Reviews

The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien by Oscar Hijuelos

fetzpahs2002's review

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5.0

A story of generations of a family, the mother and father, their fourteen daughters and one son, and their children and grandchildren. Wide ranging and varied as the focus is one then another then another through the others and back and forth. Compelling and generally positive.

stingo's review against another edition

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5.0

What an amazing book. I have to admit, it took me a while to get into it, but the brilliant writing kept me interested until I got hooked on the story. It is the tale of Irish-born Nelson O'Brien and Cuban-born Mariela Montez and their fifteen children, though much of the story is related from the eldest's (Margarita) and youngest's (Emilio) viewpoint. A wonderful mass of life, it chronicles their hopes, dreams and travails, starting in the early 1900s and continuing into the 1990s. To use a favorite term of a friend mine, Hijuelos is a fine adjective mongerer, who writes beautifully, and whose magic may be slow to enthrall, but once it captures you you stay got. A most excellent way to start out the 2015 year in books.

suannelaqueur's review

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5.0

I don't know how Oscar Hijuelos created a family of seventeen and made each member unique and memorable, but The Fourteen Sisters of Emilio Montez O'Brien is a masterpiece of both writing and food. Read more here: http://suannelaqueurwrites.com/literary-eats/literary-eats-the-fourteen-sisters-of-emilio-montez-obrien

maureenabell78's review

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3.0

the first half was slow - which is why I kept putting it down to read other books - but by the end it narrowed down to a few of the siblings and became more manageable.