The Lazarus Rumba

The intent of Mestre's first novel appears to be no less than to forge the uncreated conscience of his homeland, Cuba, an undertaking that even Joyce put off for his second book. The result is an imposing novel attempting to combine the fantastical bent of Garc a M rquez with the political intentions of Kundera, and if Mestre's does not quite pull it off, his feverish, often baroque tale has undeniable power. Divided into three parts, this elaborate debut intertwines the stories of more than a dozen characters--among them a three-eyed, bisexual acrobat; a young widow who becomes a famous political dissident; a demonic circus performer with a penchant for young boys; a tolerant priest and a mute rooster--as they experience the rush and aftermath of Castro's revolution. Evidence of Mestre's prodigious imagination is ubiquitous--in his unusual characters, in the many subplots, twists, turns and transformations (after inventing a powerful guava-based aphrodisiac, one character turns into a river fish and is promptly eaten by his cat), in the onion layering of folklore within tales within stories. His prose has an uncommon exuberance that captures the lushness of his tropical setting. However, this vibrancy often gives way to ornate embellishment that can impede the momentum of the loosely structured plot, and the novel's big movements become obscured by its convoluted details. If Mestre still lacks the technical control and the balance between realism and fantasy that characterizes the best magical realists, the fecundity and ambitious scope of his work suggests that he may become a talent to watch. Agent, Harold Schmidt. (June) FYI: Mestre was born in Cuba and now lives in New York City.