The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1989) by Oscar Hijuelos

 1,001 Novels: A Library of America

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (1989)

by Oscar Hijuelos

Manhattan

Manhattan: 27/33

New York: 76/105

 Oscar Hijuelos won the Pultize Prize for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love in 1990.  The copy I checked out from the library said, "The first latino to win a Pulitzer Prize" which sounded insane, but it's true.  I think I'm the record re my lack of respect for the Pulitzer.  To be fair I've read 11 of the past 13 winners.  Before that point in time it's patchy. It was nice to knock this book out under the auspices of the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America, where it represents the Cuban-American experience in New York City.  Cuban-Americans join Haitian-Americans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Barbadians  in the constellation of represented ethnicities from the Caribbean within the melting pot of New York City.  Here is one observation derived from reading these books:  Most of the ethnicities hang out solely within their own ethnic groups in the books selected for the 1,001 Novels: A Library of America.  The number of genuine cross-cultural experience I've read about in this series is very limited.    That also goes for socio-economic status, up and down the board, most novels only deal with characters from a single socio economic group.  You would not expect that from New York City but I think it says something about the goal of most of these writers- which is to relate their own or their parent's experience in fictional form.

   Or maybe it just speaks to the fact of a segregated society, even in the meltiest of melting pots. One perspective I have not embraced is that of the "macho" which is the name for a set of attitudes embraced by men from all over the Caribbean in several of the titles in the 1,001 Novels list.  To be a "macho"- it's not used as an adjective but more like a proper noun- macho as a philosophy.  The basic idea is that you have to be strong when you are with women and "show them who is the boss," whether by physical abuse or mental abuse.  Obviously, none of these characters are particularly sympathetic, though you do come across women who embrace it a la stockholm syndrome.  Today we call it "domestic violence."

  The titular Mambo Kings are two brothers- one, shy and reserved, the other boisterous and flamboyant.   The whole book is told as the flamboyant brother lies dying in a welfare hotel (presumably the location of the map point on the 1,001 Novels map) in flash-back form.  The Mambo King, as he is known after his brother dies (no spoiler alerts for 30 year old books) has a few regrets, but he also has fond memories, mostly of screwing the putas with his big pinga.  The sex scenes are frequent and graphic- pretty risqué even today.  The Mambo King treats his women like shit, doesn't follow his Doctor's advice and dies alone and in pain in a welfare hotel.  He did have some good times along the way!  It struck me as a particularly sad existence, whether intentional or not on the part of the author. 

  I looked through his New York Times reviews- I think it is fair to say that from the perspective of the literary world he was a one-hit wonder.  The reviews remained respectful (and he got reviews) but his obituary only mentions his other books in passing.  Certainly, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love did not interest me in further pursuit of the Hijuelos bibliography.