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Sandra Cisneros

Author of The House on Mango Street

29+ Works 16,001 Members 360 Reviews 33 Favorited

About the Author

Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 20, 1954. She received a B.A. in English from Loyola University of Chicago in 1976 and a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Iowa in 1978. She has worked as a college recruiter, an arts administrator, a teacher to high school show more dropouts, and a poet. She has also visited numerous colleges around the country as a visiting writer. She has written numerous books including The House on Mango Street, Caramelo, Loose Woman, Have You Seen Marie?, and A House of My Own: Stories from My Life. She has received numerous awards including the MacArthur Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, the Lannan Literary Award, the American Book Award, and the Thomas Wolfe Prize. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Includes the names: Sandra Cisneros, Sondra Cisneros

Image credit: Ruben Guzman

Works by Sandra Cisneros

Associated Works

The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction (1983) — Contributor — 1,130 copies
The Oxford Book of American Short Stories (1992) — Contributor — 743 copies
The Top Ten: Writers Pick Their Favorite Books (1997) — Contributor — 301 copies
Cool Salsa (1994) — Contributor — 298 copies
We Are the Stories We Tell (1990) — Contributor — 193 copies
This Is My Best: Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work (2004) — Contributor — 159 copies
Granta 108: Chicago (2009) — Contributor — 141 copies
Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and Stories (1993) — Contributor — 128 copies
Leaving Home: Stories (1997) — Contributor — 116 copies
The Penguin Book of International Women's Stories (1996) — Contributor — 113 copies
Goddess of the Americas (1996) — Contributor — 101 copies
Who Do You Think You Are?: Stories of Friends and Enemies (1993) — Contributor — 94 copies
Infinite Divisions: An Anthology of Chicana Literature (1993) — Contributor — 67 copies
American Christmas Stories (2021) — Contributor — 59 copies
Calling Home: Working-Class Women's Writings (1990) — Contributor — 57 copies
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story (2021) — Contributor — 52 copies
What’s Language Got to Do with It? (2005) — Contributor — 51 copies
Chicago Noir: The Classics (2015) — Contributor — 50 copies
The Seasons of Women: An Anthology (1995) — Contributor — 46 copies
Prejudice: A Story Collection (1995) — Contributor — 40 copies
Voices in First Person: Reflections on Latino Identity (2008) — Contributor — 38 copies
The Signet Book of American Essays (2006) — Contributor — 36 copies
Antaeus No. 75/76, Autumn 1994 - The Final Issue (1994) — Contributor — 32 copies
Floricanto Si!: U.S. Latina Poetry (1998) — Contributor — 26 copies
Stumbling and Raging (2005) — Contributor — 22 copies
The New Great American Writers' Cookbook (2003) — Contributor — 21 copies
Twentieth-Century American Short Stories: An Anthology (1975) — Contributor — 17 copies
20th Century American Short Stories, Volume 1 (1995) — Contributor — 16 copies
Grand Street, 36 (Grand Street) (1990) — Contributor — 10 copies

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Reviews

I love the writing style, and how it's told in vignettes.
 
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Dances_with_Words | 229 other reviews | Jan 6, 2024 |
In The House on Mango Street, author Sandra Cisneros creates a tender and touching coming-of-age tale focused on Esperanza Cordero, a young Hispanic girl growing up in an impoverished, mixed-race neighborhood in Chicago. Billed as a novel, the book is really a collection of more than forty linked episodes, all told through Esperanza’s eyes as she tries to figure out the world around her while moving—reluctantly most days, it seems—from childhood to womanhood. All those tales are quite short, seldom more than a few pages in length, and each captures a specific moment in Esperanza’s upbringing or myriad relationships with friends and family that serves to underscore the book’s main themes of culture differences, wealth disparities, and gender roles.

This is a beautifully written story that reads as much like a prose poem as a traditional narrative. That is not all that surprising; in the version I read (i.e., the 25th anniversary edition), Cisneros includes an enlightening Introduction detailing the book’s origins dating to her time in a graduate writing program when she was struggling with the decision to move from writing poetry to producing short fiction. At times, it felt like the author must have been midway through that transition when she finished The House on Mango Street, which certainly produced an effective result. It was also clear from the Introduction that much of the story is autobiographical, based on Cisneros’ own experiences growing up in Chicago as part of a Hispanic family that struggled economically at times.

The choice to relate events entirely from Esperanza’s perspective was interesting, but one that led to a mixed outcome for me. I like first-person narration because, if you are going to encounter an unreliable narrator, that is the way the story needs to be told. And, without question, Esperanza is an unreliable narrator, not because she is deceitful or hiding a terrible secret, but simply because her age and lack of experience do not always allow her to perceive things the way they are. However, that limited perspective, while great for a story about growing up, also led to a very slight tale in which not a lot happens. Essentially, what we get amounts to a few months in the life of a young girl for whom Mango Street symbolizes who she is but also a place she desperately wants to leave. Overall, this is a poignant story that is well worth the brief amount of time it demands of the reader.
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½
 
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browner56 | 229 other reviews | Jan 1, 2024 |
I'm going to be honest and say that I did not choose this book for pleasure reading. I actually only read it because I will be utilizing some of the vignettes for my AP Spanish Lang course I'll be teaching this year.

While I can understand the cultural significance and the literary value this book holds, on a more personal level I can't say that I enjoyed it. I tried approaching this from an open mind and more laid back perspective, but it didn't work. It may have been my subconscious trying to find things that I could factor into my lessons, or the fact that reading this is Spanish was complete different than reading it in English (the original language it was written in). Whatever it was, I did have a hard time wanting to finish it. If it wasn't for the reading challenge I would have filed this under my dnf pile. I will give [a:Elena Poniatowska|32135|Elena Poniatowska|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1203572583p2/32135.jpg] credit for her translation of this book though! I think if it had been anyone else, the translation wouldn't have done it justice.

Now in terms of the content, I will say this book has a lot to offer especially given the perspective of a young Chicana growing up in Chicago. This book is a good book. It teaches the reader a lot about what Chican@s go through in a country in which racism is prevalent and opportunities aren't always easy to come by. Lastly, one thing that [a:Sandra Cisneros|13234|Sandra Cisneros|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1342038396p2/13234.jpg] does really well is experiment with different literary forms. It definitely took me a couple of rereading of certain vignettes to fully understand what was happening.

Overall, it's a good read. Worth a try I'd say.
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KrabbyPattyCakes | 229 other reviews | Dec 3, 2023 |
Refreshing and unexpectedly heart-warming and inspiring...a buoyant version of Miguel Street
 
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breathstealer | 229 other reviews | Sep 19, 2023 |

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Works
29
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51
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Rating
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ISBNs
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Favorited
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