The House on Mango Street

(#2) Read 25 books

1. Room by Emma Donohue
2. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
3. Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
4. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
5. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
6. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
7. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
8. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
9. The Shack by William Young
10.The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
12. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
13. Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
14. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
16. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
17. Bossypants by Tina Fey
18. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
19. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The House on Mango Street is the story of the young Esperanza Cordero growing up in Chicago's Latino section. It is told from her point of view in the form of short, episodic tales of the adventures on crazy characters on Mango Street. Esperanza views this house as her "temporary" residence, and knows she is destined for greater things beyond the neighborhood.

Esperanza experiences the pains of growing from a child to a woman. She witnesses the struggles of other women around her in the neighborhood, providing social commentary without really knowing she is doing so. She experiences embarrassment at her family's situation, at their house, at the behavior of her family and her friends. All things the rest of us can relate to- even if we didn't grow up on Mango Street. 

This book was perfect for what I was looking for- something I could read on my down time at work, during TV commercials, etc. Each chapter is a different tale and none are more than five pages long. The language is very readable and the plots fairly straightforward.

Cisneros does an excellent job of combining a child's perspective with a narrator who is interesting and even poetic. Esperanza dreams of being a writer  herself, and is a very good storyteller. However she is still believable as being a young girl.

Take for example the chapter called "The Family of Little Feet" in which Esperanza describes finding a bag of old shoes and trying on high heels for the first time:

"We laugh at Rachel's one foot with a girl's grey sock and a lady's high heel. Do you like these shoes? But the truth is it is scary to look down at your foot that is no longer yours and see attached a long long leg." 

This is the perfect combination of a theme that a grown woman can relate to expressed in a way that is plausibly how a young girl would express it. This foot, this leg is no longer mine. I am changing into a woman and I don't recognize the person I used to be. 


Mostly from this book I will remember the line resonated with me as being so perfectly childlike and so profound at the same time:

"You can never have too much sky."

I'll leave you with that on this chilly March day as we continue to wait for spring. Soak up as much of that blue sky as you can. You'll never get enough of it.