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A review by nettielou
A House of My Own: Stories from My Life by Sandra Cisneros
5.0
This book is sublime, masterful, surprising, full of spirit and unabashed feminism. Composed of experimental vignettes and glimmers from the globe-trotting, empathic, socially conscious writer, teacher, poet, Sandra Cisneros. Some reviews here have expressed disappointment in the so-called lack of "juicy" details revealed, but I felt just the opposite. The stories of Cisneros' life are courageous in their sensitivity and revealing of the lifelong influence that her migratory childhood (as the sole daughter in a family of six brothers) that is threaded throughout all of her work. As a Mexican-American woman growing up in a working-class, Catholic family, her approved vocations and options in life were few. By pursuing a life of education and writing, she forged a new path that went against her familial cultural traditions and socialized gender norms. Her writings have you revelling along with her as she gains both hard-won economic independence and writerly solitude as a young woman, while also supporting and mentoring youth and artistic communities around the world.
Although the book doesn't explicitly touch on her choice to stay single and child-free, I loved the tiny details she chose to share about her home life. The great reveal of this book is found in they ways that Cisneros shares with us her most tender and quiet moments, her struggles and amazing humor, and the many people and places that move her. Not to mention the music and art that inspires her work and daily life. The way she shares her influences and self-reflections is beautiful and startlingly intimate.
Having been an https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/38441609#instant fangirl since "A House on Mango Street" and having seen her speak in person twice, I wasn't sure what exactly to expect of this memoir that is not a memoir. A House of My Own is a revelation, and the way Cisneros turns a phrase is singular; I was moved to tears several times and discovered new dimensions of her work many times over while reading.
Every moment is infused with her soulful, often hilarious writing - from her youthful adventures typing Mango Street in a rented house on the Grecian island of Hydra, to her nervous meeting with the great musician and composer Astor Piazzolla, to driving her hero Eduardo Galeano around San Antonio, to her musings on St. Teresa de Avila...and so much more. As you can tell, I adore this book and it's gorgeously put together, filled with lovely photos to boot. If you haven't read her novels or poems yet, I believe you can still find enjoyment of this book and it will certainly spark you to seek out more of her work.
Although the book doesn't explicitly touch on her choice to stay single and child-free, I loved the tiny details she chose to share about her home life. The great reveal of this book is found in they ways that Cisneros shares with us her most tender and quiet moments, her struggles and amazing humor, and the many people and places that move her. Not to mention the music and art that inspires her work and daily life. The way she shares her influences and self-reflections is beautiful and startlingly intimate.
Having been an https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/38441609#instant fangirl since "A House on Mango Street" and having seen her speak in person twice, I wasn't sure what exactly to expect of this memoir that is not a memoir. A House of My Own is a revelation, and the way Cisneros turns a phrase is singular; I was moved to tears several times and discovered new dimensions of her work many times over while reading.
Every moment is infused with her soulful, often hilarious writing - from her youthful adventures typing Mango Street in a rented house on the Grecian island of Hydra, to her nervous meeting with the great musician and composer Astor Piazzolla, to driving her hero Eduardo Galeano around San Antonio, to her musings on St. Teresa de Avila...and so much more. As you can tell, I adore this book and it's gorgeously put together, filled with lovely photos to boot. If you haven't read her novels or poems yet, I believe you can still find enjoyment of this book and it will certainly spark you to seek out more of her work.