{"product_id":"empress-of-the-splendid-season-paperback","title":"Empress of the Splendid Season - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eOscar Hijuelos\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eElizabeth Strout\u003c\/b\u003e (Foreword by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos brings the joys and heartbreaks of twentieth-century America vividly to life in this \"tender\" novel (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Lydia España--once a wealthy, spoiled daughter of Cuba--works at a sewing factory in New York. Adjusting to her sharp change of circumstances, missing the days when her prosperous father provided her with every luxury, she ruminates on the incident that drove her away from her homeland in the late 1940s--until she falls in love with Raul, a kindhearted, working-class waiter who sees Lydia as the \"Queen of the Congo Line\" she used to be: the empress of \"the most beautiful and splendid season, which is love.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Despite their age difference, a loving marriage follows, as well as two children. Lydia revels in her newfound happiness, but when Raul's health declines, she finds her fortunes reversed yet again. Now working as a cleaning lady, Lydia can't help but contrast her experiences with those of her clients, whose secret lives and day-to-day realities are so starkly different from her own--but over time, the role may prove to be just what she needs to secure a better life for her children. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Written with absorbing, magnetic prose, this tenderly rendered novel follows a proud, hardworking woman through the ups and downs of her life. It is Hijuelos at his masterful best, a lasting and expert portrayal of the highs and lows of chasing--and living--the \"American Dream.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Includes a Reading Group Guide.\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOscar Hijuelos (1951-2013)\u003c\/b\u003e, a native New Yorker and the son of Cuban immigrants, was a Pulitzer Prize winning author of nine novels and a memoir and a recipient of the Rome Prize awarded by The American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He became the first Latino winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1990 for his international bestseller \u003ci\u003eThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love \u003c\/i\u003eand his novels have been translated into more than 40 languages. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eElizabeth Strout\u003c\/b\u003e is the #1 \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling author of \u003ci\u003eLucy by the Sea; Oh William!; Olive, Again; Anything is Possible, \u003c\/i\u003ewinner of the Story Prize; \u003ci\u003eMy Name Is Lucy Barton; The Burgess Boys; Olive Kitteridge, \u003c\/i\u003ewinner of the Pulitzer Price; \u003ci\u003eAbide with Me; \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eAmy and Isabelle\u003c\/i\u003e, winner of the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times \u003c\/i\u003eArt Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction and the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune \u003c\/i\u003eHeartland Prize; and her most recent \u003ci\u003eTell Me Everything.\u003c\/i\u003e She has also been a finalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize in London. She lives in Maine.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 336\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.9 x 7.99 x 5.33 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 14, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43339212980313,"sku":"9781538722213","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0736\/6465\/9545\/files\/ii58aSFcPE9781538722213.webp?v=1779437114","url":"https:\/\/warrenssanctuaryofthemind.myshopify.com\/products\/empress-of-the-splendid-season-paperback","provider":"Warren's sanctuary of the mind","version":"1.0","type":"link"}