The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "It was a Saturday afternoon on La Salle Street, years and years ago when I was a little kid, and around three o'clock Mrs. Shannon,..." (more)
Key Phrases: linen pantalones, ball microphone, black instrument case, Mambo King, Cesar Castillo, Hotel Splendour (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Inspired by their heroes Xavier Cugat and Desi Arnaz, brothers Cesar and Nestor Castillo come to New York City from Cuba in 1949 with designs on becoming mambo stars. Eventually they do--performing with Arnaz on "I Love Lucy" in 1955 and recording 78s with their own band, the Mambo Kings. In his second novel, Hijuelos traces the lives of the flashy, guitar-strumming Cesar and the timid, lovelorn Nestor as they cruise the East Coast club circuit in a flamingo-pink bus. Enriching the story are the brothers' friends and family members--all driven by their own private dreams. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love won a Pulitzer Prize in 1990. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

The Mambo Kings are two brothers, Cesar and Nestor Castillo, Cuban-born musicians who immigrate to New York City in 1949. They form a band and enjoy modest success, their popularity peaking in 1956 with a guest appearance on the I Love Lucy show. PW lauded this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel: "Hijuelos's pure storytelling skills commission every incident with a life and breath of its own."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060955457
• ISBN-13: 978-0060955458
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #427,919 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep An Open Mind, March 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (Paperback)

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!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is bad, May 27, 2005

By	D B Cooper "Dan" (New England USA) - See all my reviews

This won a pulitzer for reasons I don't understand. Maybe it's because I'm not sophisticated enough, but after reading Gunter Grass I'm starting to think literary awards are given out on the basis of how regular and detailed the physical descriptions of male genitalia and its veins are in the book. This is a leaving Las Vegas style story about a guy who decides to drink himself to death. The only problem is he's lived his whole life and settled in to die by a quarter of the way through the book. This book gives you empathy with the main character not by putting you in his skin through skilled storytelling, but by boring you to the point you yourself know what it's like to want to die. This book seems mainly to be loved by those who deem it a mark of sophistication to like things most people find offensive. Sex, foul language, crude descriptions - they're all fine as a means to an end but this books parades them for no literary purpose I can detect. This book has interesting elements, but it's bad.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful plot, beautiful writing..., February 21, 2004

By	Kate (Australia) - See all my reviews

This was an excellent read, if not sold simply because of the vivid colourful Latino descriptions of the people, the persusaive sense of the fire of Latin America, and of course, the constant, often coarse, sex scenes.

It was such a bittersweet book, such an undercurrence of sadness and loss. It was essentially, a lament to old age and wasted youth. The detail is incredible, the emotions very real. It effectively captures the horrible sinking inevitability of death.

Hijelo's characters are wild, if not dislikable. This is perhaps the finest point of the piece; the characters are utterly human and terribly flawed.

Cesor's incredible libedo is at the forefront of the work, and there is a sense of humidity, sweat and the smells of sex that pervade the work. Hijelo should be admired for being able to conjuer up such senses. I found it a sensual read, however I disagree with many who describe the sex as sensual. It seemed very coarse, but this is not a criticism, it served its coarse purposes.

The only criticism I have is the distracting nature of many of the sex scenes. The sheer amount of them seemed somewhat unnecessary, however, they began to fade once Cesar aged.

Over all, innovative and superb.