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Summary: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love
Review: "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love" is a book that has really made me ask myself who and what I want to be as a person. This book is about two young latino brothers, Cesar and Nestor Castillo who have come from Cuba to the United States to persue a dream of playing their Mambo music and to entertain people. This book does a great job of showing the ups and downs of the brothers personal lives and the their lives as musicans. The book does a fair job describing the the Castillo family as a whole. You just Don't hear much about Cesar and Nestors immediate family down in Cuba, which I thought was somewhat disappointing because I really think this could have answered a lot of questions that I asked myself through this book, like why was Nestor so hung up on one girl or why sex is so important to Cesar. This book was very decriptive in many of the sexual encounters the brother had espescially Cesar's. Through out this book the question of family and what it means to the brothers is somthing that I asked myself. Wether it was boyfriend and girlfriend, mother and father, or parents and childeren, I have had mixed feelings on how family members had been treated. Thinking about the lives the brothers lead of drinking, womeninzing, and having horrific diets I would have to say, besides the "I love Lucy Show" their lives have been disappointing. Cesar never learns the true meaning of love and respect throughout his life. The words weak and helpless desribe Cesar Castillo perfectly.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow
Review: After I read this book, I immediately read all of Hijuelos' other books; this one remains the best of them all. It is absolutely riveting, spell-binding, fascinating, entertaining, and VERY erotic (be warned about that if that sort of thing is not for you because it's intense and extremely descriptive, also beautiful, and some of the best erotic text I've ever read). This book is as rythmic and melodious as the music from which it draws its inspiration. If I could do it over, I almost wouldn't read this book first, because to me the rest of Hijuelos' are a bit of a let-down in comparison, and patterns in his themes begin to become apparent that make them less enjoyable (although reading it first is a good thing for not knowing about the patterns)....Great Book!
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Summary: Fire and water
Review: Anybody coming out of this book disappointed is missing the point completely--the Pulitzer Prize may be highly sought after in literary circles, but it's not the 'Holy Grail'. Oscar Hijuelos sets out to create a mood, a feel, as much as a story, and to that end, he totally succeeds.Very few books have taken me to places and kept me there throughout. His dialogue is sharp as well as colourful; his characters, exxagerated but no less memorable, and his (use of) flowing stream of consciousness as a writing style works well for the most part. If you have passion, you'll really enjoy this book. If you're from the mid-west, it's just another log on the fire.
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Summary: Keep An Open Mind
Review: 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!
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Summary: Graphic Sexuality
Review: Our book club of 9 recently read this book. Actually, out of the nine, only 4 read it because the others were too disgusted with Mr. Hijuelos never-ending lurid descriptions of the male organ, and that's too bad. Take away all the sex, and you can understand why Mr. Hijuelos won the Pulitzer Prize for this novel. The emotional highs and lows that these men faced, and the demons who plagued them, will have you thinking about this book for a long time to come. The character development and beautifully written prose are two of Mr. Hijuelos strong points, and the introduction of Desi Arnaz into the story line was fun. Passages to remember: "That was the thing in those days: to be seen with a woman like Vanna was prestigious as a passport, a high-school diploma, a full-time job, a record contract, a 1951 DeSoto." "His mother's affection was so strong that for one brief moment he had an insight into love: pure unity. That's all she became in those moments, the will to love, the principle of love, the protectiveness of love, the grandeur of love."
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Summary: A Book that is Hot and Spicy, filled with Music and Love
Review: 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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Summary: Man, The Mambo Kings Can Play, and Boy , Can Hijuelos Write
Review: The moment I started to read The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, I knew I would like it. The writing is descriptive and creative, and the author, Oscar Hijuelos makes you want to keep turning the page. The two main characters, Cesar and Nestor, are two musicians trying to make it big in the 1950's writing the music of the time, jazz. While playing jazz, the two brothers experience everything from writing new songs, appearing on the "I Love Lucy" show, meeting other famous musicians, new women, and a new lifestyle after moving to America from Cuba. The brothers experience life as Cuban immigrants feeling the positives and negatives of being the minority in the country. Different clothes, different people, and the love of women are what the two brothers get out of writing their sexy, smooth,jazz songs.
Hijuelos tells their lives before an after as struggling musicians with wittiness, detail, and flair. Hijuelos combines these three aspects causing the reader to become anxious and constantly curious. I have never read an author who wrote with such detail, imagination, and description. The descriptive scenes make the reader feel as if they were another one of the characters in the book. Since the story is very descriptive, the book tends to be long and drawn out at some times, but only occasionally. Don't get me wrong, the book does keep you interested and sometime even laughing out loud. At some points I even found my self in disbelief at the vivid descriptions of the many sex scenes in the book, and the smooth, sly ways of the Mambo Kings. This book has it all, love, heartache, sex, and emotion. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is one that you have to add to your reading collection today!
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Summary: Smooth Grooves
Review: The moment I started to read The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, I knew I would like it. The writing is descriptive and creative, and the author, Oscar Hijuelos makes you want to keep turning the page. The two main characters, Cesar and Nestor, are two musicians trying to make it big in the 1950's writing the music of the time, jazz. While playing jazz, the two brothers experience everything from writing new songs, appearing on the "I Love Lucy" show, meeting other famous musicians, new women, and a new lifestyle after moving to America from Cuba. The brothers experience life as Cuban immigrants feeling the positives and negatives of being the minority in the country. Different clothes, different people, and the love of women are what the two brothers get out of writing their sexy, smooth,jazz songs.
Hijuelos tells their lives before an after as struggling musicians with wittiness, detail, and flair. Hijuelos combines these three aspects causing the reader to become anxious and constantly curious. I have never read an author who wrote with such detail, imagination, and description. The descriptive scenes make the reader feel as if they were another one of the characters in the book. Since the story is very descriptive, the book tends to be long and drawn out at some times, but only occasionally. Don't get me wrong, the book does keep you interested and sometime even laughing out loud. At some points I even found my self in disbelief at the vivid descriptions of the many sex scenes in the book, and the smooth, sly ways of the Mambo Kings. This book has it all, love, heartache, sex, and emotion. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is one that you have to add to your reading collection today!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful plot, beautiful writing...
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Was able to put down.
Review: What mainly attracted me to this book was the fact that it had won the Pulitzer Prize. Therefore, I assumed it was going to be excellent; however, I was very disappointed. The plot had immense potential. There, supposedly, was the tale of the Castillo brothers, Cuban immigrants who come to New York hoping to "make it" as mambo musicians. They worked at a factory during the day, and worked at different clubs at night, and the tale was to tell of their daily life and neighborhood fame. The book's plot, however, centers around the "busy" sex life of the older brother Cesar, and the depression of the younger brother, Nestor... There is still, however, the faint story of the brother's fame. They become very popular in their neighborhood during the 1950s--the Mambo era--and manage to catch the attention of Desi Arnaz, who later invites the boys to appear in an episode of I Love Lucy (marking the heighth of the "Mambo Kings" fame and glory). After Arnaz, however, things fall apart and what's left of the Mambo Kings is old, tired, and pitiful. While Cesar's sex life and Nestor's depression were the main plots, there were other shorter stories that really didn't fit... In general, this book was poorly written (grammatical and spelling errors are everywhere), underdeveloped, and, at points, almost pornographic. It did not "move" me, and I never cared about any of the characters. This book was an extreme disappointment, and it's a wonder it won the Pulitzer. I wouldn't buy, or even read, this book.
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