Beautiful María of My Soul

  • Author Oscar Hijuelos
  • Narrator Armando Durán
  • Publisher Blackstone Publishing
  • Run Time 12 hours and 36 minutes
  • Format Audio
  • Genre Fiction: general and literary.
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What to expect

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a contemporary American classic, a book that still captivates and inspires readers more than 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.

Critics Review

  • “Hijuelos has created and brought to life two beloved characters, a heart-stealing heroine and Havana during an epoch of changing fate.”

    Amy Tan, #1 New York Times bestselling author

  • “Savor the mysterious power of a master’s pentimento.”

    Los Angeles Times

  • “It takes a lot of nerve and skill to pull off something as rich as Beautiful MarÍa of My Soul, but pull it off Hijuelos does.”

    Cleveland Plain Dealer

  • “Duran effortlessly switches from Cuban to American accents, masterfully representing the large cast…A rich and compelling performance.”

    Booklist (audio review)

  • “Armando Durán’s interpretation couldn’t be more sensitive, more evocative, or more erotic as he tackles the complexities and contradictions of beautiful Maria…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

    AudioFile

  • “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.”

    Booklist (starred review)

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