<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>“Savor the mysterious power of a master’s <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">pentimento.</I>”<xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>—<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Los Angeles Times<o:p></o:p></I></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></I></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>“It takes a lot of nerve and skill to pull off something as rich as <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Beautiful MarÍa of My Soul</I>, but pull it off Hijuelos does.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>—<I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Cleveland Plain Dealer</I><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><o:p><FONT size=3></FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>“I fell instantly in love with the glorious soul of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Beautiful MarÍa of My Soul</I>. Hijuelos has created and brought to life two beloved characters, a heart-stealing heroine and Havana during an epoch of changing fate.”<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>—Amy Tan, bestselling author of <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Joy Luck Club</I><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align=center><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><o:p><FONT size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>In <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Beautiful MarÍa of My Soul</I>, Oscar Hijuelos returns to the passionate tale he began twenty years ago in <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love</I>. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0.5in; LINE-HEIGHT: 200%"><SPAN style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-themecolor: text1"><FONT size=3>MarÍa is the great Cuban beauty who stole musician Nestor Castillo’s heart and broke it, inspiring him to write the Mambo Kings’ biggest hit, “Beautiful MarÍa of My Soul.'” Now in her sixties and living as an exile in Miami, MarÍa remains a beauty, still capable of turning heads. But while she left Cuba decades ago, she has never forgotten Nestor. As she thin