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I really loved this book, and I was completely surprised that I did. When I'm handed a book and the summary from the person giving it to me is prefaced by "well, it's really slow at first...", let's just say I don't have high expectations. I can be a lazy reader, but this book was completely worth the investment. I happened to read it on a quiet weekend and I think that's exactly what you need. A few hours to delve into it and I was hooked. Cisneros' writing is vivid and spare, but never pretent...
A significant feature in Sandra Cisneros's novels is the colourful language, the unforgettable characters and the unique settings. Her stories are narratives about strong women, the ones who struggle their whole lives to make the people they love happy.In this book we find the protagoniast 'Lala' Reyes and her family crossing the border between their homes in USA to Mexico, where Little grandfather and Awful grandmother wait for them.During those summers, we see the relationship between the chil...
If i could give it 10 stars I would. I loved it. Felt like home. Like hot cocoa and a tamal at Cafe Tacuba. I agree with another reviewer here, that the format will make or break it for you. But there is something about that pace, the long and the short, the truth and the better-than-the-truth, that is embedded in not only her writing, but the chicana/mexican culture as well. It doesn't straddle the border--the long road between Chicago and D.F., it is the border. That spot where things come tog...
4.5.I loved this book. There were so many parts of this book that I really connected to. She just really captured so many little mannerisms and quirks that I see in my own abuela, like the small superstitions that are sprinkled into everything. "Don't put your purse on the floor! It's bad luck!" I also loved how the dialogue was written as a literal translation from Spanish into English, "I have sleepy," and the Spanish terms of endearment like My Sky, My Queen, My Life. There was just so much a...
I borrowed Caramelo from the library in order to read it for a book club. I'd read The House on Mango Street years ago for a class, but what little I remember is that I wasn't especially impressed - but then I'm not even entirely sure I didn't just skim the book; it was one of those classes where you could get away with that kind of thing.Caramelo is the chronicle of several generations of the Reyes family, Mexicans recently transplanted to Chicago. The story is narrated by Celaya (Lala), the yo...
This book is beautifully written and it's no surprise since Cisneros is a poet. It's worth reading for the descriptions alone. I always enjoy exploring other cultures through literature and really appreciate the way she lets us see into the lives of Mexican immigrants in the US and the 2nd generation children born here. There is an overarching storyline and some great storytelling moments though this is fairly loose as a novel. There are a lot of tangents and stories within stories. It holds tog...
One of my top favorite books of all times. And not because Latina discourse is The Thing right now; I think most people never really get past the first 50 pages (including those academics who should know better) because it's challenging and -- I believe -- helpfully marginalizing to the Anglophone reader. The plot is circuitous, anti-teleological, and thoroughly rasquache in the political sense of the term. This could be the best Chicana novel, defining the new Chicano experience, a perspective
I enjoyed this Mexican-American family story rather more than I expected to, so thanks to the 21st Century Literature group for selecting it for a group read. Cisneros is a poet who is not as well known on this side of the Atlantic.Those who like to understand every word of a novel will find this a frustrating reading experience if, like me, they have never been taught Spanish. The text, particularly the sections set in Mexico, is liberally sprinkled with Spanish and Mexican dialect words and ph...
Reading this book is like gulping a shot of high octane espresso. The writing is incredibly vivid and full of energy, sometimes it leaves you almost breathless. Caramelo is the story of a large Mexican-American family, covering several generations. Told from the point of view of Lala, the youngest daughter, we travel from Mexico City to Chicago and then to San Antonio, Texas. Along the way, we learn the story of Lala's grandparents, parents, and finally Lala herself. This book bursts with life,
I love Sandra Cisneros. And this family narrative is another reason why she is one of my favorite authors. Exploring the untold stories of the familia Reyes, she takes the reader on a journey that is intertwined with stories that are fictional and real. Stories that remind you of a folklore that can only be told by grandparent and great grandparents; the magical realism that exist in the pueblos of Mexico that tries to make sense of wars, conquest and religion. And that in making sense of what i...
Just what you'd expect from Cisneros--vivid language that leaves you with fragments of flavors, colors, sounds, and sensations. You travel to and from Chicago, Mexico, and San Antonio with the characters and you grow to love them along the way. What I didn't like was the ongoing metafictional conversation between the narrator and the grandmother about memory and facts, and how they are altered for the greater truth of the story. Why do authors writing autobiographical novels feel the need to jus...
This was a book my mom loved and recommended it to me. Unfortunately, I struggled through it. I feel I didn’t appreciate the writing and experiences shared the way they should have been. Maybe because I’m second generation and could not relate my life experiences to this story the way my mom or her mom could.