“a richly entertaining debut … Acosta is a natural storyteller”
The Irish Times

Chairperson: Seona MacReamoinn Carlos Acosta is not a man to rest on his laurels. His rise from breakdancing street kid in 1980s Cuba to become principal of the Royal Ballet, and one of the greatest dancers of his generation, showed his determination to succeed against all the odds. At the age of 40 he is still dancing at the highest level, but he has already begun to take on new challenges. Last year he made his film debut and now, despite never having read a book until he was in his twenties, he has written his first novel. Pig’s Foot takes inspiration from the masters of Latin American magic realism to tell a dazzling story spanning Cuban history from the 19th century to the present day. The hero is Oscar Mandinga, a charismatic and slippery narrator whose search for the meaning of the magical pig’s foot he wears as an amulet takes him to Pata de Puerco, a forgotten village in south-east Cuba once inhabited by slaves. Set against the backdrop of colonialism and revolution, Pig’s Foot is a beautifully written debut packed with outlandish yarns and unforgettable characters.