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lavrendy's review against another edition
5.0
If there is one thing the fiction section at every Savers is bound to have, it is at least three copies of The House on Mango Street. Every time I see one, I get upset because how could someone read it and CHOOSE to donate rather than to love and cherish forever??? It’s a short, enchanting book that is so personal it reads like a memoir.
Cisneros’s actual memoir, however, didn’t come along until A House of My Own. And even then, it's still not quite a memoir but a series of essays written at different points in Cisneros's life. Each of these stories is packed with the same charm as Mango Street, except now we get adult themes, literary name-drops, and some really beautiful reflections on having a home to yourself.
I have a lot of big feelings around this topic. I live in my own apartment for the first (and maybe last?) time in my life and it has brought me comfort and opportunities for self-expression and also loads of anxiety lol. Cisneros captures this chaos perfectly as she describes the various homes she’s found herself in across the US, Mexico, and Greece. Her writing is so clever and fun to follow along with. I loved learning about her trailblazing work for Latina authors, as she weaves her Mexican roots into everything she writes.
If you enjoyed The House on Mango Street, A House of My Own should be next on your list. And if you haven’t read it! Go to Savers. (Or get the audio because Cisneros’s narration is hysterical.)
Cisneros’s actual memoir, however, didn’t come along until A House of My Own. And even then, it's still not quite a memoir but a series of essays written at different points in Cisneros's life. Each of these stories is packed with the same charm as Mango Street, except now we get adult themes, literary name-drops, and some really beautiful reflections on having a home to yourself.
I have a lot of big feelings around this topic. I live in my own apartment for the first (and maybe last?) time in my life and it has brought me comfort and opportunities for self-expression and also loads of anxiety lol. Cisneros captures this chaos perfectly as she describes the various homes she’s found herself in across the US, Mexico, and Greece. Her writing is so clever and fun to follow along with. I loved learning about her trailblazing work for Latina authors, as she weaves her Mexican roots into everything she writes.
If you enjoyed The House on Mango Street, A House of My Own should be next on your list. And if you haven’t read it! Go to Savers. (Or get the audio because Cisneros’s narration is hysterical.)
2000s's review against another edition
I liked the writing style but the collection of stories was a little too scattered and anecdotal for me at this moment, maybe I'll come back to it later 😃
lgmaxwell722's review
3.0
An interesting view of Sandra Cisneros life through the homes she did (and did not have). She explores how she came to write House on Mango Street, and inspiration for her other work. The book was composed of short essays and speeches which connected to her overall theme of home. Some of the stories appeared to be a bit redundant, but overall it was a good read. A creative way to write a biography.
judyapneeb's review
4.0
I found my interest waning towards the middle of the book. I flipped through the rest of the book, browsing the stories without really paying attention. This is a collection of essays/stories with various introductions included. I found myself wanting more, more of the stories instead of these short magazine pieces.
jwinchell's review
4.0
Essays as a memoir--definitely not a memoir. Cisneros revisits and refines many many essays and speeches from her illustrious career; she illuminates many many facets of her life that I had not previously known about her. I love her commitment to all art and to deepening her commitment to herself and her writing, and that is served well by her revision of essays and compilation into one text. It's wonky that way, though, and the many long footnotes. There are great elements for excerpting with students.
nataliadelpilar's review
5.0
"We find ourselves at home, or homing, in books that allow us to become more ourselves. Home 'is not just the place where you were born,' as the travel writer Pico Iyer once noted. 'It's the place where you become yourself.'" - Sandra Cisneros, "A House of My Own"
I can say with total assurance that this book has changed my life.
Throughout the month I spent reading A House of My Own, the novel became a home for me to stay in for a while. It was a safe and familiar space where I, along with the author, could reflect on my own memories, thoughts, and emotions as a Latina artist existing in that liminal space between two completely different cultures, two worlds of language. I would read this book on the train and zero in on a single, magically woven sentence that hit me so hard in the chest, I'd start weeping in public. (In one of these chapters, Sandra Cisneros describes a very similar experience she had while reading The Lover by Margeurite Duras on a public bus!)
I truly think that the best writing is the kind that pinpoints and names deeply felt emotions that you haven't been able to figure out a name for, or that you've been too afraid to name... the kind of writing that makes you gasp, stand up and say, "Yes! Me too!" A House of My Own did that for me, countless times.
Sandra Cisneros' writing is magic in its purest form. It cuts deep in places within you that you had no idea existed -- that is, until she describes them. Her voice is like that of a wise, profoundly honest, fiercely independent Tia telling me the incredible story of her life over un cafecito on a Sunday.
I am transformed because of this book. I feel seen, inspired, and changed as a creative, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a member of the Latinx community.
Now, onward to read The House on Mango Street!
I can say with total assurance that this book has changed my life.
Throughout the month I spent reading A House of My Own, the novel became a home for me to stay in for a while. It was a safe and familiar space where I, along with the author, could reflect on my own memories, thoughts, and emotions as a Latina artist existing in that liminal space between two completely different cultures, two worlds of language. I would read this book on the train and zero in on a single, magically woven sentence that hit me so hard in the chest, I'd start weeping in public. (In one of these chapters, Sandra Cisneros describes a very similar experience she had while reading The Lover by Margeurite Duras on a public bus!)
I truly think that the best writing is the kind that pinpoints and names deeply felt emotions that you haven't been able to figure out a name for, or that you've been too afraid to name... the kind of writing that makes you gasp, stand up and say, "Yes! Me too!" A House of My Own did that for me, countless times.
Sandra Cisneros' writing is magic in its purest form. It cuts deep in places within you that you had no idea existed -- that is, until she describes them. Her voice is like that of a wise, profoundly honest, fiercely independent Tia telling me the incredible story of her life over un cafecito on a Sunday.
I am transformed because of this book. I feel seen, inspired, and changed as a creative, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a member of the Latinx community.
Now, onward to read The House on Mango Street!
lauraharris5's review
5.0
Loved this book of short stories/memoir. Want to read everything by Cisneros now!
librarylapin's review against another edition
5.0
This may be my favorite book this year. What a beautifully put together book of vibrant and profound experiences! I related to so many of the stories in this book and particularly loved the gentle tenderness that went into the telling. I wanted to quote this book all day and send great gratitude to the universe for this brilliant and lively voice. A must read for anyone who has grown up between cultures.
librarylapin's review
5.0
This may be my favorite book this year. What a beautifully put together book of vibrant and profound experiences! I related to so many of the stories in this book and particularly loved the gentle tenderness that went into the telling. I wanted to quote this book all day and send great gratitude to the universe for this brilliant and lively voice. A must read for anyone who has grown up between cultures.
hkihm's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book, even though I probably last read The House on Mango Street twenty years ago. Cisneros' writing is so elegantly simple and understated, but at the same time full of life and passion. She recounts her life as a writer of course, but more often than not the stories she includes in this volume are ones about other people - her family, or people who inspired her. Recollections she was asked to write for publications, or just tales about her friends and those who joined her on the journey. She writes about their generosity so appreciatively, it is not hard to imagine her returning the favor or paying it forward. Another thing I found interesting about this book is that she chose to include several excerpts describing important or even minor things in her life - the paint color of her house, an ofrenda display she made after her mother's death, a painting her aunt hated, an upholstered couch, etc. Somehow these object meditations do play a role in giving a more rounded picture of Cisneros. A major theme in the book is being brave enough to do the things that you fear - whether that is moving away from home, writing a book, performing at a writer's workshop full of old white dudes, choosing to take the road less traveled.