Our House in the Last World

By Oscar Hijuelos

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892552832
• ISBN13: 9780892552832
• Release Date: May 1983
• Publisher: Persea Books
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

underrated masterpiece

I just finished this novel/memoir, and was in tears for much of the reading. I love all of Oscar Hijuelos' writing, but this was truly the best of the best. It belongs with the great world classics, a heartbreaking chronicle of the human condition. Hijuelos' heart is as big as Knut Hamsun's, and his characters will live with me forever. Thank you, Mr. Hijuelos, from the bottom of MY heart, for explaining to me why I could not cry when my mother died, and thank you, too, for illuminating the dark corners of all our lives. I am so glad you had the courage to take up the pen.

This book is excellent

It brings you into the beautiful world of Cuba and New York City. It gets you nostalgic for your own country. Hijuelos takes you through Cuban and American history with a flow. He pulls you into the Santinios family and lets you share their ups and downs with them. A great book for anyone.