Product Description

Sexy, sordid and sleazy, Tropical Animal brings to mind the likes of Miller and Bukowski but is unmistakably, and inimitably, it's own thing. Pursued by Gloria, a proud and sophisticated prostitute on a mission to curb his predatory instincts, Pedro Juan is holed-up in his crumbling Havana apartment, painting. An invitation to Sweden, seems to offer him a way out. However he soon finds himself haunted by memories of Gloria and their wild sex together, and increasingly uninspired by his new environment. Does Pedro Juan, legendary sexual conquistador finally have to admit that the game is over? Or do his hedonistic instincts have juice enough to keep him active yet?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #60059 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
'Grotesquely compelling... Gutierrez appears destined to become a cult writer.' Times Literary Supplement

About the Author
Pedro Juan Gutierrez began his working life at the age of eleven, as an ice-cream vendor and newsboy. The author of several published works of poetry, he lives in Havana, where he is employed as a magazine journalist.

Customer Reviews

The Real Cuba
I loved this book. It's not a wonderful as Dirty Havana Trilogy but it certainly is a far cry from a lot books on Cuba that mysticise the country.

It's an honestly written story that feels real and not just another story to read and put on your book shelves. If you want to know the real Cuba start reading books from real writers like Pedro Juan. This is a good starting place.

Hotter than a Cuban night
Pedro Juan, the anti-hero, is a straight talking, womanising, hard living, hard drinking, Cuban artist. He hangs out with the whores and low life in Cuba, soaking up the louche living, trying to be as free and easy as possible. Upon arriving in Sweden he finds himself set adrift from his usual life and trying to cope with the slow normalcy of the Scandinavian way of life. Living with Agneta he tries to introduce her to the pleasures of pleasure, while wishing he was back home with his Cuban girl, Gloria.

'Tropical Animal' is a must read if you enjoyed 'Dirty Havana Trilogy', or if you enjoy the writing of Bukowski or Henry Miller. The novel portrays the central character's sensual life to the full with short chapters and short sharp sentences. This is a life lived for the moment not for the future.

About as poor as it gets
I read Dirty Havan and persevered with it thru the sub-porn to see if there was a writer lurking there underneath the trashy sensationalism.
I subsequently read The Insatiable Spiderwoman (which is considerably better and does indeed contain some decent writing)
This is a return to the trashy Havana sensationalism of Dirty Havana and is without any saving grace. The same strands are continued with an excursion to Sweden w Pedro Juan as an etranger.
I really am not sure why Gutierrez keeps up this trite porn drivel - probably because fools will buy it for the sensationalist porn.
If you want to read Cuban writers then go elsewhere and I would recommend starting with Lezama Lima and Marti.
This has few redeeming features and I say this as a much travelled Cuban admirer. It gives a gross overall flavour of Havana Central - of SOME people from Central. It is not as such about Cuba.