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campo's review against another edition
5.0
I almost can't believe I found this book. I've never felt so seen. I'm so grateful for this invitation into Moraga's journey with ancestors, spirit, queerness, mestizaje, dementia care, and family. I wonder how I'll tell my story
siria's review against another edition
4.0
A heartfelt book and an often painful read, Cherríe Moraga's Native Country of the Heart is a memoir both of the author's mother Elvira, of mother and daughter's relationship, and of the slow loss of Elvira to dementia. As the narrative moves back and forth between Moraga's pain and grief at her mother's present illness, and their often difficult relationship during Moraga's youth, Moraga also grapples with issues of identity, indigeneity, sexuality, and colonialism. While her mother was Mexican-American of indigenous descent, Moraga's father (whose last name she stopped using as a young woman) was a white man, and Moraga herself is a lesbian.
One of my own grandmothers died of Alzheimer's disease, a long and awful process of dying for her which was terrible to observe and which amplified existing familial fractures. I found reading the parts of the book which dealt with the last stage of Elvira's life both very familiar and impossibly painful. Moraga's prose powerfully captures Elvira's personality, though with a number of stylistic tics that I found irritating. (For example: italicising the prepositions in a sentence does not automatically make it more profound or meaningful.)
One of my own grandmothers died of Alzheimer's disease, a long and awful process of dying for her which was terrible to observe and which amplified existing familial fractures. I found reading the parts of the book which dealt with the last stage of Elvira's life both very familiar and impossibly painful. Moraga's prose powerfully captures Elvira's personality, though with a number of stylistic tics that I found irritating. (For example: italicising the prepositions in a sentence does not automatically make it more profound or meaningful.)
deltani's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
4.5
gabriellejane's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
NR for memoirs!
I loved reading this memoir told through Moraga's mother and her own coming-of-age. I started with the audio, but found that I retained more information through reading the physical copy. If you love memoirs, I would recommend pick this one up!
I loved reading this memoir told through Moraga's mother and her own coming-of-age. I started with the audio, but found that I retained more information through reading the physical copy. If you love memoirs, I would recommend pick this one up!
sailor_lee's review against another edition
3.5
This was interesting! It's maybe juste a feeling but I feel like dealing with a double memoir (sort of), it didn't go in as much depth about Cherrie Moraga's and her mother's lifes as I would have liked. In the end, it was mostly about the slow passing of her mother, and I didn't really relate to these events as I haven't experienced it myself but I could imagine how difficult of a period it must be. I really loved how much we could feel, through the words used, Moraga's tenderness towards her mother.
studyingnovels's review against another edition
5.0
As a Mexican American born and raised in Orange County it was interesting to see how it was before a lot of the modern changes happened. The relationships in this family were very realistic and she didn’t shy away from expressing her gratitude, her anger, or her fears. The traditions and expectations that are put on Latina women are very present in this memoir as they are important subjects to discuss. It really makes you think about your own relationship with your mother and how perspectives shifts as time passes.