José Latour (born April 24, 1940 in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
) is a Cuban
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
writer.
His first three novels (''Preludio a la Noche, Medianoche Enemiga and Fauna Noctura''), set in pre-revolutionary
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , were published in 1982, 1986 and 1989. The fourth (''Choque de Leyendas''), was released in 1998.
In 1994 Latour submitted his new book ''The Fool'' to his Cuban publisher. Based on a real-life case of corruption in the ministries of the Interior and the Armed Forces, the book was considered counterrevolutionary and its author labeled an "enemy of the people." Certain that he would never be published in Cuba again as long as all publishing houses were state-owned, Latour took a shot at writing in English.
His first novel in that language, ''Outcast'', was published in the U.S., Japan, five Western European countries and Brazil. It got flattering reviews and was nominated for an
Edgar
Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear").
Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...
. Since then, he has penned ''Havana Best Friends'' (2002), ''Havana World Series'' (2003), ''Comrades in Miami'' (2005) and ''The Young Englishman'' (2006, still unpublished). His sole non-fiction book is ''Postcommunist CUBA Poscomunista'', a bilingual essay.
Personal
Seeking creative freedom and fearing dictatorial repression, the author and his family moved to Spain in August 2002 and to Canada in September 2004; as of 2014, they reside in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
Jose Latour, Man of Mystery — And Action
TorontoSun.com. Accessed on June 2, 2014.
References
External links
*
Jose Latour, Man of Mystery — And ActionSpecial Relationship, Cuban Style - An interview with JOSE LATOUR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latour, Jose
Cuban male novelists
Canadian mystery writers
Cuban emigrants to Spain
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Cuban emigrants to Canada
Writers from Havana
1940 births
Exophonic writers