Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise
Contributors
Foreword by Craig Nova
Also available from:
- On Sale
- Jun 10, 2025
- Page Count
- 496 pages
- Publisher
- Grand Central Publishing
- ISBN-13
- 9781538725252
Hijuelos was fascinated by the Twain-Stanley connection and eventually began researching and writing a novel that used the scant historical record of their relationship as a starting point for a more detailed fictional account. It was a labor of love for Hijuelos, who worked on the project for more than ten years; indeed, he was still revising the manuscript the day before his sudden passing in 2013.
The resulting novel is a richly woven tapestry of people and events that is unique among the author’s works. Ingeniously blending correspondence, memoir, and third-person omniscience to explore the intersection of these Victorian giants in a long-vanished world, the novel superbly channels two vibrant but very different figures, from their early days as journalists in the American West, to their admiration and support of each other’s writing, mutual hatred of slavery, social life together in the dazzling literary circles of the time, and even a mysterious journey to Cuba to search for Stanley’s adoptive father.
A compelling and deeply felt historical fantasia that utilizes the full range of Hijuelos’s gifts, as well as an unforgettable coda to a brilliant writing career.
Includes a reading group guide.
Genre:
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"Oscar Hijuelos, who left us suddenly and far too soon, has been deeply missed by those of us who were his friends—missed both as a friend and as a writer. The friend will not be coming back, but what a miracle that he has given us this last novel, which is a fine and wonderful novel, and surely among the best books Oscar ever wrote."Paul Auster, author of City of Glass
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"The great Oscar Hijuelos lives on in this ambitious, fascinating, and richly detailed work that, like the author, is in a class by itself."Gay Talese, author of A Writer's Life
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"What a wonder to have Oscar Hijuelos return from the celestial beyond with a tale that is thoroughly of this world and firmly anchored in history! Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise is a marvelous blend of research and the imagination, resurrecting two fascinating contemporaries-Mark Twain and Henry Morton Stanley-and lending a bygone era the shimmer of here and now."Marie Arana, author of American Chica, Cellophane, and Bolívar: American Liberator.
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"An extraordinary feat of imaginative historical re-creation."Booklist (starred review)
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"Vividly imagined and detailed epic . . . How lucky we are to have this rich novel."Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
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"The final masterpiece by the Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer . . . Twain fans, get ready."Huffington Post
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"A magical story."David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man
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"This book is good news for Hijuelos fans."Kirkus
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"So sad that this is our last Hijuelos novel, so fabulous that we have it."Library Journal (starred review)
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"A brilliant posthumous capstone."EW.com
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"It is a rollicking adventure tale, bromance, and portrait of two fascinating men who battled their way to prominence during an era defined by yellow fever, the Civil War, and a pioneering American zeal."O, The Oprah Magazine
Formats and Prices
Price
$19.99Price
$25.99 CADFormat
Format:
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