Oscar Hijuelos discusses his book, “Empress of the Splendid Season.” He says that when he writes, he starts out with an emotion. For this book, he wanted to look at the emotionality of classes. He describes the character, Lydia, a young woman from a wealthy family in Cuba who is sent away to the United States where she becomes a cleaning lady and meets her husband, Raul. Hijuelos reads a passage from the book, and describes Lydia’s son, Rico. Hijuelos explains that the book is about struggles and interprets the meaning of “splendid season.” He shares that his mother cleaned houses and that he used to tag along with her to her work sites. Hijuelos goes on to discuss his mentor, Donald Barthelme, and his work, “The Mambo Kings.”
Cuban Americans - Fiction Cuban American women - Fiction Women cleaning personnel - Fiction Cuban American families - Fiction New York (N.Y.) - Fiction
Place
New York (N.Y.) Cuba
Source
U-matic tape: Date and times on case spine: 3/13, 4:30, 7:30, 9:30.
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