Empress of the Splendid Season

Hijuelos (The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love) writes his novels as extended fables, depicting the Cuban-American immigrant experience in wise-yet-wistful nostalgic tones. Veteran actress Moreno plays up this quality in her sanguine, full-bodied reading of his newest, treating the author's descriptive prose with the reverence of a magical tale. Lydia Espana, born rich and beautiful in pre-Castro Cuba, is ""banished"" to the U.S. following a youthful sexual indiscretion. Once in New York City, she falls in love with Raul, a wonderfully romantic waiter. When Raul becomes disabled, Lydia is forced to become a domestic, cleaning the apartments of wealthy Manhattanites. Despite her station in life, Lydia remains an ""aloof"" and ""arrogant"" woman, steeped in her old-country values. As her children grow up during the tempestuous 1960s, Lydia becomes a fierce presence in their lives. True to his proven novelistic skills, Hijuelos's tale is richly emotional, filled with robust episodes of intergenerational family life. As audio drama, it comes across especially exuberant. Simultaneous release with the Harper Flamingo hardcover. (Feb.)