Castro Is Dead is both a portrait of Cuba in the 21st century and a masterly study of political manipulation, resilience, hypocrisy, and broken dreams.

This powerful novel opens in Cuba in 2003 and ends in August 2006, the day Fidel Castro announces his retirement. When he arrives in Havana, Vincent, a French writer, discovers “a peaceful city, almost provincial, far-off from the frenzied outside world,” where the old hotels dear to Hemingway are now four-star resorts and a foreign passport is a ticket to romance. He has no inclination for these kinds of indulgences, but when he learns about a massive arrest of dissidents, he finds a reason to prolong his stay.

In less than a week, 75 professors, librarians, and other intellectuals are sentenced to more than 1,500 years in prison. Juan Valero, an independent journalist who used to be one of the most fervent supporters of the Cuban Revolution, is one of them. On his way to the infamous prison of Boniato, he knows that only the death of the Leader Maximo can save him. But weeks and months go by, and the only news he hears is about the demise of the musicians who symbolized the soul of Cuba: Compay Segundo, Célia Cruz, and Ibrahim Ferrer.