Martha Luisa Hernández Cadenas

A grim underground portrait of today's Cuba, where young people struggle to shake off the vestiges of Castroism.

From Monday to Saturday, Mary is a young and talented artist who moves like a fish in water in the artistic, bohemian and fringe circles of Havana. But on Sundays, Mary becomes the sex toy of a high official of the regime. Her condition as a woman and artist, bisexual and alienated from Castroism, inevitably pushes her towards social exclusion, so that Mary begins to need a reason, almost a miracle, to persuade her not to abandon Cuba and never look back.

Featuring a host of unforgettable secondary characters – among which the most colourful and irreverent members of the Havana underground stand out – and with the powerful voice of the author, a key figure on the current Cuban countercultural scene, La puta y el hurón raises vitally important questions which a whole generation is finding more and more difficult to ignore: How to and why live in Havana under a regime that promotes class abuse and hatred, whether it be sexual or for reasons of gender identity, or the simple fact of thinking one’s own thoughts?

“Novel, epistolary narrative, poetry, essay and dramaturgy in a display of explosive theatricality.”  Babelia, El País

 “A novel written in the style of the spoken word, a recited style that lays the emphasis on repetition to provide rhythm and musicality. Revolving narration, water going down the drain, a foul, stagnant discourse, history suspended in time, a country without a future or a past.” Artes Hoy

“One of the great revelations of the season. [...] A political and tumultuous novel that portrays the patriarchal system of her country.” Infobae