false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg 720227 5 <div><div>Havana, 1957. On the same day that the Mafia capo Umberto Anastasia is assassinated in a barber&#8217;s chair in New York, a hippopotamus escapes from the Havana zoo and is shot and killed by its pursuers. Assigned to cover the zoo story, Joaquín Porrata, a young Cuban journalist, instead finds himself embroiled in the mysterious connections between the hippo&#8217;s death and the mobster&#8217;s when a secretive zookeeper whispers to him that he &#8220;knows too much.&#8221; In exchange for a promise to introduce the keeper to his idol, the film star George Raft, now the host of the Capri Casino, Joaquín gets information that ensnares him in an ever-thickening plot of murder, mobsters, and, finally, love.</div><div> </div><div>The love story is, of course, another mystery. Told by Yolanda, a beautiful ex-circus performer now working for the famed cabaret San Souci, it interleaves through Joaquín&#8217;s underworld investigations, eventually revealing a family secret deeper even than Havana&#8217;s brilliantly evoked enigmas.</div><div> </div><div>In <i>Dancing to "Almendra</i>,<i>"</i> Mayra Montero has created an ardent and thrilling tale of innocence lost, of Havana&#8217;s secret world that is &#8220;the basis for the clamor of the city,&#8221; and of the end of a violent era of fantastic characters and extravagant crimes. Based on the true history of a bewitching city and its denizens, <i>Almendra</i> is the latest &#8220;triumph&#8221; (<i>Library Journal</i>) from one of Latin America&#8217;s most impassioned and intoxicating voices.</div></div> 706474 2005 Dancing to "Almendra": A Novel total:106|5:8|4:20|3:45|2:26|1:7| 106 314 212 33 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 2 1 false Sun Nov 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 06:22:24 -0800 2008 Mon Nov 03 06:33:56 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1331500 0312426739 9780312426736 20 8 2.96 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1331500.Dancing_to_Almendra_ 2 1 false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 10 05:16:01 -0700 2008 Mon Mar 17 14:56:51 -0700 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 1 false Tue May 06 22:18:22 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 22:31:10 -0700 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 1 1 false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Feb 04 06:58:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 07:03:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 1 false Sun Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Nov 17 13:14:57 -0800 2007 Mon Oct 06 09:36:31 -0700 2008 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 2 0 false Thu May 21 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 06:54:05 -0700 2009 Fri May 22 08:10:46 -0700 2009
Good things about this book: beautiful language, immersive atmosphere, intriguing characters and back stories.

Bad things about this book: the ending, and how it was completely disappointing.

I rarely read mysteries, so maybe I'm just n...more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 2 0 false Thu Dec 25 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 26 05:52:25 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 22:18:50 -0800 2008 more...]]> 312264 1575818469 9781575818467 11 3 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173660868m/312264.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/312264.Son_de_Almendra_Dancing_to_Almendra 3 1 false Tue Apr 17 12:23:19 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 17 12:23:39 -0700 2007
Un joven periodista, Joaquín, empieza a involucrarse en ese mundo buscando desesperadamente salir de el asqueroso trabajo que le han asignado en la se...more...]]> 1331500 0312426739 9780312426736 20 8 2.96 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1331500.Dancing_to_Almendra_ 5 0 false Sun Sep 14 15:20:25 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 14 15:28:32 -0700 2008 1 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Wed May 20 04:21:38 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 04:22:45 -0700 2009 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon May 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed May 07 16:31:21 -0700 2008 Mon May 19 08:50:40 -0700 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Fri Feb 15 14:59:53 -0800 2008 Fri Feb 15 15:05:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 24 09:36:15 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 05 06:32:22 -0700 2007
The mob. A reporter with a one-armed girlfriend (from the circus, no less). The zoo's lion feeder (and some grisly details). A transvestite sister. Glamorous Cuba.

But somehow, it just didn't come together for me. It was well written and SHOULD have...more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed May 23 07:11:45 -0700 2007 Wed May 23 07:15:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 2 0 false Mon Oct 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Oct 13 12:41:58 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 14:16:32 -0700 2009 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Sat Oct 25 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Oct 21 09:48:26 -0700 2008 Mon Oct 27 09:05:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 4 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Jan 27 16:36:34 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 16:40:16 -0800 2008 more...]]> 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 3 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 07 19:26:11 -0800 2007 Sat Dec 29 17:55:46 -0800 2007 1331500 0312426739 9780312426736 20 8 2.96 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1331500.Dancing_to_Almendra_ 2 0 false Wed Apr 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Oct 28 12:13:00 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 02 11:27:20 -0700 2008 720227 0374102775 9780374102777 75 22 2.96 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177616829m/720227.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/720227.Dancing_to_Almendra_A_Novel 4 0 false Fri Apr 18 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 10:20:50 -0700 2008 Sun May 11 17:56:09 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=720227