Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos

A friend recommended I read this book, and I was happy to, as it was related to music, which I also love. Unfortunately, I had a very difficult time getting into it and completing it. It felt like a very slow start, and I was very tempted to just give up, but I knew I had to finish it for the sake of my friend. The character of Maria is such a distant character that it is very difficult to connect with her. She keeps her emotions and thoughts to herself, so I never knew what she was feeling and thinking, so I found it hard to celebrate when she celebrated or cry when she cried. I also didn't see any character development from Maria. Through all the trials she went through, all the hurt and loss she felt, I didn't see any change in her character. She remained the same person she was in the beginning, which is disappointing. She had no closure at the end of her story, and all the questions brought up throughout the book were left unanswered, so readers are left confused at the end of the book. The format of the book was also difficult for me. Every once-in-a-while there would be an italicized section, and I couldn't tell why it was in italics, and this really bothered me, which took me away from the story-line. I'm sure the italics were there for a reason and to show and mean something, but I didn't understand why which was very frustrating for me. It's not a happy story, and the dark parts are extremely dark. I felt at times it was too dark, but that might just be because I'm a happy person. The last half of the book was a little confusing. It went from one thing to the next very quickly, and the reader has to work hard in order to keep up with the author, and I don't enjoy having to work hard when I read a book. I'm assuming it is biographical in part because it was written about the muse of the Mamba Kings, so maybe everything I didn't like about the book were things Hijuelos couldn't change because of the people he was representing in the story. I gave this story two stars because I just barely got through it and wouldn't want to read it again.