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Our House in the Last World
The debut novel by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love . Bearing all the hallmarks of Hijuelos's later work―exuberance, passion, honesty, and humor―this debut novel was heralded on its publication twenty years ago as "virtuoso writing...a novel of great warmth and tenderness" ( New York Times Book Review ). Filled with the sights and sounds of Cuba's Oriente province and New York City, the music and films of the fifties, lusty fantasies and the toughest of life's realities, it is the unforgettable story of Hector Santinio, the American-born son of Cuban immigrants, who is haunted by tales of "home" (a Cuba he has never seen) and by the excesses and then the death of his loving father. This edition includes a new autobiographical introduction by the author, reflecting on how he came to write Our House in the Last World , and a new afterword in which he comments on the story.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 17, 1983
47 people are currently reading
3,430 people want to read
About the author
Oscar Hijuelos
29books212followersOscar Hijuelos (born August 24, 1951) was an American novelist. He is the first Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
Hijuelos was born in New York City, in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, to Cuban immigrant parents. He attended the Corpus Christi School, public schools, and later attended Bronx Community College, Lehman College, and Manhattan Community College before matriculating into and studying writing at the City College of New York (B.A., 1975; M.A. in Creative Writing, 1976). He then practiced various professions before taking up writing full time. His first novel, Our House in the Last World, was published in 1983 and received the 1985 Rome Prize, awarded by the American Academy in Rome. His second novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It was adapted for the film The Mambo Kings in 1992 and as a Broadway musical in 2005.
Hijuelos has taught at Hofstra University and at Duke University.
Hijuelos was born in New York City, in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, to Cuban immigrant parents. He attended the Corpus Christi School, public schools, and later attended Bronx Community College, Lehman College, and Manhattan Community College before matriculating into and studying writing at the City College of New York (B.A., 1975; M.A. in Creative Writing, 1976). He then practiced various professions before taking up writing full time. His first novel, Our House in the Last World, was published in 1983 and received the 1985 Rome Prize, awarded by the American Academy in Rome. His second novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It was adapted for the film The Mambo Kings in 1992 and as a Broadway musical in 2005.
Hijuelos has taught at Hofstra University and at Duke University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
June 8, 2014
I have a great interest in both immigrant stories and New York stories, this book seems to check both of those boxes plus there was that reassurance of quality based on the author being a Pulitzer winner. Did it live up to expectations? Well, yes and no. The quality was there, most impressive for a debut novel, strong writing throughout, phenomenally nuanced characterization, the works, but the plot was just...exhausting. And this primarily had to do with the fact that the family the book follows throughout the years from Cuba to New York was such an unhappy bunch. Unlike their friends and family they failed to succeed in their adopted home, partially due to never letting go of their provincial (old country, cringe inducingly backward) mindsets, and their frustrations and limitations slowly rip them apart and traumatize their children. Hijuelos did a great job of making this characters sympathetic in all their numerous all too human flaws, especially since some of the story is autobiographic, but it wasn't an easy read by any means. Interesting and well done, but maybe not particularly enjoyable in the traditional meaning of the word. Fascinating look at Cuban and Cuban American cultures, but an emotionally laborious read.
January 10, 2018
3.5***
Hijuelos� debut novel spans five decades, telling the story of the Santinio family from 1929 in Cuba to 1975 in New York. Alejo and Mercedes emigrate to New York City from Cuba in 1943, where he finds work as a cook in a fancy hotel and she tries to make a life in an apartment so far from her childhood estate. They have two sons, Horacio and Hector, who struggle with their own identities; are they Americans or Cubans? It is a love story, a family saga, a coming-of-age story, and a novel of the immigrant experience.
Alejo is a man who has never met a stranger. He is exuberant and generous, always the life of the party, a loyal friend and a ladies� man. But he is consumed by want. His life is not what he envisioned and he cannot understand how things went so wrong. He drinks to drown his sorrows and descends into melancholy. He doesn’t recognize how his actions push his children away, when all he wants is to be recognized as THE MAN and a FATHER to be respected.
Mercedes is a woman who lives in the past. She cannot let go of past glories of life with her father when she was a young girl. She loves Alejo, but the man he has become is a stranger to her. She is alone because of her lack of English and her reliance on saints and signs and dreams and mysticism. Fiercely protective of her children she doesn’t recognize that her smothering is harming them rather than helping them.
Horacio grows as a nearly feral child. Clearly his parents� violent arguments affect him and he turns to his friends and to the streets, finally escaping into the U.S. Air Force.
And baby Hector is trapped in his own skin and desperately seeking an escape. He is neither Cuban nor American. Neither a man nor a son. His father dotes on him, but he cannot return the affection of this man who is so unreliable and prone to drunken violence.
Hijuelos’s writing is vivid and passionate, with scenes that are ethereal and full of mysticism contrasted with scenes of brutal reality. People yell in anger, whoop in celebration, cry in despair and wallow in silence.
Hijuelos� debut novel spans five decades, telling the story of the Santinio family from 1929 in Cuba to 1975 in New York. Alejo and Mercedes emigrate to New York City from Cuba in 1943, where he finds work as a cook in a fancy hotel and she tries to make a life in an apartment so far from her childhood estate. They have two sons, Horacio and Hector, who struggle with their own identities; are they Americans or Cubans? It is a love story, a family saga, a coming-of-age story, and a novel of the immigrant experience.
Alejo is a man who has never met a stranger. He is exuberant and generous, always the life of the party, a loyal friend and a ladies� man. But he is consumed by want. His life is not what he envisioned and he cannot understand how things went so wrong. He drinks to drown his sorrows and descends into melancholy. He doesn’t recognize how his actions push his children away, when all he wants is to be recognized as THE MAN and a FATHER to be respected.
Mercedes is a woman who lives in the past. She cannot let go of past glories of life with her father when she was a young girl. She loves Alejo, but the man he has become is a stranger to her. She is alone because of her lack of English and her reliance on saints and signs and dreams and mysticism. Fiercely protective of her children she doesn’t recognize that her smothering is harming them rather than helping them.
Horacio grows as a nearly feral child. Clearly his parents� violent arguments affect him and he turns to his friends and to the streets, finally escaping into the U.S. Air Force.
And baby Hector is trapped in his own skin and desperately seeking an escape. He is neither Cuban nor American. Neither a man nor a son. His father dotes on him, but he cannot return the affection of this man who is so unreliable and prone to drunken violence.
Hijuelos’s writing is vivid and passionate, with scenes that are ethereal and full of mysticism contrasted with scenes of brutal reality. People yell in anger, whoop in celebration, cry in despair and wallow in silence.
May 15, 2020
I read this title after reading the author’s novel, Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love and his memoir, Thoughts without Cigarettes. This is an endearing read, bundling very nicely an autobiographical novel (without being too biographical) with magical realism (without being too magical, or too real for that matter). For example, in his memoir, readers learn that the author was unhealthy as a child, spent extended time away from the family in a hospital setting. In this novel, however, while using this setting to great effect, to create a somewhat wimpy yet complex character, Hijuelos does not dwell on the matter; it merely explains certain deficits in young Hector’s personality. Likewise, in his memoir, the author goes into great detail about his dumb luck (however you look at it) at having skin that is a bit whiter than anyone else in his family (with blond hair, both traced to his Spanish roots), and, as a companion piece, that he does not speak Spanish very well (although he does understand it). When the character Hector tries to speak it with others, they say he has an American accent and sometimes refuse to converse with him. In real life, it allows the author to slide easily between an Anglo-New York and a Cuban-New York, in which he ultimately earns an education. Hector Santinio, on the other hand, has more difficulties. He’s overweight. Though he has sex with various females, he does not happen upon a girlfriend or wife. The novel traces the Santinio family from 1929 to 1975, compressing an extensive family history into a mere two hundred pages. In the last two chapters, Hijuelos punches up the magical realism by way of “Ghosts,� in which he plays a game of “What if?� In “Voices from the Last World,� the final chapter, the author gives final voice to Hector, his brother Horacio, and his mother, Mercedes, and he does so by way of their dreams. In these magical dreams everyone is “happier,� largely because they are of the “last world� to which they once belonged, the hazy, effervescent world of an old Cuba. This is a cozier world than the one that they must adapt to in New York. Hector, who has done little but criticize his mother and father, forgives them, sees them in a larger context � grows up. A happy ending they’ve all earned.
October 21, 2015
What a treat to revisit Oscar Hijuelos by reading his first novel Our House in the Last World. Hijuelos writes with a rhythm that is unmistakable. It’s as if, as you read, there is a Cuban guitarist softly strumming in the background. Although he writes sometimes of brutality and heartache, Hijuelos provides a beautiful glimpse into what it means to be Cuban-American, to be thrust from one’s country, longing to retain your birthright yet wanting to make it in your new country. In Hijuelos’s novels, some make it, some don’t. And the journey is the delight, even as we see characters so terribly flawed by their longings. Our House in the Last World tells of Alejo Santinio and his wife Mercedes as they raise their two sons in mid-20th century New York City, having immigrated from Cuba a few years before Castro took over the country. While other immigrant relatives and friends are adjusting to the new country, planting new roots, and gaining success, Alejo is a fish out of water. He struggles the entire time of his residency in NYC, taking out his frustrations on his wife and sons. Mercedes, meanwhile, is extremely unhappy and cannot cope with the poverty she’s been thrust into by her husband. She endures his spending their money on others, hoping to impress them, and she endures his brutality toward her, all the while suffering the hatefulness of Alejo’s sister Buita who despises Mercedes and would do anything to rip Mercedes’s two sons from her to raise as her, Buita’s, own. Our House in the Last World is a powerful examination of how we deal with our fates, and ultimately, despite the fact it portrays a man whose life seems wasted and thrown away, we see that Alejo’s sons and his wife grew from having known him.
January 25, 2018
Our House in the Last World is the fictional novel taking place in Cuba before the revolution through the time of the overthrow of Batista and the subsequent takeover by Fidel Castro and the effects on the people. It addresses the immigrant experience as the novel spans the lives of one family that emigrated from Cuba to Miami and New York with all of the attendant struggles. One of my favorite authors, this was the first book by Hijuelos, filled with the haunting and beautiful lyrics he is known for.
"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."
"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."
April 5, 2024
The lives and experiences of a family of immigrants with roots in Cuba
In 1930’s Cuba, a lovely young woman named Mercedes meets Alejo, a handsome young man who courts her. Mercedes is from a fine family whose financial status worsened upon the sudden death of her father, necessitating a move to humbler living quarters and lowering their standard of living. Alejo is the younger son of a comfortably situated family who is allowed to lead a somewhat aimless life while his older brother shoulders the workload of running the family farm. They are two dreamers who marry and long to escape their mundane lives, and when Alejo inherits money they decide to travel to America where one of Alejo’s (many) sisters lives with her husband. Mercedes is delighted to finally get away from Alejo’s eldest sister (who has made it quite clear that she despises her brother’s bride and goes out of her way to terrorize Mercedes at every opportunity). But dreams without plans do not always end well, and such is the case for Mercedes and Alejo. He takes a job as a cook for a fancy hotel, and while he makes a living he never rises above that position, mostly out of fear of failure. They have two children together, first Horacio and then Hector. Alejo takes to drinking and fooling around on the side, and Mercedes struggles to accept her new life, never learning to speak English very well and feeling the prejudice against people who look and sound different from their neighbors. It takes courage to leave one’s homeland and start a new life in a country very different from one’s own, and it takes even more when life does not turn out as you had hoped it would.
In this, author Oscar Hijuelos� first novel, it is the characters and the sense of place which resonate most strongly. Starting in the lush and languid setting of Hoguín, Cuba, in the years before Castro and communism took over, and then moving to the Morningside Heights area of New York City (before Columbia University expanded into the community, eventually forcing out many who called the area home), the journey of the Santinio clan is the story of so many families from so many countries who yearn to reach the United States and claim their share of the American dream. As do many, Mercedes and Alejo pine for the Cuba they left behind, conveniently forgetting the not-so-good bits that were part of their desire to leave. And as the years pass, it eventually becomes impossible for them to return to the country they love as the Castro government solidifies power and crushes dissent. Their two sons grow up feeling neither completely American nor Cuban, but an uneasy mix of the two, a feeling they share with many first generation Americans. Bitterness, sorrow, anger and eventually violence enter the Santinio house, and love and abuse live there hand in hand. It is said that this is Mr. Hijuelos� most autobiographical novel, which is both logical but also makes me sad. What he writes in both his introduction and his afterword are not to be missed (nor is the forward by Junot Díaz), as they give a reader an insight into how the novel came to be and how he, years after its publication, felt about what he wrote. It is not a happy book, but it is not without hope, and the characters� failings are told with compassion and love. Those who have read Mr. Hijuelos other novels, including the Pulitzer Prize winning The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, must absolutely add this to the top of their TBR pile, as should fans of other Latin authors like Sandra Cisneros, Junot Díaz, and Isabel Allende. It is a book about place, about family, about love trying to survive amidst disappointment, ghosts and superstitions, flashy clothes and the foods of home. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy of this new edition, I have a better understanding of the journey that so many people from around the world, including my own ancestors, made as they came here to begin a new life.
In 1930’s Cuba, a lovely young woman named Mercedes meets Alejo, a handsome young man who courts her. Mercedes is from a fine family whose financial status worsened upon the sudden death of her father, necessitating a move to humbler living quarters and lowering their standard of living. Alejo is the younger son of a comfortably situated family who is allowed to lead a somewhat aimless life while his older brother shoulders the workload of running the family farm. They are two dreamers who marry and long to escape their mundane lives, and when Alejo inherits money they decide to travel to America where one of Alejo’s (many) sisters lives with her husband. Mercedes is delighted to finally get away from Alejo’s eldest sister (who has made it quite clear that she despises her brother’s bride and goes out of her way to terrorize Mercedes at every opportunity). But dreams without plans do not always end well, and such is the case for Mercedes and Alejo. He takes a job as a cook for a fancy hotel, and while he makes a living he never rises above that position, mostly out of fear of failure. They have two children together, first Horacio and then Hector. Alejo takes to drinking and fooling around on the side, and Mercedes struggles to accept her new life, never learning to speak English very well and feeling the prejudice against people who look and sound different from their neighbors. It takes courage to leave one’s homeland and start a new life in a country very different from one’s own, and it takes even more when life does not turn out as you had hoped it would.
In this, author Oscar Hijuelos� first novel, it is the characters and the sense of place which resonate most strongly. Starting in the lush and languid setting of Hoguín, Cuba, in the years before Castro and communism took over, and then moving to the Morningside Heights area of New York City (before Columbia University expanded into the community, eventually forcing out many who called the area home), the journey of the Santinio clan is the story of so many families from so many countries who yearn to reach the United States and claim their share of the American dream. As do many, Mercedes and Alejo pine for the Cuba they left behind, conveniently forgetting the not-so-good bits that were part of their desire to leave. And as the years pass, it eventually becomes impossible for them to return to the country they love as the Castro government solidifies power and crushes dissent. Their two sons grow up feeling neither completely American nor Cuban, but an uneasy mix of the two, a feeling they share with many first generation Americans. Bitterness, sorrow, anger and eventually violence enter the Santinio house, and love and abuse live there hand in hand. It is said that this is Mr. Hijuelos� most autobiographical novel, which is both logical but also makes me sad. What he writes in both his introduction and his afterword are not to be missed (nor is the forward by Junot Díaz), as they give a reader an insight into how the novel came to be and how he, years after its publication, felt about what he wrote. It is not a happy book, but it is not without hope, and the characters� failings are told with compassion and love. Those who have read Mr. Hijuelos other novels, including the Pulitzer Prize winning The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love, must absolutely add this to the top of their TBR pile, as should fans of other Latin authors like Sandra Cisneros, Junot Díaz, and Isabel Allende. It is a book about place, about family, about love trying to survive amidst disappointment, ghosts and superstitions, flashy clothes and the foods of home. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for gifting me a copy of this new edition, I have a better understanding of the journey that so many people from around the world, including my own ancestors, made as they came here to begin a new life.
March 16, 2024
I was enraptured by this quintessential immigrant story which is being republished on April 9, 2024,, following the death of Pulitzer Prize winning author Oscar Hijuelos. Alejo Santinio and his young wife Mercedes, leave their home in Oriente Province, Cuba in 1943, to seek success and magical riches in the USA. Things do not go according to plans and dreams. Alejo is generous to a fault. He hasn’t a.clue how to save money and soon finds solace in the stupor of alcoholic dreams. Mercedes� in unable to adjust to her new life. She remains resentful of her lot in life and obsessively misses the people she left behind in Cuba. Of course the marriage suffers.
Over the span of four decades. The Santinios parent two sons , Horacio and Hector. Horatio is aware of his unhappiness in a dysfunctional family and enlists in the Air Force to escape a bleak life in the poverty and misery of his upbringing. Hector, named for his beloved paternal uncle, is babied by his mother and over loved by a father who is unable to express that love. His identity is stifled as he remains part Cuban and part American with no firm grounding in either word.
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 a mile wide. A magical world of dreams permeates their reality and lends a surreal quality to the story line.
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 troubled reality than a uplifting one . Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
February 22, 2024
Ahhh what a great autobiography! This is a classic family saga and coming of age story. It talks about a first generation Cuban American kid whose immigrant parents (Alejo & Mercedes) come to NYC in the mid-1940s in search of a better life
This book unpacks a lot: family values, Cuban culture / identity and the many trials and tribulations that come when migrating to a different country.
When Alejo and Mercedes arrive in NYC, they immediately find other Cubans who they befriend. They are like one big family, always helping each other out. Alejo has many opportunities “para hechar pa lante� but because of fear, the American dream falls flat for him. Mecedes who comes from an educated upper class does not settle in well. She feels lonely when Alejo leaves her to go to work and after her kids are born, their marriage begins to spiral downward.
As the kids (Horacio and Hector) get older, they face many identity challenges, both at home and in their neighborhood. Their family dynamic is extremely complicated. We see how their parent's constant arguing, their dad’s drunkenness and mother’s delusion have severely affected their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.
This book is very descriptive and contains a lot of Cuban historical facts. Despite it being a slow burner, it hit home and I loved it. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.
This book unpacks a lot: family values, Cuban culture / identity and the many trials and tribulations that come when migrating to a different country.
When Alejo and Mercedes arrive in NYC, they immediately find other Cubans who they befriend. They are like one big family, always helping each other out. Alejo has many opportunities “para hechar pa lante� but because of fear, the American dream falls flat for him. Mecedes who comes from an educated upper class does not settle in well. She feels lonely when Alejo leaves her to go to work and after her kids are born, their marriage begins to spiral downward.
As the kids (Horacio and Hector) get older, they face many identity challenges, both at home and in their neighborhood. Their family dynamic is extremely complicated. We see how their parent's constant arguing, their dad’s drunkenness and mother’s delusion have severely affected their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.
This book is very descriptive and contains a lot of Cuban historical facts. Despite it being a slow burner, it hit home and I loved it. Thank you NetGalley for the arc.
May 21, 2018
Covering basically the 1930s thru the '70s, this multi-generational Cuban-American family epic goes from the aristocratic Sorrea family in eastern Cuba to Mercedes, the second of three daughters, who sees the ghost of her father frequently and dreams. She marries Alejo Santinio who wants a more exciting life away from rural Cuba and decides to emigrate with Mercedes to the United States. tye have the boys Hector and older brother Horacio. This becomes Hector's tale who seems to have inherited his mother's phantasmagoric sensitivities. The changes in Cuba up to Castro and the United States over those decades is the backdrop. What I liked most about this novel is the flavor of the dream-like recollections, relying on wistful passages and little dialogue. This is a delicate balance for the author, as the story threatens to drift away, unmoored by the delicate prose and description. However, it proves a firm enough foundation to support a reincarnation recollection back to Columbus.
July 10, 2024
I have a great interest in both immigrant stories and New York stories, so I was drawn to Our House in the Last World by Oscar Hijuelos, especially given the author's Pulitzer Prize.The writing quality and nuanced characterization were impressive for a debut novel, but the plot was exhausting. The family in the book, moving from Cuba to New York, remains unhappy and unsuccessful due to their old-country mindsets. Their frustrations and limitations cause them to unravel and traumatize their children. While Hijuelos made the characters sympathetic with their human flaws, the story was emotionally laborious and not particularly enjoyable. However, it offers a fascinating look at Cuban and Cuban American cultures.
February 16, 2025
This is the story of a Cuban couple that moves to New York in the 1940s. The novel starts in Cuba and extends over 30 years of their lives in the US: their children, the longing of their homeland, a chaotic marriage, a life of hardships, addiction, machismo, and pain. Entertaining storytelling.
Three stars because the story extended for longer than needed imo and I am not so fond of the way the female characters were portrayed in the story: they all seem to become dramatic and hysterical with no real lives or purpose beyond their husband and children.
Three stars because the story extended for longer than needed imo and I am not so fond of the way the female characters were portrayed in the story: they all seem to become dramatic and hysterical with no real lives or purpose beyond their husband and children.
March 9, 2025
I was really drawn to the premise of this book and felt it told a fairly decent story. It is a saga and covers about 30 years of their life as a family. I liked that the point of view changed throughout to get the aspect of the different characters, however I felt that it went on far longer than it needed to. I felt that the ending became really drug out and ended up nearly feeling hysterical by the end with loss of the patriarch. This is the first I have read from this author and would like to read more in the future. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.
July 27, 2019
Not a favourite by any means. I have been interested in reading immigrant stories, especially from communist countries, however, I found this particular story to be very crude and vulgar. At the same time, I spent a lot of time sorting out my emotions for the characters, for the book, and for immigrants that are to be represented by this story, even mildly.
Many have my emotions invoked is a sign that it was a well-written book? I don't know...
Many have my emotions invoked is a sign that it was a well-written book? I don't know...
July 23, 2019
Oscar Hijuelos's books get a very enthusiastic two thumbs up. I enjoy his writing style, his narrative gift, his storytelling genius. I also learned about the Cuban revolution and Castro in this book. Historical fiction is always a bonus in whatever book I am reading. I have read three of his books now and have added all of the others to my to-read list.
April 3, 2023
Fascinating to read about the experience of people who came to US from Cuba in 1943 (before the revolution) and about their experiences in the US during the subsequent years. Very difficult to read about so much physical violence among families and friends and neighbors and about the (to me) unimaginable amount of alcohol intake.
March 14, 2024
The saga of a family, from happy days in Cuba through moving to New York in the 1940s, through 1980s to 1960s. The happy young couple who leave Cuba for a better live become (him) a drunk who beats his wife and children and (her) a crazy woman who yells at her husband and children. I kept reading, waiting for this novel to get better. It didn;t
May 6, 2019
This was just not my typical book. I read it because someone was kind enough to loan it to me. I do read some novels, but just generally not ones like this. It was ab awfully slow book and difficult to get through
September 10, 2024
A well written novel about a Cuban/Cuban-American family and their struggle to make a home in and adapt to New York (pre-revolution). An emotionally difficult read, as the characters struggle to understand and find their place in a new culture.
June 10, 2019
Story of Cuban immigrants come to America. I loved this book.
May 29, 2023
Really fucking sad and absolutely beautiful.
Want to read
July 19, 2023Purchased and waiting to be read.
April 11, 2024
Recommended.
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:
April 18, 2019
The Santinios came from Cuba to New York in the 1940’s, and this novel is about cultural identity told through the eyes of Hector the younger son. I found it difficult to like these characters, as none of them were really likeable. I sympathised with the brothers as their father was unreliable and not always there for them as he drinks and gambles and often disappears, and their mother tried her best but she struggles to cope with her new life in New York and does not always have money for their needs.
March 16, 2024
I was enraptured by this quintessential immigrant story being republished on April 9, 2024 posthumously, by Pulitzer Prize winning author Oscar Hijuelos. Alejo Santinio and His young wife Mercedes, leave their home in Oriente Province, Cuba in 1943, to seek success and magical riches in the USA. Things do not go according to plans and dreams. Alejo is generous to a fault. He hasn’t a.clue how to save money and soon finds solace in the stupor of alcoholic dreams. Mercedes� in unable to adjust to her new life. She remains resentful of her lot in life and obsessively misses the people she left behind in Cuba. Of course the marriage suffers.
Over the span of four decades. The Santinios parent two sons , Horacio and Hector. Horatio understands his unhappiness in a dysfunctional family and enlists in the Air Force to escape a bleak life in the poverty and misery of his upbringing. Hector, named for his beloved paternal uncle is babied by his mother and over loved by his father who is unable to express love. His identity is stifled as he remains part Cuban and part American with no firm grounding in either word.
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 a Mike wide. A magical world of dreams permeates their reality and lends a surreal quality to the story line.
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.
Over the span of four decades. The Santinios parent two sons , Horacio and Hector. Horatio understands his unhappiness in a dysfunctional family and enlists in the Air Force to escape a bleak life in the poverty and misery of his upbringing. Hector, named for his beloved paternal uncle is babied by his mother and over loved by his father who is unable to express love. His identity is stifled as he remains part Cuban and part American with no firm grounding in either word.
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 a Mike wide. A magical world of dreams permeates their reality and lends a surreal quality to the story line.
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.
November 28, 2015
The Santinio family is a hot mess. The fascinating characters and family dynamics makes this an amazing novel.
Alejo and Mercedes Santinio move from Cuba to New York. They had comfortable lives and loving families in Cuba, but left hoping to make a fortune that never materializes. Alejo is a force of nature. People are drawn to him. Women like him and he has many friends. He gives money away to look like a big shot even though he can't afford it. People he helps become successful and rich, while Alejo remains poor. Alejo works hard as a cook and entertains the idea of owning a bodega. He eats and drinks too much. He also abuses his wife and disappears for days.
SPOILER ALERT: Stop here if you don't want to read the spoiler. I summarize books for personal reference because I keep forgetting what I read.
Mercedes doesn't leave and raises their two sons, Horatio and Hector. Mercedes has it rough. Alejo isn't a good husband and Mercedes has a sister-in-law from hell, Buita. Hector gets sick and remains hospitalized for months. He stops speaking Spanish and Mercedes becomes overbearing. She doesn't let him play with other kids or go to school because of the microbios. Horatio lives a normal life, but can't wait to leave his family. He joins the military and distances himself. Alejo dies from a heart attack at work and Mercedes loses it. Hector treats her horribly and doesn't have the patience to help her. The family's struggles and drama show the harsh reality of the American dream.
Alejo and Mercedes Santinio move from Cuba to New York. They had comfortable lives and loving families in Cuba, but left hoping to make a fortune that never materializes. Alejo is a force of nature. People are drawn to him. Women like him and he has many friends. He gives money away to look like a big shot even though he can't afford it. People he helps become successful and rich, while Alejo remains poor. Alejo works hard as a cook and entertains the idea of owning a bodega. He eats and drinks too much. He also abuses his wife and disappears for days.
SPOILER ALERT: Stop here if you don't want to read the spoiler. I summarize books for personal reference because I keep forgetting what I read.
Mercedes doesn't leave and raises their two sons, Horatio and Hector. Mercedes has it rough. Alejo isn't a good husband and Mercedes has a sister-in-law from hell, Buita. Hector gets sick and remains hospitalized for months. He stops speaking Spanish and Mercedes becomes overbearing. She doesn't let him play with other kids or go to school because of the microbios. Horatio lives a normal life, but can't wait to leave his family. He joins the military and distances himself. Alejo dies from a heart attack at work and Mercedes loses it. Hector treats her horribly and doesn't have the patience to help her. The family's struggles and drama show the harsh reality of the American dream.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 14, 2024
Ahhh what a great autobiography! This is a classic family saga and coming of age story. It talks about a first generation Cuban American kid whose immigrant parents (Alejo & Mercedes) come to NYC in the mid-1940s in search of a better life
This book unpacks a lot: family values, Cuban culture / identity and the many trials and tribulations that come when migrating to a different country.
When Alejo and Mercedes they arrive in NYC, they immediately find other Cubans who they befriend. They are like one big family, always helping each other out. Alejo has many opportunities “para hechar pa lante� but because of fear, the American dream falls flat for him. Mecedes who comes from an educated upper class does not settle in well. She feels lonely when Alejo leaves her to go to work and after her kids are born, their marriage begins to spiral downward.
As the kids (Horacio and Hector) get older, they face many identity challenges, both at home and in their neighborhood. Their family dynamic is extremely complicated. We see how their parent's constant arguing, their dad’s drunkenness and mother’s delusion have severely affected their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.
This book is very descriptive and contains a lot of Cuban historical facts. Despite it being a slow burner, it hit home and I loved it.
This book unpacks a lot: family values, Cuban culture / identity and the many trials and tribulations that come when migrating to a different country.
When Alejo and Mercedes they arrive in NYC, they immediately find other Cubans who they befriend. They are like one big family, always helping each other out. Alejo has many opportunities “para hechar pa lante� but because of fear, the American dream falls flat for him. Mecedes who comes from an educated upper class does not settle in well. She feels lonely when Alejo leaves her to go to work and after her kids are born, their marriage begins to spiral downward.
As the kids (Horacio and Hector) get older, they face many identity challenges, both at home and in their neighborhood. Their family dynamic is extremely complicated. We see how their parent's constant arguing, their dad’s drunkenness and mother’s delusion have severely affected their behavior and personal lives, especially Hector.
This book is very descriptive and contains a lot of Cuban historical facts. Despite it being a slow burner, it hit home and I loved it.
February 27, 2024
Immersing myself in Our House in the Last World, I was transported to a world both familiar and unknown, brought to life by Hijuelos' vivid prose. I was deeply invested in Hector's journey, navigating the complexities of cultural identity. The characters came alive, eliciting laughter, tears, and cheers. This poignant exploration of identity, family, and belonging reminds us that our stories shape us and the past shapes our present. Reading Our House in the Last World felt like finding a new home, a place that will stay with me forever. ♥️
August 11, 2016
The writing is pretty solid, and downright poetic in spots � particularly the reminiscences of his mother, and the family's original heritage. However, I did feel as a reader that I was skipping around through time and space; it felt a bit 'loose'.
I would have liked maybe some more dialog snippets, or more pieces of color. I felt as if I was being talked at, and even though a certain amount of that is to be expected for this type of work, I feel the author had the skill and capacity to make the history even more engaging.
But, to fairly note, I had some difficulty arousing interest for the subject matter, as I am female, white, and the furthest-possible demographic to connect with the experience. Yet, I admit it was very well written. It was worth reading for the perspective and insight.
I would have liked maybe some more dialog snippets, or more pieces of color. I felt as if I was being talked at, and even though a certain amount of that is to be expected for this type of work, I feel the author had the skill and capacity to make the history even more engaging.
But, to fairly note, I had some difficulty arousing interest for the subject matter, as I am female, white, and the furthest-possible demographic to connect with the experience. Yet, I admit it was very well written. It was worth reading for the perspective and insight.
January 3, 2015
I stumbled upon this book through BookBubs and was really drawn into the author's world of early Cuba and the story of his parents life. He takes us with such gentle touches and light humor through the way of life in Cuba before Castro for his mother and father. They lived very different lives and when they finally came together and moved to New York we saw the changes in the world around them. All the characters are so real and believable, because of course this is Oscar Hijuelos writing this, a true world-class author. But the fact this is his first novel shows in the little things that reveal his own thoughts and views. I can't recommend this book enough for anyone who loves wonderful down to earth characters, a glimpse into 1940s and 50s Cuba and the early immigrant days of the Cuban refugees. I couldn't put it down and read it in one afternoon/evening.
November 12, 2014
Wow, typos galore.
I was not particularly enchanted by this story. The abuse between the husband and wife, and then the children was all very clearly written, but the story itself was just okay. The ending especially was lagging for me. The last two sections (or chapters) just dragged on and on. I would have rather had a short and sweet epilogue rather than the gibberish. I'm sure there was some deeper meaning to all that, but I had lost my patience in reading the end of the book far before that. If I hadn't been reading this for a class I would have just put it down.
Probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
I was not particularly enchanted by this story. The abuse between the husband and wife, and then the children was all very clearly written, but the story itself was just okay. The ending especially was lagging for me. The last two sections (or chapters) just dragged on and on. I would have rather had a short and sweet epilogue rather than the gibberish. I'm sure there was some deeper meaning to all that, but I had lost my patience in reading the end of the book far before that. If I hadn't been reading this for a class I would have just put it down.
Probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
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