Gutierrez's novel is often compared to Henry Miller's novels but whereas Miller's raucous depictions of his sexual exploits are infused with joy and exhilaration despite his dire economic situation, "Dirty Havana Trilogy" is a real downer. The sex is abundant and raunchy, but also desperate, joyless and depressing. Sex, like liquor and drugs, serves as an anesthetic for the horrible conditions the people in this novel live in. Be warned -- it also contains a very graphic depiction of a prolonged rape and assault. Not my cup of tea. ( )

Éste es el testimonio de un habanero descreído. Un hombre que regresa extenuado de un largo camino que finalmente no lo condujo a sitio alguno. Pero no es pesimista. Pedro Juan sabe que tiene que seguir adelante. Y lo mejor es hacerlo sonriendo, a golpe de ron, música y sexo.

Well, The Dirty Havana Trilogy is quite the ride. Be forewarned, it truly is dirty. Sounds better if one says ribald but dirty isn't inaccurate. If that kind of prose offends you, do not pick it up. But dirty/ribald is not all the book is. It's also a raw, eloquent, sad, heroic and honest portrait of ordinary people living in extraordinary circumstances. It is, by turns, funny, offensive, and painfully touching. The characters face poverty and hopelessness with an often riveting commitment to survival.

Many reviewers compare the work to Bukowski or Celine. It certainly warrants that comparison. I think, however, this work will not age as gracefully. Many modern readers will not be able to get past the ever-present racism, sexism, homophobia, and misogyny. The reality of their presence in the life of the characters is impossible to avoid. Yet, the book is tribute to the richness of life and the human struggle for meaning and survival.

At least one reviewer (from the National Review) wants to frame this as a political piece revealing the ugliness of "Communist" Cuba. A person can read the book from that perspective but that is most certainly not what this book is about. This tale would resonate with many readers throughout the Caribbean and, in fact, much of the developing world. To portray the book as a political tract does the book and the reader a great disservice. ( )

The last page was turned in NYC in 2002. It was an odd place to complete the novel. I was reading my friend Roger's copy; he had been reading it a few months earlier when we journeyed to Indy for a Pacers game. That was odd. The "that" in question is an enormous swirl of emotions and experiences that criss-crossed the Atlantic as well as the continental United States: from Long Island to San Francisco and back to Indiana.

I saw a copy in London seven months later and the torque of it all was humbling. ( )

I'm not sure if I really enjoyed this, to be honest. Its three stories, but I can't really see any reason for them being separated into a trilogy rather than a bunch of short stories. There is no storyline in any of the three parts, every chapter is just a different account of supposed daily life of those struck by the crippling poverty & awful quality of life in 90's Havana. That element itself is what I enjoyed about the book, as it was a culture & place I knew nothing of before reading this book. What killed the book for me was the horrific use of macho & sexual bravado, which to me just came across as desperate & boring. According to this book every woman in Havana is a whore, people fuck on every street corner, its acceptable for a man to jerk off in the street, no one seems to get STDs, & women are struck dumb by the beauty of a hard cock. It just sounds like this guy has never had sex in his life, & the sexual overkill was such a turn off. Its a shame, as the writing would have been so much more effective had he chosen the sexual episodes more carefully & used them more sparingly. ( )