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Title: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love: A Novel by Oscar Hijuelos ISBN: 0-06-095545-7 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 January, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.55 (33 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Keep An Open Mind
Comment: I read this book, for the first time, for a college American Literature course about seven years ago. The teacher warned everyone in advance that it "may appear to be a bit too descriptive, too sexual but to please keep an open mind" because this was an integral part of the book. He was right. I found this book to be fascinating, sensual and written clearly enough that I felt as though I was a character on the sidelines, watching these two brothers go through their lives. To the readers who found this degrading to women, try to realize that these were lovers in the true definition. They were Cuban men who absolutely adored women; they appreciated the beauty of all women and showed it in the most physical sense possible. As a woman, I found the book to be truly sensual and enjoyable. Since reading this book I have made a point to read all of Hijuelos' books and, every year or two, I pick up "Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" to go back to that time of raw sensuality that Hijuelos describes so well.
My teacher was right. Keep an open mind while reading this, or any, book. But, don't deny yourself the luxury of reading such a wonderful book!
Rating: 3
Summary: Entertaining enough but lacking in literary qualities
Comment: It's not unreasonable to have high expectations of a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It's also seldom that the movie is better than the book, so it's doubly disappointing that Oscar Hijuelos' much lauded "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (MKPSOL)" should prove to be such a shallow, shabby and one dimensional affair. The novel's premise hold much promise - tale of two Cuban brothers who work at a meat packing plant by day but transform into gilded musicians in a band by night - but the execution is surprisingly amateurish. Characterisation is poor - both Cesar and Nestor seem like caricatures (the extrovert/hunk and the introvert/dreamer) rather than rounded or believable characters. We never truly understand their psyche but then we don't really care because we can't relate to them anyway. The graphic sex scenes that litter the novel keep repeating every three pages or so. They are not an affront to good taste - we are not prudes - but cheapen the reading experience. The plot also suffers from a lack of dramatic momentum. The storyline stalls some place midway, becomes quickly boring and repetitive and degenerates into a one note samba. Hijuelos' prose may be straightforward, easy on the eyes, easy on the brains but curiously flat and pulp fiction like. Only the Desi Arnaz episode manages to lift MKPSOL from its low aim by showing the funny side to the American psyche - always ready to be star struck. MKPSOL makes for a light entertaining (albeit over long) read but it hasn't remotely the literary qualities worthy of its Pulitzer Prize winning status. I can't imagine it surviving as serious literature for the ages. If you want to read a good book by a Cuban or similar writer, go for either Christina Garcia or Julia Alvarez.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Book that is Hot and Spicy, filled with Music and Love
Comment: The lives of Cuban immigrant musicians explored. Two brothers, Nestor & Cesar, part of "The Mambo Kings", playing their music, making records, finding fame, until a traffic accident kills the music. This book shows how the brothers' personalities were formed by their abusive father. Nestor: Sorrowful, prone to anxiety attacks, who, even after many years of marriage, is still pining for Maria, who left him for another. He lacks self-esteem and needs sorrow to create his music. Cesar: Made powerless by his father, finds his own power in his sexuality. He beds many women without forming true intimate relationships. He is vibrant, handsome and charismatic and needs happiness to create his music. Be forewarned - there are many graphic sexual situations.
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Title: A Simple Habana Melody by Oscar Hijuelos ISBN: 0060928697 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 17 June, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain: Stories by Robert Olen Butler ISBN: 0802137989 Publisher: Grove Press Pub. Date: 10 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor ISBN: 0375701176 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 29 June, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields ISBN: 014023313X Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: April, 1995 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Martin Dressler : The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser ISBN: 0679781277 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 25 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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