The first new English translation in more than sixty years of the best-known book by the most important Cuban novelist of the twentieth century, about a composer who flees his stultifying life in New York City for the freedom of the South American wilderness-featuring a new introduction by Leonardo PaduraA Penguin ClassicA composer, fleeing an empty existence in New York City, takes a journey with his mistress to one of the few remaining areas of the world not yet touched by civilization-the upper reaches of a great South American river. The Lost Steps describes his search, his adventures, and the remarkable decision he makes in a village that seems to be truly outside history.