We celebrate that this week has been International Book Day with a selection of readings in which tobacco is another character and which feature the pen of writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Shakespeare or Dumas. Our recommendation is that you accompany them with your favorite Cuban mini cigars and let yourself be carried away by literature and the pleasure of the volutes of smoke.
When thinking of literary characters surrounded by smoke, one of the first to come to mind is the detective Sherlock Holmes, always accompanied by his inseparable pipe, cigarettes or cigars. In the works starring Arthur Conan Doyle‘s legendary character, tobacco is not a simple accessory, but an essential tool for concentration to solve the most complex cases. In fact, in many passages the ritual is repeated: he sits in his chair, lights his famous english briar pipe and lets the smoke accompany him as he reflects. In The Sign of the Four, for example, he says: “When I have to reflect deeply, I usually smoke half a dozen pipes in a row.” So, if you like mystery and intrigue fiction, following this character’s investigations is an excellent choice. You can start with A Study in Scarlet, the first novel in which this detective became known, of course, along with Dr. Watson; The Hound of Baskerville, one of his most iconic novels; or The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, his mythical series of stories.
Another option. If complex characters and hard- boiled, this is the read for you. It is Lady Nicotine, by J. M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, and some consider it to be the best piece of writing about tobacco ever written. In this novel, Lady Nicotine is the female personification of this product and, with great symbolism, she shown as a woman who walks through seduction and addiction. It is a fun and ironic read and a metaphor for the fascinating power of tobacco.
And when talking about tobacco and literature, Ernest Hemingway could not be left out. The Nobel Prize winner spent most of his life living in Cuba, close to Havana and the Caribbean culture. He adopted customs such as the love of rum, fishing and, of course, Habanos. Smoking for him was a gesture of enjoyment and vital affirmation, almost ritualistic. Reading some of his best-known novels, such as The Old Man and the Sea or Islands in the Stream -where the main character, the painter Thomas Hudson, smokes while he paints, fishes or reflects on the death of his children- will transport you to Cuba without leaving your armchair.
And Finally, we cannot forget two great literary classics: Romeo and Juliet, the tragedy by William Shakespeare, where the relationship between tobacco and literature is not in the content, but in the fact that the work inspired the name of the Habanos Romeo y Julieta brand, also present in Cuban mini cigars; and The Count of Montecristo, by Alexandre Dumas, which has given its name to the Cuban brand Montecristo. What better way to accompany these readings than with a Cuban mini cigar of the same brands?
