The Man Who Loved Dogs by Leonardo Padura.

Submitted: 9th February 2023

A lot of history in one book – Castro’s Cuba, Trotsky and the Spanish Civil War. Bitter Lemon have a fine list for you to discover some really remarkable translated fiction and this is one of them.

BookTrail Travel to The Man Who Loved Dogs

Boarding Pass Information: Cuba

Author guide: Leonardo Padura

Genre: fiction, thriller

Food and drink to accompany: A cuban cigar?

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BookTrail Travel to The Man Who Loved Dogs

I am on a mission to read more of Bitter Lemon Press’ books and this one caught my eye. It sounded challenging with its themes of assignation and Trotsky in 1940s Mexico but it was so much more than that as it helped me see more of what communism was and how it worked. I am a huge fan of learning more about history via a fiction book and this was definitely helped with that.

We meet Ivan who lives in Castro’s Cuba. He is a struggling writer due to the strict levels of censorship in society at the time. When talking to his wife, who is tragically dying, he tells her the story of The Man who loved Dogs. This is to become his new book. A book within a book which I found very interesting indeed.

The Book Trail The Man Who Loved Dogs – The Book Trail

Ivan’s story is fascinating. He takes us back to the Spanish Civil War where we meet Ramón who is recruited to kill Trotsky. Of course this was Stalin’s greatest enemy. The threads of Ivan and Ramon’s story converge at this point and we are utterly immersed into the politics and society values of the time. There’s a lot of history and you don’t have to understand it all ( I didn’t and I’ve studied Spanish history) but it allows you to find out more if you want to. I do feel that someone who has studied world history at an advanced level would get so much more out of this novel however that a lay person.

The writing is raw and brutal. It’s very graphic and at times hard to swallow but these were different times and I am, of course, reading this through modern eyes. There were times I realised I was reading a translation but on the whole, it is very well brought across. I found it a challenging read but one I am pleased to have read as I am still thinking about it weeks later.