Havana World Series: A Novel [Hardcover]

Billed as a master of "Cuban noir," Jose Latour presents a dark novel of gambling, the American mob, and violence in Havana in 1958, during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista, a friend of mob boss Meyer Lansky. Lansky is deeply involved with the Casino at the Capri Hotel, having made deals with many of the employees, inspectors, and supervisors. Now, during the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Braves, he also expects to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars in bets on the games. A motley group of locals, working for Elias Naguib, a businessman with ties to New York mob boss Joe Bonanno, has been planning a "fool-proof" robbery of Lansky's take, but ironically, the death of Pope Pius XII and the early closing of the casinos "out of respect" on the last night of the World Series changes the timing of the heist, and a bloody mess results.

Tawdry Havana with all its neon tackiness and grubby glamour comes alive here. Corrupt politicians, paid-off police, and mobsters control businesses ranging from prostitution and abortion to the international sugar, jewelry, gaming, and spare auto parts industries. Massive collusion leaves the average citizen powerless to control his own destiny, as Latour recreates the atmosphere which propels Fidel Castro to power a few months after the novel concludes. By alternating Lansky's activities with the play-by-play of each of the six World Series games, the author creates a sense of credibility and realism, and as the bodies pile up, the internecine rivalry among New York mob families adds external complications to the complex internal struggles for influence in Havana.

Latour is an extremely precise, controlled writer who has plotted his novel to the last microdetail, leaving no loose ends, and the novel moves along smartly, despite its complexity. Developing drama and suspense through his careful selection of details and his ability to create a milieu by amassing specifics and piling them upon each other, he allows himself no forays into romantic description or heart-tugging literary pictures. What you "see" here of Havana appears to be presented with almost journalistic impartiality. Complex and exciting in its plotting and fully detailed in its depiction of 1958 Havana, this is a fine novel, bold and masculine in its presentation and full of the violence and uncertainty which presaged Castro's arrival into Havana. Mary Whipple

In the early 1950's, Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, in an attempt to bolster Cuban economy and draw American tourists, invited successful crime bosses to upgrade and oversee the gambling operations in Havana. Meyer Lansky was able to oversee construction and development of several major hotel/casinos and had a friendly working relationship with the government. This book takes place in 1958, just as the World Series between the Yankees and the Milwaukee Braves, is beginning. Betting on the outcome is in full swing, and we meet a gang of small-time Cuban ex-cons who are planning a heist of the take from the Capri Casino, one of Lansky's operations.

The first part of the book details the careful set-up and execution of the robbery. Of course, a couple of things go wrong, and follow-up plans undergo a huge revision. The rest of the book describes the efforts of the local police, the mob, and the thieves to straighten out the mess and escape with some dignity intact. This is ironic, since there is not a single honest character in the entire story.

I found this book to be quite entertaining. Although the book contains some detailed baseball play-by-plays, you don't need to be a baseball fan to follow the action. The real story occurs around this event. It would have been helpful to have a "cast of characters" list in the book. Many of the men have nicknames, and it was a bit confusing to keep them straight. But the time period and setting seemed authentic, including the rumble of revolution in the background. The reader has an advantage over the characters, because we know what happened in Cuba a short time later. The author uses real mob bosses such as Joe Bonanno and Joseph Profaci, in addition to Lansky to lend authenticity to the story (which is completely fictional). As in most "caper" novels, the reader tends to root for the crooks, even knowing they are acting outside of the law. I suppose that's what makes them so much fun. This book does not disappoint, and the conclusion seems satisfying for all involved.

Jose Latour's new novel, "Havana World Series," tells the story of a gang of Cuban toughs who knock off Meyer Lansky's Casino de Capri. As background for the heist: the 1958 World Series, playing everywhere on radios and tv, while plots are perfected. And in the hills Castro gets closer and closer. This is fascinating stuff, and in many ways serves as a satisfying expansion on the "Cuban" parts of Godfather II.

Latour knows the people, and the times. Dialogue and description blend seamlessly and accurately in prose that is Hemingwayesque in its leaness and precision. Historical figures, such as Lansky and Joe Bonanno, are believably lethal. Fictional characters, such as ringleader Mariano "Ox" Contreras, are just as believable (and lethal). Cuba was a tough place in 1958, where money and death could be made or found, depending on the breaks and maybe your brains. Honor, deception, sex, violence, baseball, torture, and revolution, it's all here. Good general comparisons (dialogue, description, intricate plotting) could probably be found in George Higgins' "The Friends of Eddie Coyle," or his "Outlaws." That said, "Havana World Series" nevertheless stakes out its own impressive turf in the upper reaches of crime fiction, and on its own terms. A classic.