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A 2011 Audie® Award Finalist

A Booklist Top 10 of 2010: Fiction

A Kirkus Reviews’ Top 25 Books of 2010

An AudioFile Editors’ Pick

Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award

“I fell instantly in love with the glorious soul of Beautiful María of My Soul. Hijuelos has created and brought to life two beloved characters, a heart-stealing heroine and Havana during an epoch of changing fate.” —Amy Tan, bestselling author of The Joy Luck Club

“María enchants whether she's dancing in clubs, appearing in advertisements, or walking the sweltering streets of Havana. Her story is one of fierce love, luscious sex, and otherworldly beauty, but also of heartbreak and hardness…Hijuelos's Havana is as much a full-fleshed character as María as it endures the rise of Castro and the mass exodus of Cubans to Miami in the 1960s. An intelligent and playful ending caps off a vivid story that should delight readers of The Mambo Kings and enthrall those new to Hijuelos's imaginative and florid voice.” —Publishers Weekly

“Yes, it is a story of grand passion found, lost, and mourned, but it is also the story of a young, illiterate girl escaping a life of rural poverty and making a career for herself in the city. Nobody writes sex scenes like Hijuelos—graphic and poetic at once, a symphony of lush language, both sweaty and transcendent — but he brings the same passion to his descriptions of Maria…As with Madame Bovary, the life force fills Maria’s passionate soul, but she also craves security (‘Who will take care of me?’), and that hardheadedness is both her salvation and her tragedy.” —Booklist (starred review)

“A sequel to The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love that sings with the sweet sensuality of its predecessor…The novelist returns to tell the story of Maria, to render her as flesh and blood as well as exotic (and erotic) inspiration…The novel shows how the beautiful Maria chooses her destiny, rebels against it and makes peace with it. The prose combines the simplicity of a folk tale with the lyricism of a romantic balladeer and the depth of a philosopher, as it encompasses what Maria considers ‘her holy trinity: God, love, and death’…The result is a sequel that can be relished independently of the first volume while harmonizing with it. More than worth the wait.” —Kirkus Reviews

“The novel, which takes Maria from Havana to Miami and from uneducated girl to experienced woman, is elegantly written and dramatic. Duran effortlessly switches from Cuban to American accents, masterfully representing the large cast, especially Cuban characters, who receive differing, recognizable voices. A rich and compelling performance.” —Booklist

“Armando Durán’s interpretation couldn’t be more sensitive, more evocative, or more erotic as he tackles the complexities and contradictions of Beautiful Maria…Durán maintains a narrator’s objective distance yet creates unforgettable characters brimming with passion…Durán’s sensual performance will melt your earbuds. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.” —AudioFile

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a contemporary American classic, a book that still captivates and inspires readers twenty years after its first publication. Now, in Beautiful Maria of My Soul, Oscar Hijuelos returns to this indelible story, to tell it from the point of view of its beloved heroine, Maria.

She’s the great Cuban beauty who stole musician Nestor Castillo’s heart and broke it, inspiring him to write the Mambo Kings’ biggest hit, “Beautiful Maria of My Soul.” Now in her sixties and living in Miami with her pediatrician daughter, Teresa, Maria remains a beauty, still capable of turning heads. But she has never forgotten Nestor, and as she thinks back to her days—and nights—in Havana, an entirely new perspective on the Mambo Kings story unfolds.

About the Author: OSCAR HIJUELOS is the son of Cuban immigrants. His seven novels have been translated into twenty-five languages. He lives in New York City.