Before stepping into the pages of journalist Ullekh NP’s , you might want to get a glimpse of the place where the author grew up, a corner of Kerala where Cuba, an island country many seas away, has held sway as an influence for years. Ullekh confesses to having grown up with this strange fixation, fed on a steady supply of literature about the Cuban Revolution and the Communist connection. When he calls the trip he finally made in the summer of 2023 the “Cuban dream”, the euphoria is evident. Much more than a travelogue, the book is a canvas where all that he had imagined about Cuba proves to be real – for him.

Ullekh is clear which was his sympathies lie. He admits that his monologue to a young Cuban server about the damage done to Cuba by the US sanctions is filled with jargon. She has to intervene politely to tell him that the reasons for Cuba’s economic downfall are not what bothers the young. What they want are results, she says, so that they too can have lives like the ones they watch on Instagram. “Our life is our life, I tell you. Life is easy...