The Tribe

The Tribe (2017) by Carlos Manuel Álvarez — Condition: Good (Crappy Old Books)

In The Tribe (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2017, ISBN: 9781913097912), Carlos Manuel Álvarez takes the pulse of contemporary Cuba—and it’s not a neat little tourist heartbeat, but a full-bodied, erratic drumroll of voices, stories, and contradictions. This is reportage at its most literary: essays and chronicles that move between the everyday lives of ordinary Cubans and the broader political theatre that defines (and distorts) them. Think less glossy travel brochure, more a mosaic of backroom conversations, back-alley observations, and back-to-back truths that sting, dazzle, and haunt.

Álvarez has that enviable knack for writing journalism that feels like a novel and social critique that reads like poetry. He listens to taxi drivers, dissidents, dreamers, and survivors, and the result is a portrait of a nation that’s both intimate and unsparing. You don’t just “learn about Cuba” here; you feel yourself leaning in, as if you’ve stumbled into someone’s kitchen while the power flickers and the stories begin to flow.

Now, about the copy itself: sold by Crappy Old Books, this one’s in Good condition. Translation: the cover might show some scuffing from having rubbed elbows with other revolutionaries on the shelf, and the pages may be kissed by the faintest shade of time (call it Havana sepia). There could be a crease or two, but rest assured—the spine is sound, the text clean, and nothing is missing except, perhaps, the faint smell of Cuban coffee. This isn’t a sterile collector’s copy; it’s a book that looks like it has lived a little, which seems appropriate given its subject matter.

In short: The Tribe is a chorus of Cuban voices, sharp and uncompromising, delivered in Álvarez’s restless, probing prose. A Good condition copy for readers who prefer their books slightly weathered, their journalism deeply human, and their booksellers refreshingly crappy.

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