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A review by sarahanne8382
Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos
4.0
Revisiting his 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, Hijuelos tells the story of the muse behind the Mambo Kings biggest hit. Maria Garcia y Ciufuentes begins the book as a 17-year-old illiterate country bumpkin who must quickly learn street smarts in Havana's club scene in the 1940s and '50s. As a headlining dancer at the numerous second-tier clubs of that era, Maria eventually meets successful gangster Ignacio who sets her up with a comfortable life, but is anything but faithful and eventually becomes abusive. In walks gallant but struggling musician Nestor Castillo and the two embark on a passionate love affair, but ultimately Maria must choose between love and security. The story continues as Maria deals with the consequences of her actions.
While covering similar territory, reading Mambo Kings is not required to appreciate this story. A few instances that occur in both books are told very differently this time around thanks to the different perspectives of the characters narrating, so everything is new this time around. Mambo Kings was an achingly beautiful story about love and longing and missed opportunities and music's ability to express all of that. While Hijuelos still has a lyrical quality to his narration, Beautiful Maria is instead a more realistic account of a young woman trying not to be taken advantage of and making hard choices to survive. One thing they do have in common are the explicit and numerous sex scenes, so these are clearly books for adults. Overall, these are two unique books, and I highly recommend both of them.
While covering similar territory, reading Mambo Kings is not required to appreciate this story. A few instances that occur in both books are told very differently this time around thanks to the different perspectives of the characters narrating, so everything is new this time around. Mambo Kings was an achingly beautiful story about love and longing and missed opportunities and music's ability to express all of that. While Hijuelos still has a lyrical quality to his narration, Beautiful Maria is instead a more realistic account of a young woman trying not to be taken advantage of and making hard choices to survive. One thing they do have in common are the explicit and numerous sex scenes, so these are clearly books for adults. Overall, these are two unique books, and I highly recommend both of them.