First published 2002
Israel Levis steps off the boat in Habana in 1947, his body and spirit scarred by years in Nazi camps. The Cuban composer had been mistakenly identified as Jewish and deported from occupied Paris to Buchenwald, though he remained a devout Catholic throughout his ordeal. Now back home after recovering in Spain, Levis finds his mind flooded with memories of the vibrant life he once knew. Before the war, he had lived for music and pleasure, driven by his chivalrous but unrequited love for Rita Valladares, a singer who inspired his greatest work. His 1928 composition for her, "Rosas Puras," became the world's most famous rumba and launched his European career. As Levis walks through the streets of his beloved city, he must reconcile the man he was with the survivor he has become, while Habana itself represents both the innocence of a world before the war and the possibility of healing through art, love, and home.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, music
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, lyrical
Tropes: redemption, unrequited-love
Setting: Habana, Paris, Buchenwald, Spain
Period: 1947, 1928
336 pages · Audio Cassette · HarperAudio
Content warnings: war