MMGM (2/19/2018) Classic Critique: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

I have had to read yet another classic novel for school, so I've decided to review it this week. For MMGM, I am reviewing The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Here's the publisher's description:

The best-selling coming-of-age classic, acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world.

The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous—Sandra Cisneros’ masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery. Few other books in our time have touched so many readers.

Pros:

• The characters. One of the best parts of The House on Mango Street is the characters. The main character and narrator, Esperanza, is a true-to-life combination of a girl who tries to have fun and enjoy her childhood and a young adult who has come/is coming to terms with the world she lives in and how its harshness is further amplified for those who are impoverished. She describes (consciously, as she often writes poems and later her own story) the story's many other characters. These include her family members, such as her young, oblivious sister, Nenny, and her now-deceased aunt, who she loved and regrets her behavior towards; her friends, such as harmless, happy sisters Rachel and Lucy and Sally, an abused girl who Esperanza befriends but later blames for an awful event; and other members of the neighborhood, who often have regrets, people they miss, and unique personalities.
• The setting. There certainly are not an excess of books set in poor neighborhoods, which makes this novel very unique. Cisneros as Esperanza describes the setting vividly, making every location in the novel seem real. Every home's objects and flaws, every building's shape and color, every field or garden's appearance are all depicted, drawing the reader in and making them feel as if they are actually living Esperanza's life.
• The writing. By now, you might have guessed (if you didn't already know) that Cisneros is a fabulous author. Her writing is filled with personality, with sentences that sound like the dialects of those who say them and a unique story setup consisting of many 2-to-4-page short stories, keeping each page fresh. Cisneros is also able to depict the characters' thoughts and troubles extremely well, in a way that makes it easy to understand them. The novel is filled with fun phrases and sentences that will make readers think, "That's genius!," cementing the novel's place as a great classic.

Cons (although not really):

• The content is important, but it may not suit younger ages. In the introduction to The House on Mango Street, Cisneros discusses her experience at a school helping students who often had bad home situations. These experiences made their way into the novel, through characters whose spouses imprison them at home, whose parents beat them, or who are even sexually harassed or assaulted. This content is all dealt with realistically and intelligently, but I do want to warn everyone that younger middle-grade readers may struggle with the novel's content. For older readers, however, the novel provides a realistic introduction to the awful circumstances that many people face every day.
• The novel is often sad, albeit necessarily. With all of the characters' hardships, whether they are simply being too poor to live in a nicer neighborhood or something else, the novel is obviously sad. For someone looking for an upbeat, happy read, you should probably look elsewhere until you want to read something else. However, for those who are willing to read some unhappy content (which, luckily, does not drag on for too long or overwhelm the book at all), The House on Mango Street will broaden your horizons and leave you a better, more knowledgeable person.

Verdict:

There is certainly a reason why The House on Mango Street has become a widely-read classic. It features an incredible combination of real-life topics, genius writing, and rich characters, making it one of the rare novels that everyone will enjoy and be impacted by for the rest of their lives.