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Title: Cuba Libre by Elmore Leonard, Henry Leyva ISBN: 0553479474 Publisher: Bantam Books-Audio Pub. Date: 12 January, 1999 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.07
Rating: 2
Summary: An ordinary, rather shallow story...screenplay material
Comment: This is my first Elmore Leonard book. I've seen so many of his novels(?) in the bookstores and stories turned into movies that I thought it worth reading this latest. Cuba Libre was somewhat disappointing. If you are looking for a short, fast, book that can be read in a day or two, one that really doesn't develop characters then this is an okay, adequate read. I'll probably try other Leonard books but if Cuba Libre is any indication of his style I won't be waiting with bated breath for his next one. He glosses over so much and is lacking in character development that it is hard to be "hungry" for the next page or chapter or scene. It almost seems as if he is more interested in quantity of books than quality. Maybe I'm used to reading longer, richer, more detailed and indepth NOVELS like "Lonesome Dove"(McMurtry), "Homeland"(Jakes) ,"California Gold"(Jakes), "Trinity"(Uris). Even Pat Conroy's "The Great Santini" and "The Lord's of Discipline" as well as Harold Coyle's twin historical fiction(Civil War) novels "Look Away" and "Until the End" are better books for characters development and storytelling. To sum up, Cubra Libra was kind of like chewing on tasteless gum. Something to do ...
Rating: 4
Summary: CUBA-STAN
Comment: Larry Rochelle..., an author of DEATH & DEVOTION,...
CUBA-STAN
I'm getting tired of the War in Afghanistan: crazy situation, outrageous acts, stupid and ignorant terrorists. But Elmore Leonard captured Afghanistan exactly in CUBA LIBRE, some four years before we became entangled over in the land of the Stans. His book about the explosion of the Battleship Maine in a Cuban harbor tells us oh-so-much about Afghanistan. Warlords? CUBA LIBRE'S got them. Assassinations? Ditto. Plot-counter-plot? Ditto. Primitive living conditions? Check. Intrigue and a beautiful woman? Double-check and double-cross. Leonard creates a pretty scary story for ninety-five percent of his book. Then, in the last few chapters, he can't keep his head clear. Too many plots. Too much destruction. And when he must, really must, kill off his hero cowboy or the beautiful woman, Leonard can't do it, and CUBA LIBRE turns into farce. I didn't throw the book across the room in anger. No, I just sizzled in the 85 degree Kansas City heat, pondering Leonard's motivation and the Cuban-slash-Afghanistan weirdness. Really, if an author must kill the girl, he should go ahead and kill her. Leonard, I figure, was writing a tragedy but something inside him held back. I think it was his love of the weird and his obsession with happy endings. Or else he's from Afghanistan.
Also recommended: HUEY LONG INVADES NEW ORLEANS (weird politics) by Gary Boulard THE ISLAND OF LOST MAPS (weird crimes) by Miles Harvey NEW JACK (prison weirdness) by Ted Conover
Rating: 4
Summary: Western Con Men Mix It Up With Cuban Revolutionaries in 1898
Comment: To me, the strength of Elmore Leonard has always been in his dialogue. He has an ability to capture the venacular that is almost unsurpassed, and his crime novels "ring" true with an amazing resonance as a consequence. When we hear those cadences and accents, we know the real nature of the characters and their thoughts in a subliminal and subconscious way. Moving this "crime story" to Cuba during the Spanish American war means that the currency of the dialogue is lost on us. So the book becomes dependent on the plot and characterizations to entertain us. Both areas are a little stronger than usual for Mr. Leonard, but not as strong as they should be. The descriptions of the geographic settings are much better than Mr. Leonard usually does, and that element greatly improves this book.
The book's concept is an intriguing one. Take some Americans in Cuba who are directly and indirectly involved in the Spanish-American War, and use that plot complication to develop their relationships and characters. The execution unfortunately falls short of the full potential of the concept.
The Americans and Cuban revolutionaries are pretty cynically "in it for the money" whenever there is any to be made. Their sense of honor is most seriously engaged when they are not being treated fairly in business dealings. Ho hum!
The book's action begins with the American battleship, Maine, recently sunk in Havana's harbor. Two Americans have arrived ostensibly to sell some horses and cattle, but really to smuggle in weapons for the Cuban revolutionaries who oppose the Spanish. Things start to go wrong when the Spanish offend one of the Americans, leading to a shooting. Matters get worse when the horse buyer reneges on his offer of full payment. Following the shooting, the two Americans find themselves in prison while the Spanish try to find the weapons that were smuggled in. Things look bleak, and they get bleaker. Along the way, Ben Tyler finds that a fellow prisoner is a Marine from the Maine who is wrongfully imprisoned by the Spanish as well. With the help of the revolutionaries, Tyler finds himself able to pursue his opportunities to find love and a fortune in Cuba. The second half of the book involves a very detailed scam in which the double crosses pile on top of each other quite rapidly in classic Leonard style.
The Tyler character parallels that of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables. You learn what he is about by how he handles his trials. A man of great perseverance, his weakness is striking to take what he feels to be his by right . . . even when that doesn't make much sense. As a result, he finds himself getting into unnecesary and dangerous trouble. But on occasion, his ability to strike like a rattlesnake enables him to serve himself and others well. He certainly is a good man to have as your friend, and a bad man to have as your enemy.
If you are feeling lonely for a western-style novel, this one may fit the bill. If you have read relatively few, I suggest that you read Owen Wister's, The Virginian, instead.
After you finish enjoying this novel, I suggest that you think about how you respond to challenges to your honor and safety. Are you too aggressive, not aggressive enough, or oblivious? What do you need to change in order to respond quickly and appropriately?
Remember what Davey Crockett used to say, "Be sure you're right, then go ahead."
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Title: Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060083948 Publisher: Harper Mass Market Paperbacks Pub. Date: 31 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060082194 Publisher: Harper Mass Market Paperbacks Pub. Date: 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Killshot by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0688166385 Publisher: Quill Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Bandits by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0688166393 Publisher: Quill Pub. Date: 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: 52 Pickup by Elmore Leonard ISBN: 0060083999 Publisher: Harper Mass Market Paperbacks Pub. Date: 30 July, 2002 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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