Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Man Who Loved Dogs: A Novel
The Man Who Loved Dogs: A Novel
The Man Who Loved Dogs: A Novel
Ebook834 pages18 hours

The Man Who Loved Dogs: A Novel

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

A gripping novel about the assassination of Leon Trotsky in Mexico City in 1940

In The Man Who Loved Dogs, Leonardo Padura brings a noir sensibility to one of the most fascinating and complex political narratives of the past hundred years: the assassination of Leon Trotsky by Ramón Mercader.

The story revolves around Iván Cárdenas Maturell, who in his youth was the great hope of modern Cuban literature—until he dared to write a story that was deemed counterrevolutionary. When we meet him years later in Havana, Iván is a loser: a humbled and defeated man with a quiet, unremarkable life who earns his modest living as a proofreader at a veterinary magazine. One afternoon, he meets a mysterious foreigner in the company of two Russian wolfhounds. This is "the man who loved dogs," and as the pair grow closer, Iván begins to understand that his new friend is hiding a terrible secret.

Moving seamlessly between Iván's life in Cuba, Ramón's early years in Spain and France, and Trotsky's long years of exile, The Man Who Loved Dogs is Padura's most ambitious and brilliantly executed novel yet. This is a story about political ideals tested and characters broken, a multilayered epic that effortlessly weaves together three different plot threads— Trotsky in exile, Ramón in pursuit, Iván in frustrated stasis—to bring emotional truth to historical fact.
A novel whose reach is matched only by its astonishing successes on the page, The Man Who Loved Dogs lays bare the human cost of abstract ideals and the insidious, corrosive effects of life under a repressive political regime.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 28, 2014
ISBN9781466837102
The Man Who Loved Dogs: A Novel
Author

Leonardo Padura

Leonardo Padura was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1955. A novelist, journalist, and critic, he is the author of several novels, two volumes of short stories, and several nonfiction collections. His novels featuring the detective Mario Conde have been translated into many languages and have won literary prizes around the world. The Man Who Loved Dogs was a finalist for the Book of the Year Award in Spain. Padura lives in Havana.

Read more from Leonardo Padura

Related to The Man Who Loved Dogs

Related ebooks

Noir For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Man Who Loved Dogs

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

4 ratings4 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Long and complex,almost poetic,life,pathos,conflicts , the beauty of truth and the darkness of deceit. His best writing by far!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A fictional account of Stalin’s marginalization and eventual assassination of Leon Trotsky by Ramon Mercader del Rio, a Catalan revolutionary. The story moves from Spain to Paris, Moscow, Mexico and Cuba and covers a lot of history. Padura, best known as a novelist, says the story “falls somewhere between verifiable history and fiction.”He also manages to paint a picture – as in most of his novels – of the ugliness of a repressive society. As a Cuban still residing on the island it’s pretty impressive.

    2 people found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Simply brilliant. Padura's best work yet - a veritable chef d'oeuvre. History, politics, true events all intertwined in such a fashion as to make this book unputdownable. So much to think about - this book turns so many ideas on their heads. Recommend it to anyone who is interested in Soviet history (Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky - of course - Communism), Cuba, the Spanish Civil War, Mexico, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. And the translation by Anna Kushner is phenomenal - reading this book you would never know it was translated. She is seamless and her translation feel so natural!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This fictionalized account of the last years of Leon Trotsky as an exile from the Soviet Union he helped to catalyze and of his historical assassin is a fascinating read. The characters are convincingly portrayed, and it is possible to empathize with them all — to a degree. The manner in which Padura presents each of the main characters as a fluidity of multiple identities does justice to literature, history, and psychology. He depicts events with graphic clarity. While whatever degree of truth (it is tempting to put quotation marks around the word) the author attains in his attributions of feelings, thoughts, or motivations to the historical figures is unknowable, the book is deeply and broadly thought-provoking.

    1 person found this helpful

Book preview

The Man Who Loved Dogs - Leonardo Padura

2abook_preview_excerpt.html˲kǑ%+Imգ+J2(zIIV= `ͳ7\pI{Rf=QB}8fueR$X_|Yi<ϟO?O~#?_l|_W~ՕWyYwt?wؽ9KҲN?onݽLsoߝK>.qӒe-tC^tMk]p봭??m]Ry]x]svE~]u?9=]ןy^v4/iHj&Q|L|t:٣:-7*~|g_1)]elǣ]hCYJ.]o;zmV{iZn}Xw~d~ڼDMsZ/[ʓ6ۋy aeMc6h1wKE{wO7%Ⴗx*۽Vb wa7F+B_$a 6Vʏ:-Kqg*:NOmjtRv_lGvZb&x+sRء^M)TŰu%jf4fSWٟ`i.p+ċzD֕ØC`^v~֬u\15@):G^5;amq@ڦ6R?mg&ɰQ0qlA>g3 %v0s[zw52ep*nˋ.18qM(FiVviz _7]nȽ4;oV]U^S:ik^]^ -V ]Brݎ5_+6J'nۺ]aJS5miV?="\!Yh6*>̮i\,I'i wѵ?3<}_V1b~]7J%dzYݟ`&[QJ :t^XH`l_2s2i 4ح  LMuf#t=UoW{ÌL\pp,_Yo>c?0y\_Ms`"l㖉^CgB_KNՖ~rŵnfCoglS,|I+ tw0ޙp?s`ghcQK W# gW esƐw`HmeR+d2:6vA{5kl`o7P(swu@=ԔCZ̈^T`=56a"- 7ҟ##9:8s3j{,WE9/0թk|FN+$ [%{αo|yƺ9R$*=) ]aGoL{ȚQsuTb~AgΈj Hgx _~aL ]2[7_V+.0n7ڜaڰ0⶧pi):W62oBW-Uo;(+ !xEmUk!!awR-6/Rh)~(|6k :m &8e5 ?ѽĎ֯0ohg rۋK-RC>>~;#eF{НG/:]<F<[,PtFpߚ1-hx`6ch] G쥧逥_t0cq1ktIMMBjc3jBO xMg?1nLjkv6 b{JnMt. 1p阓)x#|K1f8Shqyy÷VJfÂBXddtɣXoPDfVW0+rd@eۚBWGq銵n6>X`LatyĆIɄnț]1g5cH Ӝ%f{vÍ;[t\}U.p?JkQ⚞7{f \'T>{v31^7?vy8xt{7&0S|p,WhDD3/|&ߧuf'y!x4S ίyexI&z4{bp-j욆Hg<,T& #}=CȎ.@+&]#7ҷj#jIcFlZ: z"aoEeثJ 9]M;^ 5 Ό-2"P;u_ Bа_9G™h~ c/`7{QB98ӓ=a2~69\?]JͶ͎^tTgAh|,  #սc .LfoBp є+fD2?~;1uRRLTg#0l]V'hZJbY,+QZS+wឧ8nfG7hm>i[S$HnW #fzJ:: [ C 9|@;Sq>ٮEc;ʚMb8TVD̤'|a$P !m%Sa]z@[J8+dZ :ͽP*4B5o<蠚s.]OB|Bt<&% $aod_<2g&&LK]0y2>[w/͖"-Ÿ)*<+,-E):?OTn+K<ʘւ&%(l,"8943~iSI:  {K8lvpwGb+?N̮`xVn#Y:+>* .2{btyĿko=i}Zngk^ vF8,2`VA8~eǏ˴gdy^ <y٪¤,ؘ%W-qc ;&B{!4~+A}-'}+n؜L]%)@ƀ1H5Ȇ>zQT-r@FZC2boE5+)!e\\ Nj8ێ5J7"l rKj. ߆%\z:][h- ! dӕϊpeSx90k% D򮠶x)rVX] EX5j7HHeN|P2p$\<<irG8rLp@XO Y'A92$ˑQ[M`n氽E Ȏ}%WK>#b,l6{CB,dU.  F.a%@!3e x0N@NOY6{'az[qz@#r1=?Bg6}9侄\MͭC٫{nDKoJEn:ێG> N|{?@Tb;ۜM(yL]X{٘O2{TT%ӏS'd^XEX$iW/ORqva"ȲI{< ,/U91A#~-OlxtŸ"3~$/R.M 2viJ Nh7[ /f #whCO~Ql*}7X5roUsnc{םW) w۫-rM_[,]uby6 eܟ>Xaƍ6@vB͉@1/=;TROԏ y"Gͬ>z7` ?[b[d!!H&'y-5,ke+ɛ BX\,ʹB NO>M\:KHa4FdۍZ `̍?Bћ4BH\ 4"4avcHlZd<1|4>6g wC-RN:3B-u`ü%xo85 r cpM _YW'#i+9 mB !/DbD .ZAK^N{TyOү81})FidžF/o~c+NHOߢ!ÌF$D:s׬FZ9Mٕ7}\}]LNJaTdIΩIU3e&HCBA asOq)?~Y8?h I{.d͌ۻR͵t3^w] |vҒSpW?8]vb0;b0g( ԩHIVlH|:>Y_0E8D+jt2 sٟ]!)KcBjw8 p޿b 4Nܝ1~oD08ǖi*P4XK7picӰN7Y`^&qǰ78rkVpFc5&QG>قyķ,=|tgĹ/%=5ova&RN@H!v-Xoh d⺏;x'G.0ca~Dy F bb*ӂ./gSCE"MNE}Uab?\D1b_C?9lKMHVYXX 2 pmLխ+d(sҟi;upa=,O GMCtI`Re(sajtJSS:=S$;fXNaL *d[Xo ") Sw@*G^Ai&1Ueu5|Y:Z)B E<؎z(rj]O)*GJpC!Xg hd"je~o#Gjҁx"Jlz"p$2ڥ *DErrYx 69w7T 3 `Nz6O9. ਎6o$ G 1Np;6؃gjįTFJG"Vʐ3f Zd/P} hs~&3O]MyE95E%:[w Hm#{I"&2av>[d5;Lk|GPG|hu,+zr=+YE NV@&E!J.1Ȑ|;F^}%c+—4-bgjm ˪;JT-Ҽ6~0<@˥ܿqq9y/w1vUU!oԏd=ؘ 18"lX#VoN(<**b;N(-cԑVr/э(14i%= *\>-6dՈi2 ^.ozb0gۥ.a0Lғt]ma2*dX ߔv }>+2|%3 a9;papX `tV`" STj2̈́: ߴ`lJ `xl.ycI'Z;f(  'hm4fva~m;wExc04ڂ8KMk.4:EDt'F4lg6:d-7X+Ƭ-K>oU2mnc=KbPzsZ˲(qǤ9pФ!?{^PUܑWŦbއ Spcx͑ݽ3D5Q{S*CwdJB`&qa{ 4AN` 'r}D! nV _DmMjήkXKkRRc;ϏkکG/΅d(:'zw 9fd`_^bi&q6֩ n@~E-! SKo ? j/͇½5#do!xgD5 jR32~πoŃ5^T9G̗jG}n<p.O%kRqyqaɻ}Yd Wrv~pۢ0F$#,k7Ux!(|]K=3-q͏ؾ RHe-Я~ Q[i3Y\=6x'A8xϖ>網^Օ<ؗm]jnL-,.BGu5ATSV *LU(hiFaȖVmտNJfUݯsM#Awfao..蘅|Nn%6+LOQ{II!(([$f`@!t$ic2(蹏-ȫ}E$Z?.A+rDzdOvjO*ih_#eZ8Dq[νCs\<̳sH!|nlǦFϞtKaqQPe 'o%=y^ڄyh`. *)`""rA^γɣR;_u$}j}8qg>UkT_-F2{TvohHBD6~JŭE uֶR4Q:naJm XRv;دV?!D}u'5(!^`g"ӗz^Ȭ!i&WZޛȋil ٱ5&]c/G403iZLG@tEL`)&oVSlVGkLxukfҠ{y ;$NmN*wk-7 m)JsLbR|uQ.9m#GT2!ML/,T刐[0csʠI%H 7pݦQ8]:r5;d{:ҎJyJD(&)ǧ]%fBo`ߥ:bCԾz=3+rwjCXgEsnިYgfRj?CCɮhHj!6ua0;v]?kSZ}$W@u]gK4sYD!EPv/ B3GyDmH+"Wa5$jZ$Tk T|vhS{6S&$lHp1DK̗f(y%n~-BP/p%ޖiŢTeOo7DV.k#[Cġq~~ʬt&w3kwH`)MJ zS8c`*:@=G˥DgJN]JF—UIRF[+HJww8LD =26<4ܠ9ʂݛ"ղc0?JD\aLwE[fZaF݆&`a LvXTݹb^A(w;%cL|,PHq>O8vw; &,צMjp)0!M_Wuw#0D/wV;z\{ыSioϸ f*d7ZK &G m3kiyfPad[VgO@AL,"% ,NGFQǷ˴Z@n@# Fvw*)vQ7bH77kԫcrX]h,<^tJO픞ݗ/>>rfVI?zW t!fs8]] t3DnVD65X`,<=2Y#A93\ ˕Q7#}<1ܴ,m͛K`#бvu *ȔT48]1wI B HpZbS&XŖ or}X0\ АӁF&4ylri-g-}/5k t~tuҴuZk 8{W-fqU'LŐL{ϴ\sV4:>0r̈́p^ cRg`>oV @abeyEv jj z4W^"=E# ۀ5~qO[d+z0T?]б "T/^ 5t䚜` %i4_kFt9VW7}( H=>H{[d$>^+Vy ҙsoBQ7`Fl5GUnHGJ2L &TO&+{M҄>~|2k+RQD_:̎ۄEB|Վ>,pځvid5/ ߹:R&` vU0W!9Pƌb"vDcXDPxgM|"C_r3,<Tqt k*]B@>$`VݥFoqژ2f6ƦP\Z/A1nQHd[ wf"hZ +n~3Oto4@Ձ8jlIзޜJmLjq*('́y~ND?%6y?#DO;xUSQF1Ofo!p%R vO+PRԉaݗP*_].'"{pvpk/8''6 5m?~#5*oBX8ƍ0fSL;}wVuB{v*ǁT%rbH5G,Y)l-,ҫDGMs2 Le)}~{a~f{3^vy* Ŋpp/SLB0pmA?[< F9_kU뢆0-k!!b^3a>ocG)mEpjˀmhhoV?M] L<wjV]&ӫ'qtDb";bZKi=T9K଴7so>O`8d oU?Uhs(L>l/kq)jBFA4:, B0/bɀmCr4#2rn!* ɬ@.02 Kxr;23g\" )'uxFSaN?I# | ۚIG+oG e[?(q4<~IgHuS[N"醶-gᄚ$[!&ff1(ՀJQ,%AҶP*}#ڎaL)O *1IȰ&TRqrؾJrnEH$=& /XogFM W%veq`vE@ X-CnpGSMLZ(>)*wb?Sct/%49jɛZp*j>ׇВv}}Q}g@[ҔPxܹkS9о|XIx<$c%g1nHNeozƋ۹JەT W7(j,཯;,~wϦ"5t,{sWgkO;%"CIiR4j< [6ǂŁ0…u!P8!Y9yu׾564nZ ϳdVjCb i a[k=?=P@QKoPHX3 4rwYgӃ|vLDسKg džW(~ԓ(Ҍ K-bW$Ιj9j#Z\W ~l7w0 /z :unrL6ndD_eX[`KvکIl}s꒽hz'ynNgg9:0V#Iޖ!RMF/\,x8s(?"8u]wkOsBP7IކhY4H"NpJsvKf(:BDp^k7v1aWQО:8{I|UOw*o2XO/yLl)нk{;ę[JPG5%? ØhHp)h ”Int+s@~"/ C~u,nT1% "Mov$Ё- ]/F<m9Ӿ(uZ 8t\'O }zNj)?,2Q@j2ՖL!dӆl{ h|%fKP^WvI=.݀OLס jGO|5 E0C_3&yX]XWYk|vE}K&q>0$M"Şҿcġs.25Lr-cعBԤ|9wIF>tDMb~-Wq]d˴$ @kJ͹v >;c.yD˄SWZ,RAO a,c 9F׬bT 2޽ncSsq[/*ԙwA?jTs.:*Հs/e\«6Ve3Ret$RD8D)Tiˏ!^d,3S IS庒轢琦@5u, `yW zTA[Htv54S[UiwmGxSYWcG_j"WOPJ=vLSxny?*H; '*X4.P[K.P?$տXT7kEV>i^m }rB}+csh 6zG2`3A<]lbKQF!@'pT)4AW2јO'*uĭRJ'"/Sv?S_jr k][|{,v->X_L%A5Vs3O{`RyԞ&dHD>s*Mo7yﶹK}aM7cc>;ᣏ70/u]c*$X!]9qy7YfcU#C-!Fj^w9ӭu2ַ7/r/&K*4i[~ "cs"s50h4,3.8 ^ݔfa9ҭF` 3!19S]'yufEGۘ^OrŔ!Ig/(J0Hؚ`*uHk ڏQS롹 ey1`صlo9=@z/R¥LmA:XSԼb2=R<]gW4CNyj>> @sC8$!wsJP+>{:<Ÿb,]56ͬaW1/a+tﵐƻxSWe?l>ACg3>(Aa\^IjUFc!Q k㐰j`fvKSY6Χ#A#qKf`BȺ6$lD ;}^|WIS#g8-ǚO9UPF[c pb![qX/9xҋ~#"ΫyEPQf `pIŅb<; s؃Հm!^ߥUM9mϚ, 758~r<gc%lcƏ6v5W~ H~(C?<.J6a=i}J1<325m\Z4ـ5?Pgl4x}y\>s$⵨yꐐt_ڽޗh!Qt5αt@SLQܕ`|\*>5{%%2- [x5cPYfi4fnzz_<&Nn*kY2߉&M W.Į4w:Euna&Ko xe#D>&Q3Δh JQN%d^o8K|YyRlC^G k ] ٟ 6963͎Q}S}1 bh3V!P` Y;> '*ll ̡3DwF% a;CqHjc  Ԏդ/7TzU[D`]G!r$ a|(oyslPHl+GOW;)fhH=?< Xag3eIfQ_l)эHtECY|Dq*m"-7pX>AgܮGϯMi&EjU0uAΗ|_lN!T~#}+r>ž aSc2\f;>Z8oNXXFi 9w8?$ ~[]ﵫ&R{טU3qU-$I֫3Gd)B*;l}}i~JiցIEb-Nh$#qᵮWo}%eMV^6p[?GwGS8qtӀ\s~V;=KH@U~ϼ'Rp:Mä́z{) z 15ʵMA<-d߸E9)h@ Bw!) nR58~S|aA|"KOӢ;EF];9-CT@58X{׊T^7iyO+ȠN /uUGh-AjZ?\{3V@) RY3QئI<$ n$R̨1-`pB:{,Z=4RD䰛Y<wДaz,W"?:\V5xj>Mԭ<~;9)1KAA 8r45Qcw#Y암DLig,`v&;c:rovjr\ GR\{+2^zq]kxtR|kKKC"lvtS"GLˇ&,5,n' " bzUQrbnj>ӠLɁ#lCEqAԉ앪[e=;zW &Af{W BA~o~*BŚLsQМ(j[rU_>} K>#<һڹӞ(!;7x |P3 9QYމLP7[ *$A*r*B8^皲؁*r4!3Rnn]O\HE._D_pC(qg CO^NjowW"E*o2!cS}ۘ3z9$Jr'86-)"3RyćT %8zVIMVp K "%&U\qѬA(Z+=ZdfU'Œ!6v!k#d$< ϹF]"Aw% a^R8DT`oz1onKKX3F:*/lޔK$]ê\ju\SL<]O%$e? nTleZRe❻ &X/RfQ傠k:zkRmA/ۍWOFӹgwQuߢe;_%QKF1aMZMk"kWBsOMF_!20\dAr$\6j`JdѩrCIOpxX4os@I`rF$Gkw2sqma1`/>:$Z߅L6#h*VT2RHu7尻ꗔ?O-e#oX+ ⅟k%(L 4+:^OXGgrj7*|c{ϊI}G1Fܛ`)xd #5g !9 [yoN\TЩ>lBԗȵRX @63Ļ;SJac D DtZT~u-5LqNN0>jǰD~3N7"ǖ g?~JH~oÌ{n8ofno}Vjdgo3mHmqFCw鱹TGoΕTl6Цࡊ5bϢ4)fFWRu_ T{;6>_)9 B[R {DM_9>aq<=wӹ 0{x%Pd{[ O*Nf~>nnK e姿/ jmg?{q8t=%ZRJWCeD4:E BбhftAq![]50D`>=m 9Jz.3x+Е*ƶt:\DҤws;́\&k)McD^$곭C?XTqP,NlR_p+rį,52(N\q.@G/(# `U V Dgۺ\zt۳q-L:S^C!cH+{yezj:>XNsUoʘR&6hjYJI2F$SA=,d F} %@vl*L*Z0턽{׎{/d)Y S31҅P"mx@\T3>rrl_^&z$O &s]L~/TGc|q_1hK2G{R w@k5q+>\H)*x}>R8ZTڮlغƄ`B!锣`nMhԤM]W>w- B mRw},G 勗`ymvKH?WoGit}B3){WjF-q|r eB)Cd^F,qf =]y-K5{$uJѩIة<~-aΈIsQ4%ElX!=A "|6)Gm_I` }P,WyUk4 ԫvnj/Lmd%p;5[ \Kc^@ %H<$B(徫ef: e2MZz'f0=x/k*ն{N^ *辫m(3KF Y)p{^
Enjoying the preview?
Page 1 of 1