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Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos, is a luminous work of fiction inspired by the real-life, 37-year friendship between two towering figures of the late nineteenth century, famed writer and humorist Mark Twain and legendary explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
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, publishing other novels along the way but always returning to Twain and Stanley; 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, both in theme and structure. Hijuelos ingeniously blends correspondence, memoir, and third-person omniscience to explore the intersection of these Victorian giants in a long vanished world.
From their early days as journalists in the American West, to their admiration and support of each other's writing, their mutual hatred of slavery, their social life together in the dazzling literary circles of the period, and even a mysterious journey to Cuba to search for Stanley's adoptive father, Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise superbly channels two vibrant but very different figures. It is also a study of Twain's complex bond with Mrs. Stanley, the bohemian portrait artist Dorothy Tennant, who introduces Twain and his wife to the world of sv©ances and mediums after the tragic death of their daughter.
A compelling and deeply felt historical fantasia that utilizes the full range of Hijuelos' gifts, Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise stands as an unforgettable coda to a brilliant writing career.
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“The main voices [are] ably performed by the ensemble of narrators. Henry Leyva captures the charming and tragic elder Clemens, and—more remarkably—James Langton, the bull-headed and searching Stanley. The vividly rendered Tennant—read by Polly Lee—matches both for energy and passion. Robert Petkoff ably covers the narration and other major characters. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“[An] ambitious, fascinating, and richly detailed work that, like the author, is in a class by itself.”
— Gay Talese, New York Times bestselling author -
“Stylistically adventurous…will make illuminating reading for Hijuelos fans.”
— USA Today -
“An exciting and moving blend of letters, narrative, and imagined memoir…Hijuelos gives a delightful glimpse into the relationship of two of history’s most fascinating subjects.”
— Vanity Fair -
“Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise delivers as an erudite vaudeville of turn-of-the-century superstars.”
— Boston Globe -
“Hijuelos spins a great tale, rich with details…There’s just a kind of gorgeous magic to the disparate but parallel lives he is charting.”
— NPR -
“An engrossing commentary on friendship, fame, and fate.”
— Newsday -
“[A] vividly imagined and detailed epic…How lucky we are to have this rich novel.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
“Told through a combination of formats, including straight narrative, letters, memoir, and diary entries—all invented, and convincingly so…By observing them at many moments of vulnerability, readers gain insights into their makeup…It’s an extraordinary feat of imaginative historical re-creation.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“Twain & Stanley Enter Paradise is a marvelous blend of research and the imagination, resurrecting two fascinating contemporaries…and lending a bygone era the shimmer of here and now.”
— Marie Arana, award-winning author of American Chica -
“Like his earlier books, this one is distinguished by vitality so intense as to give the reader a charge just picking up the book.”
— Craig Nova, award-winning author of The Good Son -
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 -
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 -
TWAIN & STANLEY ENTER PARADISE is a natural and delightful extension of Hijuelos' work, and like his earlier books, this one is distinguished by vitality so intense as to give the reader a charge just picking up the book. . . . a voice that is haunting and mesmerizing, and a story that shows just how fantastic and enjoyable Oscar Hijuelos' imagination really was.
— Craig Nova, author of The Good Son -
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.
Awards
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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A Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week
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An Amazon Best Book of the Month for November 2015
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A Boston Globe Pick for Fall 2015
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An Entertainment Weekly Pick of Blockbuster Novels
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A Men’s Journal Pick of 7 Best Books of November 2015
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One of Newsday’s Books Not to Miss
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About Oscar Hijuelos
Oscar Hijuelos (1951–2013) was a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, the Rome Prize, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. He was also a finalist for the National Book Award. He was the son of Cuban immigrants and was the first Latino winner of the Pulitzer Prize when his book The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love won in 1990 for best fiction. His works have been translated into forty languages.
About the Narrators
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.
Polly Lee, an Earphones Award–winning narrtor, is an actress from London who has appeared in the off-Broadway shows Lenin’s Embalmer’s, Close Ties, Slag Heap, The October Crisis, and others. She received her BA degree in theater studies from London University and an MFA from the New School in New York.
Henry Leyva, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, is a classically trained actor with extensive work in theater, television, film, and radio. He has appeared off Broadway and in regional theaters across the country in many plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Street Car Named Desire. He has also performed in audio dramas for the Syfy Channel and National Public Radio
Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He has appeared on Chappelle’s Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.