Heretics

By Leonardo Padura, Anna Kushner (translator),

Book cover of Heretics

Book description

"Padura’s Heretics spans and defies literary categories . . . ingenious." ―Maureen Corrigan, Fresh Air

A sweeping novel of art theft, anti-Semitism, contemporary Cuba, and crime from a renowned Cuban author, Heretics is Leonardo Padura's greatest detective work yet.

In 1939, the Saint Louis sails from Hamburg into Havana’s port…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep the lights on. Or join the rebellion as a member.

Why read it?

1 author picked Heretics as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Cuban mystery writer Leonardo Padura offers an amazing presentation of Jewish history and the art of painting as they collide in modern Havana.

He weaves together three stories: the attempted escape from Hitler by Jews aboard a ship that is turned back from the Havana harbor in 1939; the aborted career of an imaginary Jewish disciple of Rembrandt, who defies the biblical prohibition against creating human likenesses; and a contemporary attempt by a Cuban Jew to track down his exterminated family’s Rembrandt masterpiece.

I love how the vastly different worlds of modern Havana and 17th-century Amsterdam embark on a…

Want books like Heretics?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Heretics.

Browse books like Heretics

Book cover of The Ratline: The Exalted Life and Mysterious Death of a Nazi Fugitive
Book cover of A Tale of Love and Darkness
Book cover of The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,080

readers submitted
so far, will you?