Description: "Lydia Espaäna--once a wealthy, spoiled daughter of Cuba--works at a sewing factory in New York. Adjusting to her sharp change of circumstances, missing the days when her prosperous father provided her with every luxury, she ruminates on the incident that drove her away from her homeland in the late 1940s--until she falls in love with Raul, a kindhearted, working-class waiter who sees Lydia as the "Queen of the Congo Line" she used to be: the empress of "the most beautiful and splendid season, which is love. Despite their age difference, a loving marriage follows, as well as two children. Lydia revels in her newfound happiness, but when Raul's health declines, she finds her fortunes reversed yet again. Now working as a cleaning lady, Lydia can't help but contrast her experiences with those of her clients, whose secret lives and day-to-day realities are so starkly different from her own--but over time, the role may prove to be just what she needs to secure a better life for her children."--Provided by publisher.
Review Quotes: "A tender novel . . . This quality comes from the struggle between [Lydia's] instinct for self-invention and her inability to invent a suitable self."--New York Times Book Review