diff --git a/pylib/setup.py b/pylib/setup.py
index ab1ac14..5cff17f 100755
--- a/pylib/setup.py
+++ b/pylib/setup.py
@@ -22,13 +22,18 @@
 
 
 def get_extensions():
-    if "--no-compile" not in sys.argv:
-        try:
-            from Cython.Build import cythonize
-            return cythonize(Extension(name='copyutil', sources=["cqlshlib/copyutil.py"], define_macros=[("CYTHON_LIMITED_API", "1")]))
-        except ImportError:
-            warnings.warn("installing cython could speed things up for you; `pip install cython`")
-    return []
+    if "--no-compile" in sys.argv:
+        return []
+
+    try:
+        from Cython.Build import cythonize
+        extensions = [Extension(name='copyutil',
+                                sources=["cqlshlib/copyutil.py"],
+                                define_macros=[("CYTHON_LIMITED_API", "1")])]
+        return cythonize(extensions,
+                         compiler_directives={'language_level': '3str'})
+    except ImportError:
+        warnings.warn("installing cython could speed things up for you; `pip install cython`")
 
 
 setup(