Cuba Libre

Elmore Leonard's CUBA LIBRE is named after a drink made of rum, a twist of lime and coca-cola. The book is very similar to the drink: part western, part historical fiction, and two neighbouring cultures on the edge of conflict... all with a slightly exotic tang. Set in Cuba in 1898, the battleship Maine has just been sunk, and Cuba is on the verge of the Spanish-American War. Ben Tyler accompanies a boatload of horses to Havana for sale to a wealthy American landowner. Unbeknownst to the authorities, the boat also contains a shipment of guns for the Cuban revolutionaries. He's spent time in prison for bank robbery, but his "withdrawals" were only for the amounts he was owed.

Elmore "Dutch" Leonard

He's paid for his crimes and is looking for a new life. Cuba and a unique and courageous American woman offers him that chance. 


With CUBA LIBRE, I learnt a lot about the Spanish-American War and recognised the familiar Leonard plot lines and dialogue, but ultimately I found it dissatisfying. It took me a few weeks to work through which is always an indicator as to how much I'm enjoying it. Leonard started his career writing cowboy novels and to a degree this is a return to that format, but Cuba Libre wasn't as engaging as the familiar concrete jungle stories that Leonard is known for.

Burn brightly, Pete