Our House in the Last World is a fictional novel that presents a vivid portrayal of Cuba.

It begins before the revolution, follows the events during the overthrow of Batista, and explores the subsequent takeover by Fidel Castro and its profound effects on the people.

The story delves into the immigrant experience as it chronicles the lives of a family that migrates from Cuba to Miami and New York, facing numerous struggles along the way.

This novel was written by Hijuelos, one of my favorite authors. It was his first book and is filled with the haunting and beautiful lyrics that he is renowned for.

The passage, "The white blossoms that left Mercedes's hand and fell into the open grave might have drifted endlessly downward -- into the clouds and sky of Cuba, long ago, falling down, carried in a breeze that swayed the treetops and scattered them the road in Holguin," adds a touch of诗意 and mystery to the narrative.

It makes the reader imagine the scene and feel the emotions associated with it. Overall, Our House in the Last World is a captivating novel that offers a unique perspective on Cuban history and the immigrant experience.

3.5***

Hijuelos’ debut novel takes us on a journey that spans five decades. It begins in 1929 in Cuba and ends in 1975 in New York, chronicling the story of the Santinio family. In 1943, Alejo and Mercedes emigrate to New York City from Cuba. Alejo finds work as a cook in a fancy hotel, while Mercedes attempts to build a life in an apartment far from her childhood estate. They have two sons, Horacio and Hector, who grapple with their identities. Are they Americans or Cubans? This novel is not just a love story, but also a family saga, a coming-of-age story, and a portrayal of the immigrant experience.

Alejo is a gregarious man who seems to know no strangers. He is exuberant, generous, and always the life of the party. However, he is consumed by a sense of want. His life has not turned out as he had hoped, and he struggles to understand how things went awry. He turns to drink to numb his sorrows and descends into melancholy. Unbeknownst to him, his actions are pushing his children away, even though all he desires is to be recognized as a respected man and father.

Mercedes, on the other hand, is a woman trapped in the past. She clings to the memories of her glorious life with her father as a young girl. Although she loves Alejo, the man he has become is a stranger to her. She feels alone due to her lack of English proficiency and her reliance on saints, signs, dreams, and mysticism. Fiercely protective of her children, she fails to see that her overbearing nature is harming them rather than helping.

Horacio grows up as a nearly feral child, clearly affected by his parents’ violent arguments. He turns to his friends and the streets for solace, eventually finding an escape in the U.S. Air Force.

Baby Hector is trapped within himself, desperately seeking a way out. He feels neither Cuban nor American, neither a man nor a son. His father dotes on him, but he cannot reciprocate the affection of this unreliable and drunkenly violent man.

Hijuelos’s writing is vivid and passionate, painting a picture of a world where ethereal and mystical scenes coexist with brutal reality. People express their emotions in various ways – yelling in anger, whooping in celebration, crying in despair, and wallowing in silence.

Ahhh what a great autobiography!

This is a classic family saga and coming of age story that truly captivates the reader. It delves into the life of a first generation Cuban American kid, whose immigrant parents, Alejo and Mercedes, arrive in NYC in the mid-1940s in search of a better life.

The book unpacks a plethora of themes, including family values, Cuban culture and identity, and the numerous trials and tribulations that accompany migrating to a different country.

When Alejo and Mercedes reach NYC, they quickly befriend other Cubans, forming a tight-knit community that functions like one big family, always ready to offer help and support. However, Alejo, despite having many opportunities "para hechar pa lante" (to move forward), is held back by fear, causing the American dream to fall short for him. Mercedes, who hails from an educated upper class, struggles to settle in. She experiences loneliness when Alejo leaves for work, and after the birth of their kids, their marriage begins to decline.

As the kids, Horacio and Hector, grow older, they face numerous identity challenges, both within the confines of their home and in their neighborhood. The family dynamic is incredibly complicated, with their parents' constant arguing, their dad's drunkenness, and their mother's delusion having a profound impact on their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.

This book is highly descriptive and is filled with a wealth of Cuban historical facts. Although it may start off slowly, it gradually builds momentum and hits home, leaving a lasting impression. I truly loved it.

The Santinios immigrated from Cuba to New York in the 1940s. This novel delves into the theme of cultural identity as seen through the eyes of Hector, the younger son.

However, I found it quite challenging to develop an affinity for these characters. None of them possessed qualities that made them truly likable.

I did feel a certain degree of sympathy for the brothers. Their father was highly unreliable. He had a penchant for drinking and gambling, often disappearing without a trace. As a result, he was not always there for them when they needed him.

On the other hand, their mother did her utmost. But she faced numerous difficulties in coping with her new life in New York. She frequently struggled to make ends meet and did not always have enough money to fulfill the basic needs of her children.

Overall, the story presents a complex and somewhat tragic picture of this immigrant family's experience.

Ahhh what a great autobiography! This is a classic family saga and coming of age story that truly captivates the reader. It delves into the life of a first generation Cuban American kid, whose immigrant parents, Alejo and Mercedes, arrived in NYC in the mid-1940s in search of a better life.

This book unpacks a plethora of themes: family values, Cuban culture and identity, and the numerous trials and tribulations that accompany migrating to a different country.

When Alejo and Mercedes first reach NYC, they quickly befriend other Cubans, forming a tight-knit community that feels like one big family, always ready to offer help. However, Alejo, despite having many opportunities "para hechar pa lante" (to move forward), succumbs to fear, causing the American dream to elude him. Mercedes, hailing from an educated upper class, struggles to settle in. She experiences loneliness when Alejo leaves for work, and after the birth of their kids, their marriage begins to deteriorate.

As the kids, Horacio and Hector, grow older, they face significant identity challenges both at home and in their neighborhood. The family dynamic is extremely complex, with their parents' constant arguing, their dad's drunkenness, and their mother's delusion severely impacting their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.

This book is highly descriptive and is filled with a wealth of Cuban historical facts. Although it may start off slowly, it ultimately hits home and leaves a lasting impression. I absolutely loved it. Thank you NetGalley for providing the arc.

Immigrant Story: Cuba to NYC

In the world of immigrant tales, the journey from Cuba to NYC stands out. It's a story that combines elements of magical realism with a rather dreary undertone.

The protagonist, let's call him Juan, leaves his beloved Cuba with hopes and dreams. The magical realism aspect comes in as he experiences strange and almost otherworldly encounters along the way. Maybe he sees a vision of his future in a passing cloud or hears the whispers of his ancestors guiding him.

However, once he arrives in NYC, the reality sets in. The city that was supposed to be a land of opportunity is instead filled with challenges and hardships. Juan struggles to find a place to live, a job to support himself, and a sense of belonging in this vast and impersonal metropolis.

Despite the dreary circumstances, Juan refuses to give up. He holds onto the magic and hope that brought him here, determined to make a better life for himself and his family back in Cuba.

I was truly captivated by the premise of this book. It presented a rather engaging story that spanned approximately 30 years of a family's life.

The use of changing points of view was a great addition as it allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the different characters. However, I couldn't help but feel that the narrative dragged on for far too long.

The ending, in particular, seemed to be stretched out and became somewhat melodramatic with the loss of the patriarch. Despite this, I have to admit that this is the first work I have read from this author, and I am still interested in exploring more of their books in the future.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. It has given me the opportunity to discover this author and form my own opinions about their writing.

This is a first novel that is rather flawed. However, it does display the characteristics that would come to define his later works. The prose is florid, adding a certain richness and elegance to the text. The author has a remarkable ability to sympathetically render imperfect characters, making them relatable and endearing despite their flaws. The set pieces are knockout, captivating the reader's attention and leaving a lasting impression. And the narrative flow is great, carrying the story forward with ease and keeping the reader engaged from start to finish.

I am truly impressed by the fact that he was able to make such a significant jump from this initial work to "The Mambo Kings" in just five years. It shows tremendous growth and development as a writer. I gave this novel four stars instead of the two and a half that it might objectively deserve simply because I am such a devoted fan of his work. I can't help but be influenced by my admiration for his talent and the potential that I see in this early effort.

Overall, while this first novel may not be perfect, it is still a worthy read for fans of the author and those interested in seeing the evolution of his writing style.

This is the captivating story of a Cuban couple who made the momentous decision to relocate to New York in the 1940s. The novel commences in Cuba and then delves into over 30 years of their lives in the United States. It explores various aspects such as their children, the intense longing for their homeland, a tumultuous marriage, a life filled with hardships, addiction issues, the prevalence of machismo, and the ever-present pain. The storytelling is indeed entertaining, keeping the reader engaged throughout.

However, I can only give this novel three stars. In my opinion, the story seemed to drag on for longer than was necessary. Additionally, I was not particularly fond of the way the female characters were depicted in the story. They all appeared to become overly dramatic and hysterical, with no real lives or purposes beyond their husbands and children. This one-dimensional portrayal of the female characters was a bit disappointing and detracted from the overall enjoyment of the novel.

The writing is indeed quite solid, and in some places, it is downright poetic. The reminiscences of his mother and the family's original heritage are particularly touching.

However, as a reader, I had the sense of skipping around through time and space, which made it feel a bit "loose".

I would have preferred perhaps some more dialog snippets or additional pieces of color. I felt as if I was being talked at, and although a certain amount of that is to be expected for this type of work, I believe the author had the skill and ability to make the history even more engaging.

But, to be fair, I had some difficulty generating interest in the subject matter since I am female, white, and the furthest-possible demographic to connect with the experience. Nevertheless, I admit that it was very well written. It was worth reading for the perspective and insight it provided.

Overall, the author has done a good job, but there is still room for improvement to make the story more captivating and accessible to a wider audience.

I was completely enraptured by this quintessential immigrant story. It was posthumously republished on April 9, 2024, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos.

Alejo Santinio and his young wife Mercedes left their home in Oriente Province, Cuba in 1943, hoping to seek success and magical riches in the USA. However, things did not go according to their plans and dreams. Alejo was generous to a fault. He had no clue how to save money and soon found solace in the stupor of alcoholic dreams. Mercedes was unable to adjust to her new life. She remained resentful of her lot in life and obsessively missed the people she left behind in Cuba. Naturally, the marriage suffered.

Over the span of four decades, the Santinios became parents to two sons, Horacio and Hector. Horacio understood his unhappiness in a dysfunctional family and enlisted in the Air Force to escape the bleak life of poverty and misery from his upbringing. Hector, named after his beloved paternal uncle, was babied by his mother and over-loved by his father who was unable to express love. His identity was stifled as he remained part Cuban and part American with no firm grounding in either world.

Written in poetically beautiful language, this is not a simple book to read. Instead, it delves deeply into the immigrant experience of not quite belonging anywhere, with stumbling blocks and hardships at every turn. The characters are life-size with decidedly set temperaments, longings, and hurts as wide as a mile. A magical world of dreams permeates their reality and lends a surreal quality to the storyline.

I loved every page, every word of Hijuelo’s first novel. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy an immersive plot, centered more in a haunting reality than a sweet dream. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a first-generation Cuban American, I had extremely high expectations for this book.

The similarities in upbringing and values between myself and what was presented in the book were quite evident. It was almost as if I could see parts of my own life and experiences mirrored within its pages.

However, despite these initial promising aspects, there were some notable drawbacks. The story, at times, felt disjointed. It seemed to jump around in a way that made it difficult to fully engage and follow the narrative flow.

Moreover, the characters were not always likable. Some of their actions and behaviors were rather off-putting, which made it challenging to develop a true connection or empathy towards them.

Overall, while the book had its moments of relatability, the disjointed story and unlikable characters detracted from what could have been a more fulfilling reading experience.