Book-Review

BookReviewofTheHouseonMangoStreetSandraCisnerosisaMexican-Americannovelistandpoet.Cisneros'sfamilybackgroundprovidedmanyexperiencesforhertofinishthebook.TheHouseonMangoStreetisa1984coming-of-agenovelwhichtellsstoriesaboutEsperanzaCordero,ayoungLatingirl'slifeinChicagowithChicanosandPuertoRicansincludingherfamilymembers,friendsshemeetsinMangoStreetandherdreamsforabetterlife.Forme,it'slikeGirlsDiarywrittenbyYangHongyingwhichfascinatesmewhenIwasinPrimaryschool.Bothofbooks’maincharactersarepuremaidenswithmajorthemesincludetheirquestforabetterlifeinsteadofpreachingandjudging.That’smyreasonsofchoosingthebook.Togaininsightintothebook,Iwouldlovetostartwiththewriter'sfamilybackground.Shegrewupastheonlydaughterinafamilyofsixbrothers,whichmadeherfeelisolated.SoshecreatestwosistersforEsperanza.Manydetailsreflectherlonelinessinherchildhood.That'salsothereasonwhyEsperanzaownssomanyfriendsinthisStreet.Thenovelfocusesonherday-to-dayactivitiesandthesefriendsbyusingfirst-presenttensewhichmakesverylittledistancebetweenthereadersandthemaincharacter.Afterthewriter'sbackground,Iwouldliketointroducethecontentandtheformofthebooks.ActuallyIthinkthebookisatypeofshortstoriesmorethananovel.StoriesshowhowEsperanza'sneighborhoodsshowmanyinfluencessurroundingher.Forexample,bytellingShallyacceptstokissbyboysshedoesn'tlike,shecarriesoutherowntorchofHymen.What’smore,shefeelssorryforhermother'swastinghertalentthat'swhyshemoresticksinherdream.Bytellingothers’storiesinthebook,shealsofiguresoutracialdiscrimination,genderdiscriminationanddomesticviolenceinathirteen-year-oldgirl'sperspective.What'smoreimpressiveisthewritingstyle.It'smadeupofvignettesthatarenotpoemsandnotfullstories.Somevignettesareonlytwoorthreeparagraphslongwithdazzlingrhymes.Inbornbadforexample,Esperanzasays:Iwanttobelikethewavesonthesea,likethecloudsinthewind,butI'mme.OnedayIwilljumpoutofmyskin.Iwillshaketheskylikeahundredviolins.ThiscutepoemshowsEsperanza'sdreamofbeingafamouspoetsoastoimpactother.Somepoemsinthebookdoadvancetheplotslikethisone.Thereisnowaytoavoidplotupsanddownshoweverapeacefulcalmwillfollowthestorm.JustlikeanothervignetteBornBadwhichtalksaboutEsperanza'saunt.Onesecondbeforeshe'stellinghowregretfulherauntiscauseshehasadiseaseandlosesherlegswhichpreventherfrommakingherdreamofbeingaswimmercomestrue.Butthenextsecond,sheturnstoencourageEsperanzatokeepwritingandkeepherselffree.ThisencouragementbecomesamotivationforEsperanzatomakeherdreamcometrue.Interestingplotsmakeeverycharacterinthebookbecomesappealing.Ifindtheauthordoeswellinusingdetailtodepictcharacters.Takethemaincharacter'snameasanexample,byexplainingthemeaningofhername(HopeinEnglishbutsadnessandwaitinginSpanish),shedepictsaself-contemptuousgirl.Byusingdetails,theauthorfiguresoutproblems,mostproblemsinbooksareneverfullyresolved,justasthefuturesofpeopleinthebooksareoftenuncertain.Thebookhasagreatimpactonmeonaccountoftherearemanysimilaritiesbetweenmeandthemaincharacter.Esperanzahasdreams,hopesanddesiressoasmesothestoriesstruckachordwithme.PoemswrittenbyEsperanzashowhertalentswhichmakehersodifferentfromotherwomenbecauseotherwomenspendtheirlivestrappedandisolatedbyman.Herambitiontorealizeherdreamurgeshertopersevereinherattitudeaboutwomen'srightsandremainsindependent.Whenitcomestoherhopes,shewritesasawayofexpressingherselfandasawaytoescapethehouse.Shedoesn’tlikethehouseinMangoStreetasit'stooshabby,soshehopestohaveahouseofherown.ThebookstartswiththehouseinMangoStreetandendsupwithherdreamhouseofherown.Insteadofbeingtoldwhat’srightandwrong,Ijustfeelrefreshingtohearanecdotestoldfromaperspectivethatisbothinnocentandwise.SoIhighlyrecommendit