From a Pulitzer Prize-winning author comes a “masterpiece” about a composer returning to his beloved homeland after WWII (Kirkus, starred review).

 The year is 1947. Israel Levis, a Cuban composer whose life once revolved around music andlove, is finally returning home. En route to Habana, Cubafrom Spain, he is a shadow of his former self, disillusioned after he was mistakenly sent to a camp during the Nazi occupation of France. In Habana, he escapes his anguish by reminiscing about his happiest moments before the war, when he lived a life of pleasure and excitement—and had aloving, ifunrequited romance with Rita Valladares, the alluring singer who inspired Levis’s most famous composition, “Rosas Puras.”

 A tender homage to music, art, and a vibrant country at the edge of modernity, A Simple Habana Melodyis a virtuoso performance from one of America’s most talented writers.

Includes a reading group guide.