The Mambo Kings Play Songs Of Love
It's 1949 and two young Cuban musicians make their way up from Havana to the big arena of New York, where they are workers by day, stars of dance halls by night. Hijuelos's marvelous portrait of the Castillo brothers, their families, their fellow musicians and lovers, their triumphs and...
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It's 1949 and two young Cuban musicians make their way up from Havana to the big arena of New York, where they are workers by day, stars of dance halls by night. Hijuelos's marvelous portrait of the Castillo brothers, their families, their fellow musicians and lovers, their triumphs and tragedies, re-creates the sights and sounds of an era in music and an unsung moment in American life.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
0374201250
Publish date: 1989
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages no: 407
Edition language: English
I tried to like this book. Partly because I find the Latin music sub-culture of the 50s a fascinating topic and partly because I do think Hijuelos has a fine style of writing. However it is simply too repetitive and uninvolving. I guess I'm supposed to like Cesar and Nestor but I never really find o...
I read this back in 2001. I barely got through it since I was between comps. and transferring to library school. It was my first foray into Hijuelos's works, and I enjoyed very much. My impression back then: >>This is a novel heavy on nostalgia and memory where I could almost hear the music and feel...
This is a great novel - it's full of sex and longing and bad behavior. It's also twice as long as the film, which takes its story from the first half. Definitely a strong work.
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