Review - The House On Mango Street (Originally posted November 6, 2009)

This time around I’m reviewing a book titled, “The House on Mango Street.” This book is a collection of short vignettes written by Sandra Cisneros (her website) . My copy was the 25th anniversary edition that I got from Amazon.com, the drawn cover shows a girl looking out of the window of a 2 story red brick house. It was only 110 pgs in length with an additional 14 pgs of introduction by the author.

There are a total of 44 vignettes some no longer than 5 pages and some as short as 1. They all have to deal with a particular moment or event that took place during Cisneros’ childhood. She grew up on the north side of Chicago in an area that was predominately a lower income, Hispanic neighborhood. As you read the stories it becomes very apparent that they are a free and open style. It is like reading someone’s random thoughts and memories as they are about to form into poetry. I found myself reading them as if they were poetry. There is a certain cadence to them and when you find that cadence they flow freely from the pages into your imagination.

The writing is very simplistic which is perfect because the entire book is written by an adult through the eyes of a child. You can tell from reading the book that storytelling is a big influence in Cisneros’ writing. Storytelling is sometimes a lost and forgot art but is the basic foundation for all writing. It is the difference between putting words on paper (like this review) and weaving a story that is just as easily read out loud to others as it is read to yourself. She excels at storytelling. The stories range anywhere from funny and happy to sad and in a couple of instances very dark. It is easy to read and I finished it in one sitting. In fact it was possibly to short.

I found myself completely immersed in the stories as my childhood was similar to what she describes. I too grew up in a predominately lower income, Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago so I was familiar with many of the things she portrays. I also learned that I had another link to the author as she is my cousins' cousin. Although I have never meet her before and I only found out through talking with one of my sisters that I had that additonal tie. In one of the stories she mentions my first cousin and my aunt. That fact did not influence my feelings about the book at all. In fact it was more of a surprise to me that as excellent as the book was and as great as a writer she is that I had never met her before.

I’m going to give this book 9 out of 10 only for the reason as I wish there had been more. However I am eager to read more by her and it has easily moved into one of my top ten books. If you grew up in a neighborhood like mine than you should read it. I think you will find many things that will remind you of your childhood. If you did not then you should read it just to understand a little bit more on how someone else grew up and was influenced. AND especially if you are a fan of storytelling I think you will find the book well worth reading!