itibaren Bogram, West Bengal, India
Such a fun, quick read. Couldn't put it down. Loved the mystery and suspense.
Celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street is now considered a classic coming-of-age story. Told in short vignettes, the one hundred and ten page novella is a quick read. The story revolves around a young Hispanic girl, Esperanza, and her desires to grow up quicker, live in a better house, be smarter, and have a better life than she is now living. Of course, to Esperanza, any life would be better than having to live in the sad red house on Mango Street. The story opens with Esperanza telling about all the places they have lived before. In less than a quarter page, Cisneros tells the reader that the family he/she is about to meet is poor. It’s the nuances rather than the words that tell the story. The next few vignettes do a masterful job with such few words in the areas from simple to complex: character description, gender identity, self worth, and identification of self. Given the rise in the number of Hispanics in the States since The House on Mango Street was originally released, Esperanza’s story could take place in Anywhere, U.S.A. The dust jacket states that the family lives in Chicago, but really, the story could take in any mid-to-large city. I was also intrigued by other characters’ names. Many had nicknames. That’s something I don’t seem to hear much any more. Is it because kids are inside playing video games and not playing with each other? Or is it just a sign of the twenty-first-century sensitivity? I must admit that I was a tad disappointed in The House on Mango Street’s conclusion. I understood Esperanza’s belief in her inner strength, but I didn’t get the philosophical aspect of her notions, hence the four-star rating. Review originally appeared on www.armchairinterviews.com