The House on Mango Street Review

 For this review I will be looking at The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This book is structured in short stories/chapters following the life young Esperanza leads while living on Mango Street. The book covers some hard topics but overall is gracefully written and a good read. 

I liked the structure of this book. It was unique in the sense that each of the chapters was only one to four pages. They were almost like short stories. That made them very compact and Cisneros managed to get a lot of content across in such a small space. I read this book for school and one of the things we discussed was how she manages to write such serious things in small spaces and do it in a round about way, to cover the content from audiences aren't as mature as others. She does this so that this book has something for everyone. There is a lot one can gather as an adult reader, and a lot one can gather as a younger reader. 

I liked the realness of the characters. I had no trouble believing that these were real people even though they aren't. They seemed like real people with real flaws and real things actually happen to them. It felt like I was peering into someone's life, which is the goal, I believe.

The content can be dark, though. There are hard things to read in this book, if you are looking at the stories between the lines. If you take everything for face value, it is not that bad. But to really gather the whole essence of the book, I would read closely. I would look at it for everything it could be. 

I think there are also parts of Esperanza that we can all relate to. She wants more out of her life. She wants what she can't have. She believes the grass is greener on the other side, and I think we all think that to some degree. You can empathize and sympathize with her for wanting better for herself, and wanting to escape the life she has been given. When I read this book, I felt for her. Her story pulled at my heart strings and I really hoped that she would get to a better life, escape the struggles of Mango Street and move forward. 

Overall, I liked this book. I think that Cisneros does an excellent job of articulating this story and bringing to life the ways of Mango Street. I think there is a lot we can gain from reading a story like this. This story also reminds me of The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston and Miguel Street by VS Naipaul. This story seems to be a combination of both. I would just suggest you read this book, and if you have time, check out those others.

You can find this book anywhere you get your books. 

Read and Enjoy!!