For more than 30 years, every April 23rd has been celebrated worldwide as the World Book Day. And since we think that combining a book and a Cuban mini cigar is a pleasure of life, here is our Short list to enjoy both.
Five literary novelties by five authors from different countries, five reasons (at least) to get lost in their pages and five Cuban mini cigars that for different reasons fit perfectly with these books. Here is our proposal for this World Book Day, good reading!
01 – “The genius”, by Jaime Bayly
We begin with a novel just out of the oven. Peruvian writer and journalist Jaime Bayly delves into the relationship between two literary greats: Gabriel García Márquez and Mario Vargas Llosa, who met in 1967 and came to share a great friendship and even a neighborhood in the Sarrià district of Barcelona. An excellent relationship that years later took an unexpected turn and ended in a bitter enmity. The details, and many curiosities, in this book.
Literary pairing
The story of these two world-acclaimed geniuses harmonizes with any of the formats of a brand as renowned as Montecristo, which was named upon the Dumas’ novel “The Count of Montecristo”, that was used to be read to the cigar rollers of the tobacco factory. Could there be a better signature to celebrate World Book Day?
02 – “Hamnet”, by Maggie O’Farrell
Although the author has just published a new work (“The Married Portrait”), we propose to recover her previous and successful novel in which O’Farrell narrates the conjugal life of Agnes Hathaway and William Shakespeare from the woman’s point of view and with the protagonism of the mourning for the death of their son, Hamnet, as a child. It is believed that this may have influenced the well-known Hamlet, which he would write sometime later.
Literary pairing
With Shakespeare as the protagonist, the proposal is clear in this case: a Romeo y Julieta Puritos, a classic format of a brand whose imaginary embeds from the most famous tragedy of the British writer.
03 – “Cinema Speculation”, by Quentin Tarantino
Can you imagine spending an evening chatting with the director of films like Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill or Reservoir Dogs? Well, in the absence of such a plan -quite unlikely- diving into this book is the closest thing you can do. A first-person account of Tarantino’s favourite films.
Literary pairing
The humor -the blackest humor- of Tarantino’s films leads us to Punch, the brand named after a humorous publication in vogue in England in the mid-19th century. Mr. Punch, the clown who served as the recognizable face of the magazine, could well be a character in Tarantino’s films. Fire up a Punch Mini while reading this work of nonfiction and enjoy thrills in duplicate.
04 – “Any summer is an ending”, by Ray Loriga
Friendship, love and the end of youth are mixed in Ray Loriga’s latest novel, a book that talks about death while raising a last toast to life. A work with the usual combination of wit, lyricism, and depth of the author of “Heroes” and that we recommend for this spring.
Literary pairing
So much intensity of emotions and feelings wants to be accompanied by a José L. Piedra Mini, a cigarillo of high strength and signed by this brand founded by some Asturians who emigrated to Cuba.
05 – “Languages of Truth”, Salman Rushdie
Just arrived in bookstores, Salman Rushdie’s latest book reviews topics such as political current affairs, freedom of expression, censorship and the literary canon from his critical point of view. It is a collection of essays, written over 17 years and brought together for the first time, which are perfect to consume little by little to digest them.
Literary pairing
In this case, as they are independent pieces, the best option is going through the eight brands that make up the Cuban mini cigars’ offer and choosing the one that most appeals to you at that moment. Let the theme, the moment and the desire mark the pairing.
