Oscar Hijuelos was born of Cuban parentage in New York City in 1951. He is a recipient of the Rome Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, among others. His five novels have been translated into twenty-five languages.
'Street-smart and lyrical, impassioned and reflective ! a rich and provocative book' The New York Times 'By turns street-smart and lyrical, impassioned and reflective, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is a rich and provocative book--a moving portrait of a man, his family, a community and a time' - Michiko Kakutani, New York Times 'The book is a hymn to music, to heterosexual love... There is a hedonism and pain, ecstasy and despair, devotion and lechery... A fantastic novel' Evening Standard