The three pieces gathered in The Strange Case of Rachel K roughly map
the genesis of Rachel Kushner's fiction. From the fate of a conquistador
in "The Great Exception," to the illegal radio broadcasts and then bombs
in "Debouchment," to a Havana courtesan's "strange" case, these stories
build into a vision of Cuba that is black-humored, brutal, and
beautiful. In this collection, which "overflows in atmosphere as it
shows off the burgeoning talent of one of our best writers" (NPR),
Rachel Kushner is forging her own original path into the wilds of
contemporary fiction.