Empress of the Splendid Season

"A tender novel . . . This quality comes from the struggle between [Lydia's] instinct for self-invention and her inability to invent a suitable self."—New York Times Book Review

"Nobody writes better about sensual life than Hijuelos, and Empress resounds with sights, tastes, textures and even the humming ambience of deep, well-appointed brownstone apartments . . . [I]t's hard to think of a contemporary novelist who writes better about the people he knows than Hijuelos."—Los Angeles Times

“A richly narrated novel . . . explores with passion . . . the strange workings of life, love, [and] family.”—Elle

“A slow dance, an elegy to a cleaning woman that continues the author’s celebration of his Cuban roots. A character endowed with romantic yearnings, Lydia moves with stoic grace through the decades . . . Emotional fine tuning and pitch-perfect prose.” —Time

"Depicting Spanish Harlem with relentless realism, Hijuelos penetrates the lives behind the humble tenements and massive university buildings. With poignancy, he captures the lonely fear of Lydia's son as he makes his way up the ladder of American success, the apex of which is perhaps not as enviable as he and Lydia assume. Familiar Hijuelos elements—Latin music, introspective men, touches of magic realism in quietly powerful prose—render here a tender and undramatic portrait of a complex woman and her culture."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Well written and engrossing."—Library Journal

"The author shows himself one of our most affectionate chroniclers of the city's less favored neighborhoods as the '60s come and go, then the '70s, and as the Espaa family passes with dignity in tact through time, life, work, sorrow, and love. Sturdy truths and honest humanity in another look at life la Hijuelos."—Kirkus

"Finely detailed, funny, sweet . . . a deliberately simple story graced with the power of the ordinary."—NPR

"Hijuelos is telling a story about small people, but in his skillful hands, they carry big ideas." —USA Today

"In Hijuelos's latest work, the dream is both more soulful and more complex, made up of familial love, friendship, hard work, and, finally, an appreciation of the simple goodness in people . . . Hujuelos manages through Lydia's tale to convey the most elusive of human experiences: reconciliation to one's fate, the satisfaction of love of a good person, and the simple dignity achieved through a life of decency." —Washington Post