappoint! Julia's would proceeded to flip on its head, and then do it again, and again.
For me, the problem came when I thought I was having a lightbulb moment - I had put the pieces together and figured it out! And then I was disappointed when the actual end didn't use the puzzle pieces I thought I had identified.
Of course, I do recognize that I had gotten myself swept up as much as Julia had, and I think that was probably part of the point. I do think the ending made sense (even if I still like my ending more).
The things I liked most of all were the ambiance and chaos of 1993 Cuba, in their "year zero" where they'd found themselves isolated, abandoned, cut off from the world without the Soviets. There was no food, no money, power cuts, Cubans were banned from spaces with foreigners - this was a setting for chaos and the chaos replicated itself in the characters' manipulations and delusions. Their misadventures were a vehicle for a satirical critique of society at the time. As a mathematician, the narrator Julia ties in fractal theory and describes each one of them as replicating society's discontent. She uses chaos theory and the butterfly effect:
"[She] was just one more butterfly who had fluttered her tiny wings, another disorder in a system that was already behaving chaotically. Because it was the whole country that was going through a chaotic moment. A butterfly had fluttered its wings on the other side of the Atlantic, bringing down a wall in the beautiful city of Berlin, and rhe eddext od this gradually materialized on this side of the world, on this island, in this unstable system. Do you get it?"
If you have to like the characters to like a novel, you may not like this one. If you have trouble with a long set-up before getting a payoff, you might have a hard time with the beginning of the boom.
But if you are ok with those caveats and want a book with wonderfully chaotic energy, weird characters with weird obsessions, dry wit, and some interesting factoids about a real historic figure, that is set in an immersive and unique time and place, then I think you'd really enjoy this one!
3.75 stars, rounded up
So, settling instead on: "very good!"
How does someone even begin to describe the plot to this book? It follows Julia, a mathematician and professor in 1993 Cuba. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, Cuba was left isolated, spiraling into poverty and discontent. In a few short years after that bifurcating moment, things had spiraled downward. It was in this setting that Julia overheard talk about a missing document that could prove the telephone had actually been invented right there in Cuba, by an Italian inventor named Antonui Meucci. Julia is set on a quest to fund the document, recruited by her friend Euclid who suspects her boyfriend Angel's acquaintance Leonardo might be a lead. This sets off a bizarre series of events, with love, sex, deception, and delusion, all in the name of science.
The first hundred-ish pages are spent setting up all the pieces that later click into place. During this time I kept saying to myself, this really does feel like the author is setting up for things to "hit the fan" so to speak. 100 pages in, it did not disappoint! Julia's would proceeded to flip on its head, and then do it again, and again.
For me, the problem came when I thought I was having a lightbulb moment - I had put the pieces together and figured it out! And then I was disappointed when the actual end didn't use the puzzle pieces I thought I had identified.
Of course, I do recognize that I had gotten myself swept up as much as Julia had, and I think that was probably part of the point. I do think the ending made sense (even if I still like my ending more).
The things I liked most of all were the ambiance and chaos of 1993 Cuba, in their "year zero" where they'd found themselves isolated, abandoned, cut off from the world without the Soviets. There was no food, no money, power cuts, Cubans were banned from spaces with foreigners - this was a setting for chaos and the chaos replicated itself in the characters' manipulations and delusions. Their misadventures were a vehicle for a satirical critique of society at the time. As a mathematician, the narrator Julia ties in fractal theory and describes each one of them as replicating society's discontent. She uses chaos theory and the butterfly effect:
"[She] was just one more butterfly who had fluttered her tiny wings, another disorder in a system that was already behaving chaotically. Because it was the whole country that was going through a chaotic moment. A butterfly had fluttered its wings on the other side of the Atlantic, bringing down a wall in the beautiful city of Berlin, and rhe eddext od this gradually materialized on this side of the world, on this island, in this unstable system. Do you get it?"
If you have to like the characters to like a novel, you may not like this one. If you have trouble with a long set-up before getting a payoff, you might have a hard time with the beginning of the boom.
But if you are ok with those caveats and want a book with wonderfully chaotic energy, weird characters with weird obsessions, dry wit, and some interesting factoids about a real historic figure, that is set in an immersive and unique time and place, then I think you'd really enjoy this one!
3.75 stars, rounded up
July 14, 2021
Who Invented the Telephone?
Review of the Charco Press paperback edition (February, 2021) translated from the Spanish language original Habana año cero (2012)
I thoroughly enjoyed this first English translation of ex-pat Cuban writer Karla Suárez (who now lives in Lisbon, Portugal). It is somewhat of a twisted mystery detailing a search by the protagonist Julia and several men whom she is involved with. The quest is for a mysterious letter that is sought as proof of the invention of the telephone by Italian Antonio Meucci (1808-1889) during the time that he was living in Cuba.
There are a lot of twists and betrayals along the way and at times I worried that the letter was going to just be a MacGuffin and that we wouldn't get a satisfactory conclusion, but Suárez did not disappoint. Havana Year Zero is part of what Suárez calls her "Cuban Quartet," and I hope to read more of her in the future.
I read Havana Year Zero due to its selection for the 2021 Borderless Book Club for which it was the May 20, 2021 selection. Selected audio from the meetings of the Borderless Book Club are posted here (link is to Apple Podcasts). The Havana Year Zero May 20, 2021 meeting is not posted yet though (as of mid July 2021).
Other Reviews (Thanks to Maddie Rogers at the Borderless Book Club)
Karla Suárez: Havana Year Zero review - maths, phones and mysteries in down-at-heel Cuba by Boyd Tonkin at the Arts Desk, February 23, 2021.
Zero is a Lens to See: Karla Suárez's "Havana Year Zero," translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney by Dorothy Potter Snyder at Reading In Translation, May 3, 2021.
Havana Year Zero by Karla Suárez by Cath Barton at Lunate, March 27, 2021.
Trivia and Links
There is a playlist (with YouTube video links) of the various songs and music mentioned in the text of Havana Year Zero at author Karla Suárez's website here.
Christina MacSweeney reads from her translation of Karla Suárez's Havana Year Zero on YouTube.
Distance Shapes Memory: An Interview with Karla Suárez by Dorothy Potter Snyder in Asymptote Journal, May 13, 2021.
Review of the Charco Press paperback edition (February, 2021) translated from the Spanish language original Habana año cero (2012)
I thoroughly enjoyed this first English translation of ex-pat Cuban writer Karla Suárez (who now lives in Lisbon, Portugal). It is somewhat of a twisted mystery detailing a search by the protagonist Julia and several men whom she is involved with. The quest is for a mysterious letter that is sought as proof of the invention of the telephone by Italian Antonio Meucci (1808-1889) during the time that he was living in Cuba.
There are a lot of twists and betrayals along the way and at times I worried that the letter was going to just be a MacGuffin and that we wouldn't get a satisfactory conclusion, but Suárez did not disappoint. Havana Year Zero is part of what Suárez calls her "Cuban Quartet," and I hope to read more of her in the future.
I read Havana Year Zero due to its selection for the 2021 Borderless Book Club for which it was the May 20, 2021 selection. Selected audio from the meetings of the Borderless Book Club are posted here (link is to Apple Podcasts). The Havana Year Zero May 20, 2021 meeting is not posted yet though (as of mid July 2021).
Other Reviews (Thanks to Maddie Rogers at the Borderless Book Club)
Karla Suárez: Havana Year Zero review - maths, phones and mysteries in down-at-heel Cuba by Boyd Tonkin at the Arts Desk, February 23, 2021.
Zero is a Lens to See: Karla Suárez's "Havana Year Zero," translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney by Dorothy Potter Snyder at Reading In Translation, May 3, 2021.
Havana Year Zero by Karla Suárez by Cath Barton at Lunate, March 27, 2021.
Trivia and Links
There is a playlist (with YouTube video links) of the various songs and music mentioned in the text of Havana Year Zero at author Karla Suárez's website here.
Christina MacSweeney reads from her translation of Karla Suárez's Havana Year Zero on YouTube.
Distance Shapes Memory: An Interview with Karla Suárez by Dorothy Potter Snyder in Asymptote Journal, May 13, 2021.
January 20, 2023
Rating: 4.75 (rounded up )
"Hanava Year Zero" by Karla Suárez (tr: Christina MacSweeney) is a meta-ish fiction about the real-life figure of Antonio Meucci, who was the first man to have invented the telephone but whose recognition was usurped by Bell's patent for the simple reason that Meucci didn't have the funds to renew his patent and further develop his invention at the time. The storyline that involves Meucci's life was craftily woven with the tale of our narrator, Julia the Mathematician, and her once-upon-a-time-beau Euclid, her current-beau Angel, her not-really-beau Fernando, and her-rival-maybe Barbara (note: all names have been changed to protect everyone's fictional identities).
I jumped into this blind and came out of it with a third eye opened. At the surface, this is the kind of book that induces laughter while you're reading as we read about Julia's tale of how she came into contact with the story of Antonio Meucci through her beaus, and it's also one ladened with mathematical terms and metaphors, which I loved immensely. Julia is a witty and sarcastic observer of the events unfolding around her, though even she has her blindsides as the book eventually reveals.
The story of Meucci and his invention of the telephone is genuinely riveting, and Julia soon became embroiled in the scheme to find Meucci's lost documents which would show once and for all that he was the true inventor of the telephone. Julia's story itself is full of intriguing red herrings and details that keep readers on tenterhooks when the big 'mystery' of this book is revealed. I loved how this kept me guessing until the end, and the conclusion aptly highlights the fact that while the Shakespearean comedy of errors were presented as the heart of the mystery of Meucci's lost document, at the end of the day there's something larger at work here, which is aptly summarized by this passage from the book:
This was my first five-star read of 2023, and I'd highly recommend this for fans of this kind rollicking tale!
"Hanava Year Zero" by Karla Suárez (tr: Christina MacSweeney) is a meta-ish fiction about the real-life figure of Antonio Meucci, who was the first man to have invented the telephone but whose recognition was usurped by Bell's patent for the simple reason that Meucci didn't have the funds to renew his patent and further develop his invention at the time. The storyline that involves Meucci's life was craftily woven with the tale of our narrator, Julia the Mathematician, and her once-upon-a-time-beau Euclid, her current-beau Angel, her not-really-beau Fernando, and her-rival-maybe Barbara (note: all names have been changed to protect everyone's fictional identities).
I jumped into this blind and came out of it with a third eye opened. At the surface, this is the kind of book that induces laughter while you're reading as we read about Julia's tale of how she came into contact with the story of Antonio Meucci through her beaus, and it's also one ladened with mathematical terms and metaphors, which I loved immensely. Julia is a witty and sarcastic observer of the events unfolding around her, though even she has her blindsides as the book eventually reveals.
The story of Meucci and his invention of the telephone is genuinely riveting, and Julia soon became embroiled in the scheme to find Meucci's lost documents which would show once and for all that he was the true inventor of the telephone. Julia's story itself is full of intriguing red herrings and details that keep readers on tenterhooks when the big 'mystery' of this book is revealed. I loved how this kept me guessing until the end, and the conclusion aptly highlights the fact that while the Shakespearean comedy of errors were presented as the heart of the mystery of Meucci's lost document, at the end of the day there's something larger at work here, which is aptly summarized by this passage from the book:
That's what Meucci's document was: unadulterated illusion, pure delusion. Our lives were revolving around it because there was nothing else, it was Year Zero Nothingness. [...] We were fractals reproducing the worst of ourselves.
This was my first five-star read of 2023, and I'd highly recommend this for fans of this kind rollicking tale!
April 28, 2022
Around the World Reading Challenge: CUBA
===
3.5 rounded down
This was a really interesting story, set in 1993 Cuba, which is in the middle of an economic collapse due to the fall of the Soviet Union. The format here felt unique, with the main character looking back and telling the story as if she were telling her life story to a friend. There was a lot of really cool stuff here, and I thought the characters were generally interesting, and life in Cuba at this time engagingly portrayed. Unfortunately, I was less engaged with all the romantic/sexual intrigued. Fairly certain this book doesn't pass the Bechdel test, as there are only four real characters on screen and all of them are placed in various forms of rivalry for male attention. Julia, the protagonist, is sleeping/has slept with all three of the main men in this drama, and continues to essentially blindly believe each one of them in turn, sort of mindlessly allowing them to steer the narrative. I found her involvement in their antics and manipulations to be quite frustrating, as it was so clear all these men were dirtbags and I wanted her to GTFO. I did find the ending more or less satisfying, and I'd say I enjoyed this more than not, but it wasn't my favorite.
===
3.5 rounded down
This was a really interesting story, set in 1993 Cuba, which is in the middle of an economic collapse due to the fall of the Soviet Union. The format here felt unique, with the main character looking back and telling the story as if she were telling her life story to a friend. There was a lot of really cool stuff here, and I thought the characters were generally interesting, and life in Cuba at this time engagingly portrayed. Unfortunately, I was less engaged with all the romantic/sexual intrigued. Fairly certain this book doesn't pass the Bechdel test, as there are only four real characters on screen and all of them are placed in various forms of rivalry for male attention. Julia, the protagonist, is sleeping/has slept with all three of the main men in this drama, and continues to essentially blindly believe each one of them in turn, sort of mindlessly allowing them to steer the narrative. I found her involvement in their antics and manipulations to be quite frustrating, as it was so clear all these men were dirtbags and I wanted her to GTFO. I did find the ending more or less satisfying, and I'd say I enjoyed this more than not, but it wasn't my favorite.
November 14, 2023
4.5⭐️
This was so much fun. After a slow start, it picked up the pace and just didn’t stop. I loved the tone of the narrator, the deadpan comedy of her storytelling makes you feel like you’re gossiping with a friend. There was so many twists and turns that I barely ever saw coming, it was just such a fun ride, with multilayered characters who were fun to root for and hate.
This was so much fun. After a slow start, it picked up the pace and just didn’t stop. I loved the tone of the narrator, the deadpan comedy of her storytelling makes you feel like you’re gossiping with a friend. There was so many twists and turns that I barely ever saw coming, it was just such a fun ride, with multilayered characters who were fun to root for and hate.
December 24, 2023
reading around the world one book at a time 2023: cuba
See, this is what happens when I leave a review for later. I almost forget to write it and then by the time I decide to pen it down I’ve already forgotten all the topical points.
Lest I forget something more, here’s Havana Year Zero.
Set in Cuba in 1993, in the height of the Special Period, an extended economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet bloc, this length of time is described by the narrator, a mathematician, as a parabola:
“It was as if as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss.”
Despite mathemathics being the lens through which the story is told, it’s never difficult to read — even I understood everything, and my maths knowledge stops at elementary school level because I willingly removed all knowledge past the age of ten years old.
And so we find a mathematician, her former professor turned lover turned best friend, her current lover, the shadow of the current lover’s ex wife, an author with an unfinished novel and an italian talent scout, all linked by the ghost of of a scientist and engineer. Or in simpler terms, they’re all in search of a long lost document that would prove to the world that Antonio Meucci invented the telephone in Havana in the late 1840s. They’re all converging on the search of this document, because, as the narrator puts it, in Year Zero there was nothing else to do.
“There was nothing of anything. Zero transport. Zero meat. Zero hope.”
The discovery of such a document would turn each of the characters’ lives around: the mathematician who proves such theories would reclaim world fame, the author could write a book about the discovery and Meucci’s life (with the help of the talent scout that has many connections with the italian publishing industry that would love a book celebrating an italian genius despite him being in a foreign land), and how poverty is the sole reason that held him back from ever getting that recognition when he was alive (the only reason Alexander Graham Bell is considered the inventor of the telephone a whole thirty years after its first propotype was invented is because Meucci couldn’t pay the ten dollar renewal of the license, and after his documents got leaked Bell presented the project with his own name on it).
I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrator, and sometimes her misoginistic views took centre stage, which I didn’t appreciate, but her role as an outsider tied in all the other character’s lives in such a neat way I coulnd’t begrudge her much else.
The book recounts in a colloquial tone, with the narrator addressing an unnamed person throughout the whole novel, a heartbreaking rendition of Cuba at its worst — and yet so much happiness and joy shines through. The ambiance is vivid, I could almost feel the sweltering heat and the sticky sensation of Caribbean weather, even in the cold late autumn I was experiencing at home.
Overall an enjoyable read!
See, this is what happens when I leave a review for later. I almost forget to write it and then by the time I decide to pen it down I’ve already forgotten all the topical points.
Lest I forget something more, here’s Havana Year Zero.
Set in Cuba in 1993, in the height of the Special Period, an extended economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet bloc, this length of time is described by the narrator, a mathematician, as a parabola:
“It was as if as if we’d reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss.”
Despite mathemathics being the lens through which the story is told, it’s never difficult to read — even I understood everything, and my maths knowledge stops at elementary school level because I willingly removed all knowledge past the age of ten years old.
And so we find a mathematician, her former professor turned lover turned best friend, her current lover, the shadow of the current lover’s ex wife, an author with an unfinished novel and an italian talent scout, all linked by the ghost of of a scientist and engineer. Or in simpler terms, they’re all in search of a long lost document that would prove to the world that Antonio Meucci invented the telephone in Havana in the late 1840s. They’re all converging on the search of this document, because, as the narrator puts it, in Year Zero there was nothing else to do.
“There was nothing of anything. Zero transport. Zero meat. Zero hope.”
The discovery of such a document would turn each of the characters’ lives around: the mathematician who proves such theories would reclaim world fame, the author could write a book about the discovery and Meucci’s life (with the help of the talent scout that has many connections with the italian publishing industry that would love a book celebrating an italian genius despite him being in a foreign land), and how poverty is the sole reason that held him back from ever getting that recognition when he was alive (the only reason Alexander Graham Bell is considered the inventor of the telephone a whole thirty years after its first propotype was invented is because Meucci couldn’t pay the ten dollar renewal of the license, and after his documents got leaked Bell presented the project with his own name on it).
I didn’t particularly enjoy the narrator, and sometimes her misoginistic views took centre stage, which I didn’t appreciate, but her role as an outsider tied in all the other character’s lives in such a neat way I coulnd’t begrudge her much else.
The book recounts in a colloquial tone, with the narrator addressing an unnamed person throughout the whole novel, a heartbreaking rendition of Cuba at its worst — and yet so much happiness and joy shines through. The ambiance is vivid, I could almost feel the sweltering heat and the sticky sensation of Caribbean weather, even in the cold late autumn I was experiencing at home.
Overall an enjoyable read!
January 21, 2021
This is Charco Press's first publication by a Cuban author and it is a fascinating novel, set in the Special Period (following the fall of the Soviet bloc) and centring around the intertwined lives of a handful of people as they attempt to find a document proving that the telephone was invented in Havana. As well as a chance to better the situations they find themselves in, the project becomes one of giving Cuba a new identity. It's so rare to read about Havana as a place with a vibrant beating heart, and yet rarer to read a novel that refuses to go where you think it might. I properly loved this book.
December 23, 2022
Havana Year Zero is a book of two halves. There’s a main plot and a subplot. Both do intertwine but let’s pull them apart.
The year is 1993, Cuba is going through an economic crisis and narrator Julia discovers, through a colleague that there are some documents which are about Antonio Meucci, an Italian who moved to Cuba and invented the telephone ( this is actually true) Since Alexander Graham Bell has been given the credit for it, these papers could change history and maybe Cuba pulls out of it’s recession. The problem is that it is hidden but there are people who could point out the way.
The following is a plot worthy of Umberto Eco – full of twists and dead ends. Characters crop up with leads and some don’t. In between there are passages about Meucci’s life and his eventual discovery . I loved this section.
Unfortunately a lot of the book is bogged down with soap opera details: Julia keeps on sleeping with the characters that she meets. I don’t mind it once or twice but when this happens in practically every chapter, it becomes tiring. In my case I couldn’t wait for the mystery to evolve and the constant toing and froing between the same two characters made me want to rush read those passages.
This makes Havana Year Zero a mixed bag. it’s also the first time a book by the ever wonderful Charco Press has let me down. My advice is that one should read the book but try not to let the melodramatic subplot irk you because there really is a good plot here.
The year is 1993, Cuba is going through an economic crisis and narrator Julia discovers, through a colleague that there are some documents which are about Antonio Meucci, an Italian who moved to Cuba and invented the telephone ( this is actually true) Since Alexander Graham Bell has been given the credit for it, these papers could change history and maybe Cuba pulls out of it’s recession. The problem is that it is hidden but there are people who could point out the way.
The following is a plot worthy of Umberto Eco – full of twists and dead ends. Characters crop up with leads and some don’t. In between there are passages about Meucci’s life and his eventual discovery . I loved this section.
Unfortunately a lot of the book is bogged down with soap opera details: Julia keeps on sleeping with the characters that she meets. I don’t mind it once or twice but when this happens in practically every chapter, it becomes tiring. In my case I couldn’t wait for the mystery to evolve and the constant toing and froing between the same two characters made me want to rush read those passages.
This makes Havana Year Zero a mixed bag. it’s also the first time a book by the ever wonderful Charco Press has let me down. My advice is that one should read the book but try not to let the melodramatic subplot irk you because there really is a good plot here.
November 12, 2023
I flew through the majority of this book in one day because I became so immersed in the story and the characters lives. Havana Year Zero follows Julie as she tells us the story of what happened when she heard there was a document proving that the invention of the telephone had actually happened there in Cuba. What follows is a wild goose chase for the document by a number of super interesting and funny characters who all seem to have an ulterior motive to own the document. The way we find out information through the narrator was perfect and kept me reading long into the night. The way the mystery unfolded had a real academia/investigation feel to it as Julie had to follow the clues and bridge the gaps between the characters relationships to work out who has the document. I didn’t expect it to take this turn but I absolutely loved it. The end felt absolutely perfect as she ties up the story as though she is wrapping up a long oral tale that she has told the reader - we almost become our own character in the novel by the end. Truly a great read and something super unique I’ve not read from Latin America before. Definitely be reading more from this author and seeking out books like it.
March 24, 2022
Havana Year Zero is set in 1993 at the height of the Special Period when there is a widespread economic crisis in Cuba after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The novel follows maths lecturer Julia who is at a low point in her life, similarly to the rest of the country. Julia becomes aware of an important historical document that proves the telephone was actually invented in Cuba. Julia and some of her friends become embroiled in an attempt to find this missing document to return Cuba's credibility.
The beginning is slow to get started but Karla Suarez does an excellent job at pulling you into the mystery and chaos. The plot is filled with twists and turns, betrayals and lies between characters and I loved the focus on smaller events that are largely left out of history books.
What didn't really resonate with me were the characters. They are all flawed in in their unique ways. I also didn't care much for all of the romantic entanglements.
The beginning is slow to get started but Karla Suarez does an excellent job at pulling you into the mystery and chaos. The plot is filled with twists and turns, betrayals and lies between characters and I loved the focus on smaller events that are largely left out of history books.
What didn't really resonate with me were the characters. They are all flawed in in their unique ways. I also didn't care much for all of the romantic entanglements.
February 23, 2022
HAVANA YEAR ZERO by Karla Suárez (Tr. Christina MacSweeney)
Set in 1993 Cuba, in the height of the Special Period when there is a widespread economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The novel follows maths lecturer Julia in Havana, who is at a life low. In order to find some much needed money she hatches a plan with her colleague and former lover Euclid to find a legendary document that would prove the telephone was invented in Havana. Her life then intersects with handsome artist Ángel, the novelist Leonardo and the Italian tourist Barbara who all become embroiled in the search for the document.
Whilst the beginning of the book is a little slow, I was definitely drawn further and further into this entertaining detective-style, historical novel. The plot is full of twists and turns, deception and betrayals amongst the characters. It also delves into the complexities of human relationships and the fickleness of some individuals and love.
I really enjoyed the way the backstory developed for each of the main characters: Julia, Euclid, Ángel, Leonardo and Barbara. The way their lives slowly began to interwine in unexpected ways and the connections made between them.
Whilst the historical themes weren't overtly focused on, I enjoyed the setting, the vibe and the overall result of this novel. Another enjoyable novel from Charco press and I can't wait to read more of their backlist. Thanks to the publishers for the review copy.
Set in 1993 Cuba, in the height of the Special Period when there is a widespread economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. The novel follows maths lecturer Julia in Havana, who is at a life low. In order to find some much needed money she hatches a plan with her colleague and former lover Euclid to find a legendary document that would prove the telephone was invented in Havana. Her life then intersects with handsome artist Ángel, the novelist Leonardo and the Italian tourist Barbara who all become embroiled in the search for the document.
Whilst the beginning of the book is a little slow, I was definitely drawn further and further into this entertaining detective-style, historical novel. The plot is full of twists and turns, deception and betrayals amongst the characters. It also delves into the complexities of human relationships and the fickleness of some individuals and love.
I really enjoyed the way the backstory developed for each of the main characters: Julia, Euclid, Ángel, Leonardo and Barbara. The way their lives slowly began to interwine in unexpected ways and the connections made between them.
Whilst the historical themes weren't overtly focused on, I enjoyed the setting, the vibe and the overall result of this novel. Another enjoyable novel from Charco press and I can't wait to read more of their backlist. Thanks to the publishers for the review copy.
July 6, 2024
obsessed with this wild goose chase between mathematicians and literary writers in a cuba frozen in its recession and the delusions and desire that drives each person to think that they're better than they really are.
June 23, 2023
I'm not sure I can express fully my happiness at having found this book. A friend switched me on to the great work of Charco Press & soon after this was in my hands.. one of those rare reading experiences, the kind you keep picking up books for but don't dare expect from any of them. Instantly I knew. Suárez has a fresh & engaging voice, unwinding the twists & turns of her tale with conversational charm - occasionally throwing in phrases like "Do you see?" - & the story she tells is a captivating & suspenseful adventure of both the mind & the physical realm. There is a mission, a quest for an elusive object, & the increasingly complex relationships & complications surrounding that quest resemble a mathematical equation to which variables are continually added that somehow make it all the more satisfying, even thrillingly beautiful. The connection between literature & mathematics is one of the themes here, as well as the all-too real prospect of life under crisis situations, in this case the disruptions, shortages & various difficulties that beset Havana in the early '90s. This book never stopped being anything other than completely amazing for even one second, even going so far as to throw in certain asides & reflections that resonated with & tickled me personally. This is Suárez's first book to be translated into English, & I can't wait for more. A joy to return to every day, & I slowed it down to have more of those days in my life. Havana Year Zero is one of the great, elevating reads I've had not only in recent memory, but ever.
January 16, 2021
'It was as if we'd reached the minimum critical point of a mathematical curve. Imagine a parabola. Zero point down, at the bottom of an abyss. That's how low we sank.'
This is another stunning publication from Charco Press, written by Karla Suarez and translated by Christina MacSweeney, and one that I am so excited to hear others' thoughts on!
The novel is set in 1993, Cuba, in 'year zero' as the narrator - Julia - puts it. In essence, it's set against a backdrop of economic hardship and ebbing morale.
In the same year, Julia and her friend Euclid decide to try and find the document which proves that the real inventor of the telephone was the Italian inventor Antonio Meucci, and that, importantly, he invented the device in Cuba.
Upon finding the document they hope to be able to restore both Meucci's and Cuba's image.
However, nothing is quite as simple as it seems, and soon Julia finds herself caught in a web of lies, not knowing who to trust.
This is a slightly eccentric but very readable, alluring novel with memorable characters.
It will leave you laughing at times, completely puzzled at others, but thoroughly entertained throughout.
Highly recommended!
Thanks so much Charco Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
This is another stunning publication from Charco Press, written by Karla Suarez and translated by Christina MacSweeney, and one that I am so excited to hear others' thoughts on!
The novel is set in 1993, Cuba, in 'year zero' as the narrator - Julia - puts it. In essence, it's set against a backdrop of economic hardship and ebbing morale.
In the same year, Julia and her friend Euclid decide to try and find the document which proves that the real inventor of the telephone was the Italian inventor Antonio Meucci, and that, importantly, he invented the device in Cuba.
Upon finding the document they hope to be able to restore both Meucci's and Cuba's image.
However, nothing is quite as simple as it seems, and soon Julia finds herself caught in a web of lies, not knowing who to trust.
This is a slightly eccentric but very readable, alluring novel with memorable characters.
It will leave you laughing at times, completely puzzled at others, but thoroughly entertained throughout.
Highly recommended!
Thanks so much Charco Press for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
April 3, 2021
The affable, engaging narrator, looking back on the events of 1993, goes by the name of Julia (not her real name, she tells us). She's an able mathematician, reduced to teaching uninterested students in a technical college. With her former doctoral supervisor - and former lover - Euclides, she becomes obsessed with finding a missing manuscript by a real-life figure, the nineteenth century Italian immigrant, Antonio Meucci, who has strong claims to have invented the telephone while working at the opera house in Havana, decades before Alexander Graham Bell came up with his version. The missing manuscript allegedly bears diagrammes of Meucci's inventions that would prove his prior claim. Also on the hunt for the manuscript, with different motivations, are Leonardo, a writer who wishes to complete a novel about Meucci, Ángel, the handsome young man with whom Julia falls in love, and Bárbara, a desirable tourist with a comical Italian accent and an agenda of her own. Always offstage is another character, Margarita, Ángel's ex-wife, and it turns out, with connections to some of the other characters too. Through the female line of her family an heirloom is passed - containing the Meucci manuscript.
What follows is a sort of shaggy dog story as Julia and the others forge and break alliances, lie, deceive, bed each other - and betray each other - in the race to get hold of the document.
The narrator makes for a endearingly honest guide to the characters' moral compromises and vicissitudes, including her own; refreshingly, she is a woman with a mind and desires of her own.
For most of the novel, the machinations of the protagonists and switchback twists of the plot hold the reader's attention, though I confess that I felt the tale sags somewhat in the middle sections as one variations after another emerges on the theme of 'which one of them actually has the document?' However, it picks up impetus again as it romps towards the denouement.
Almost incidentally and peripherally, in recounting the frenetic hunt for Meucui, Suárez paints a compelling picture of Havana in the Special Period. She emphasises the irony of the fact that, in the city that was very likely the birthplace of the telephone, finding a working telephone in 1993 was an odyssey in itself.
Habana año cero is an interesting, playful and lively contribution to fictional accounts of Cuban life in the 90s, a portrait filled with lightness and humour. It makes for an interesting counterpoint to the darker visions of the same period of writers like Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, with his brutally scabrous Trilogía sucia de la Habana, or Leonardo Padura with his literate police procedurals.
Suárez's novel is published in English as Havana Year Zero by Charco Press, trans. Christina MacSweeney.
What follows is a sort of shaggy dog story as Julia and the others forge and break alliances, lie, deceive, bed each other - and betray each other - in the race to get hold of the document.
The narrator makes for a endearingly honest guide to the characters' moral compromises and vicissitudes, including her own; refreshingly, she is a woman with a mind and desires of her own.
For most of the novel, the machinations of the protagonists and switchback twists of the plot hold the reader's attention, though I confess that I felt the tale sags somewhat in the middle sections as one variations after another emerges on the theme of 'which one of them actually has the document?' However, it picks up impetus again as it romps towards the denouement.
Almost incidentally and peripherally, in recounting the frenetic hunt for Meucui, Suárez paints a compelling picture of Havana in the Special Period. She emphasises the irony of the fact that, in the city that was very likely the birthplace of the telephone, finding a working telephone in 1993 was an odyssey in itself.
Habana año cero is an interesting, playful and lively contribution to fictional accounts of Cuban life in the 90s, a portrait filled with lightness and humour. It makes for an interesting counterpoint to the darker visions of the same period of writers like Pedro Juan Gutiérrez, with his brutally scabrous Trilogía sucia de la Habana, or Leonardo Padura with his literate police procedurals.
Suárez's novel is published in English as Havana Year Zero by Charco Press, trans. Christina MacSweeney.
June 24, 2021
def think im doing a good job of reading things I typically wouldnt…
Def were times I almost dnf-ed this book, but the strange plot twists and the way the entire plot starting connecting after about 50-60% was really good and made the book a whole lot more interesting. Overall a unique and interesting plot and choice of focus, as well as style of writing!
Def were times I almost dnf-ed this book, but the strange plot twists and the way the entire plot starting connecting after about 50-60% was really good and made the book a whole lot more interesting. Overall a unique and interesting plot and choice of focus, as well as style of writing!
March 13, 2021
A really amusing story based around the idea that the true inventor of the telephone (not Bell) had documented his invention in his (true) years in Cuba, and various people are looking for paperwork to prove this with different motivations. The back story is a mix of young writers in 90s Cuba and academic ethics among mathematicians!
May 21, 2021
What a ride of a book! Mystery, relationships, maths, Cuba, love, hate, comedy, tragedy. So much packed into this one, loved it a lot! Another great find @ the Borderless Book Club. This is the first novel translated to English by Karla Suárez. I hope there will be many more!
March 31, 2023
Was loosing half a star due to the inane questions. Won it back with ‘…. give them a book and tell them not to be so fucking hung up on the idea of physical displacement.’
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2021
𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘣𝘢, 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.
When I heard the title and premise of 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘡𝘦𝘳𝘰, I wasn't expecting to have a good time. The title refers to 1993, the worst year of Cuba's "special period," and the economic crisis that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union. And don't get me wrong, this book is definitely about that, but it's also about the ultimate distraction from one's material circumstances: a mystery.
The story is told by Julia, a young mathematician trying to get through 1993 with as little friction as possible. Her year is disrupted when she is told about a historical injustice, the lie that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. The supposed reality is that it was Italian inventor and Havana resident, Antonio Meucci who first discovered the technology, but too poor to afford the patent went on to die in relative obscurity. The consequences of this could be huge, bringing new repute to Cuba but also fame and recognition to whoever is fortunate enough to be the one to reveal the truth. Fortunately her friend and colleague, Euclid knows how to prove it: a missing document. They only need locate it. It sounds almost trivial and it does start that way, but during a time of national scarcity and lethargy, and as the group of interested parties grows, it's hard to overstate the importance of this document to the characters. Trust me, it's infectious.
he tone is conversational, even conspiratorial, with Julia telling you about this series of events like she's chatting with a friend. The result is totally transportational if a bit more expository than strictly necessary. The story is like a tangled ball of yarn and together with Julia you find yourself pulling at threads trying to make sense of the mess of complicated relationships, personal histories, romances and deceits. There were times when 𝘏𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘡𝘦𝘳𝘰 was, quite literally, jaw-dropping for me. It's a whirlwind and a bombshell and I had a blast reading it.
Thank you to Charco Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
August 24, 2022
Вроде как да, а вроде и нет
June 22, 2022
La novela se desarrolla 1993, año de crisis en Cuba, y para sobrellevar la realidad Julia, profesora de matemáticas que odia la enseñanza, participa en la búsqueda de un documento valioso que pruebe que el teléfono fue inventado en La Habana. Es durante esta búsqueda que surge un polígono amoroso muy divertido llena de enredos.
Me divertí muchísimo con esta historia, que trata a sus protagonistas como parte de una ecuación a resolver. Todo el tiempo sentí que paseaba por Cuba, viajaba en guagua, en bici o simplemente caminaba. Y las risas por los absurdos no faltaron.
Me divertí muchísimo con esta historia, que trata a sus protagonistas como parte de una ecuación a resolver. Todo el tiempo sentí que paseaba por Cuba, viajaba en guagua, en bici o simplemente caminaba. Y las risas por los absurdos no faltaron.
July 10, 2024
une intrigue autour d'un document historique qui sert de support aux croisements d'une femme et de “ses” hommes, sur fond de Cuba et des difficultés quotidiennes. On se laisse embarquer, même si la trame pouvait mériter plus d'épaisseur. Mais le parfum exotique nous enivre quelque peu et on a du mal à lâcher le livre avant la fin...
March 14, 2021
Lovely characters, interesting narrator.
https://elifthereader.com/books/havan...
https://elifthereader.com/books/havan...
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