The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love

Disgraceful

I can not believe that this book won a Pulitzer Prize. It is borderline pornographic and recants the story of two brothers whose lives were spent womanizing and drinking and to a small extent making music. It drones on and on and yet none of the characters are developed. It is disgraceful how it portrays Latin-American society and dwells on Desi Arnaz as if he were the pinnacle of achievement for Cuban-Americans. If this was the best they could find in 1990 it would have been better to issue no award!

Hot or Not

A novel about passion, life, music and sprited Cubans... what could be better! The novel takes you on a whirlwind of emotions as you relive the lives of these musicians with a colorful new york backdrop. The book moves quickly at times, but drags on and on at others. There is not much dialogue and it may become tedious to read, however the stories are thrilling and heartbreaking all at once. The ending was slightly depressing and somewhat disapointing, but how else could it end?

Gorgeous and Heartbreaking

This novel was simply a joy to read. The most obvious theme would be music, but this also very much a book about family, about memory and loss, and about love and sex. It is every human experience packed into one busy, beautiful, and colorful novel. The tale of the very different but equally fascinating Castillo brothers and their struggles to make a happy life for themselves in New York-- while making peace with their past in Cuba--is one the most magical I have ever read. The story grabs you within the first few pages and transports you back in time. It's very easy to read this novel and get lost in all of its wonderful detail of life in 1950's New York. The story is written in a charming, humorous, sometimes sad, and sometimes explicit way, and will stay with you long after you've finished reading it.

Entertaining and emotional!

Wonderful and entertaining story of the Mambo Kings. What a difficult life each had, yet there was such a bond of love and devotion that is almost unreal. Full of culture, politics, and unrest this is an eventful read that is entertaining, riveting, and full of character development.

Music, drinking, & sex

This is a story of the whorlwind life of two brothers who live for music. Their struggles, partying, and passions consume this book and make it emotional and full of cultural Latin America. A recommended read if you want something a little different!

Moving and passionate

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a wonderful and passionate novel. It is a look inside the heart of a culture that has added much to it's adopted country. I grew up with many expatriot Cubans and pieces of Cesar Castillo could be found in all of them.

Music for the eyes

The best novels seem to be able to take the reader to worlds that they may never get to see. In 'Mambo Kings Play Songs Of Love,' we are taken to the Cuban-emigre community of New York City, particularly the mambo craze of the 40's and 50's, culminating in the Castillo brothers' appearance as Ricky Ricardo's cousins on 'I Love Lucy.' This gives the brothers lives that they could never even dream of back in their native small Cuban town. What makes the novel really remarkable is the ability to transcend the usual stereotypes of the 'Latin Lover,' which Cesar seems to be early in the novel, or the bitter Cuban emigre, that brother Nestor can be sometimes. Instead, we see both brothers affected deeply by life, love, and loss that makes itself manifest in the vibrant forms of mambo. As the novel concludes, we the reader have also felt life, love and loss, and no novel could acheive better. My only complaint might be that this novel should come with a soundtrack. (I cannot comment on the effectiveness of the film's soundtrack--I'll leave that to others).

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