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melissa_cosgrove's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
More random collection of life stories than memoir, this is written beautifully, but it just didn’t work for me stylistically. Some parts were introductions from books, some were speeches, some were presentations; this seemed especially odd when their original performance included musical and/or visual accompaniments that obviously couldn’t be replicated on the page.
There was a lot of repetition, like using the same anecdotes in multiple instances, which just underscored the lack of cohesiveness and the fact that the book was compiled rather than written within a finite time period with a clear intention. I did like the footnotes, which highlighted growths in perspective and emotion, but overall I was left wanting more details. She mentions heartbreak and a suicide attempt, but never dedicates any meaningful time to them; we don’t even get a basic story, let alone an emotional analysis/reflection/resolution. Instead, most of the focus is on other people — writers she admires, musicians she loves, friends, roommates, family members, artists, etc. — when I just came here to learn about her life/feelings/experiences!
After so much repetition, I grew tired of the pages of scenery descriptions (lovely and poetic as they were) and ached for something with more substance than “I finally have my own place and I like being alone.” It didn’t seem like the details were carefully chosen — many felt insignificant and so became part of a never ending exposition of setting. (As opposed to House on Mango Street, which is a master class in selecting sparse and powerful details, which I wish was replicated in her nonfiction.)
I was expecting something much more vulnerable or maybe daring, and I feel bad for feeling disappointed but that’s my honest opinion. “Natural Daughter” felt the most authentic; it was one of the only chapters where people weren’t so idealized, so it held my attention the best. It felt more like it came from the heart. Toward the end, she gets more honest about her parents too. “Daydreamer Girl” irritated me at the very end because why did it have to be gendered? The last sentence reads, “…thinker, visionary, intuitive—all wonderful words synonymous with ‘girl.’” That sort of rubbed me the wrong way, especially after she dedicated so many pages to singing the praises of male thinkers and visionaries. I felt bummed about being excluded as a nonbinary person even though I realize that likely was not her intention.
To end on a positive note, I found the piece about Teresa Urrea fascinating and I loved learning about her life. I didn’t know she was the mother of Luis Alberto Urrea (I read his book The Devil’s Highway in a southwestern border literature class in high school and have never forgotten it).
Overall, the writing of this was great, but I wish it had been trimmed down quite a bit.
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
5.0
Loved this book of short stories/memoir. Want to read everything by Cisneros now!