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A review by svjak
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
At the ripe old age of (almost) 27, I've finally read The House on Mango Street. It's taken me an awfully long time to get around to it, mostly because these kinds of books weren't accessible to me growing up. But after reading Cisneros' work, I really wish I'd been able to read this when I was younger.
A lot of these stories were great and a couple of them hit me really hard. Geraldo No Last Name comes to mind immediately. It was the saddest and my favorite of the vignettes in this collection.
Cisneros writes this book from the perspective of Esperanza, a young girl who is growing up poor and struggling with friendships, family, and life in general. The range of these vignettes is so wide, covering topics of school, religion, abuse, immigration, poverty, boys, sisters, having fights with friends, the magic of old hangout spots fading as you get older, and so so much more. Each one is individual and yet connected at the same time.
In addition to the book being great, the preface was amazing. Cisneros wrote about her life growing up, what inspired these stories, what it was like growing up Latina in a poor neighborhood—
A lot of these stories were great and a couple of them hit me really hard. Geraldo No Last Name comes to mind immediately. It was the saddest and my favorite of the vignettes in this collection.
Cisneros writes this book from the perspective of Esperanza, a young girl who is growing up poor and struggling with friendships, family, and life in general. The range of these vignettes is so wide, covering topics of school, religion, abuse, immigration, poverty, boys, sisters, having fights with friends, the magic of old hangout spots fading as you get older, and so so much more. Each one is individual and yet connected at the same time.
In addition to the book being great, the preface was amazing. Cisneros wrote about her life growing up, what inspired these stories, what it was like growing up Latina in a poor neighborhood—
When she thinks to herself in her father's language, she knows sons and daughters don't leave their parents' house until they marry. When she thinks in English, she knows she should've been on her own since eighteen.
This is one of those books everyone should read at least once.
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, and Classism
Brief mentions of most of these things. The author is not explicitly describing anything, just showing observations from the perspective of a child as this was going on around her. Much of it isn't portrayed in full context because Esperanza (the narrator) does not fully understand all of the details of what is happening.