Hot Latin Lovers! This is the story of the life of Maria Garcia, the beautiful Cuban dancer from the author's previous novel, "The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love", which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. "Mambo Kings" had more hot sex scenes than all the previous Pulitzer Prize winners combined, and this novel continues in that same tradition.
Maria grows from a poor illiterate child in rural Cuba, to a dancer in the pre-Castro nightclubs of Havana. She meets Nestor Castillo, one of the brothers at the heart of the Mambo Kings, and inspires him to write the classic love song that is the title of the novel.
The story follows Maria through her life, as she loves many men, has a daughter, escapes from Cuba to the US, marries, and so on. Always, her love for Nestor is something she cannot forget.
In an odd twist, the author shows up in his own novel as a character!. I cannot remember this happening in any of the other thousands of novels I have read. It's an intriguing twist to the story, and adds some verisimilitude, leaving the reader wondering what is real and what is fiction.
The novel is well done and satisfying, the love scenes are hot and graphic, and the portrayal of Cuba and Cubans realistic. Highly recommended.
