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A House of My Own: Stories from My Life (2015). 'Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street and Caramelo, has here written what may well be the best.
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From the beloved author of The House on Mango Street: a richly illustrated compilation of true stories and nonfiction pieces that, taken together, form a jigsaw autobiography: an intimate album of a literary legend's life and career. From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico, in a region wher...more
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Published October 6th 2015 by Knopf
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A House of My Own: Stories from My Life
038535133X (ISBN13: 9780385351331)
English
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'I have always been a daydreamer, and that's a lucky thing for a writer. Because what is a daydreamer if not another word for thinker, visionary, intuitive--all wonderful words synonymous with 'girl.' It's official: I'm a Sandra Cisneros fan. This is the first book of hers that I've read and over the last few years I've found that reading a writer's non-fiction before reading their fiction has helped me better get into the writer's mind, understand their influences and what drives them. for a...more
Sep 10, 2015Chula Brown Buffalo rated it it was amazing
I savored this book. Every page. I didn't want it to end. Sandra Cisneros' voice is incredible, strong and proud. She makes me want to write, and be heard. This collection of essays and articles are profound, and deserve to be read and shared time and time again. I am so glad to be able to read 'new' writing by her, that I had not encountered. Reading A House of My Own, made me want to go back and read Caramelo and House on Mango Street. Her voice is so important to Chicanas, Latinas, y Mexicanas...more
May 01, 2016sarah rated it it was amazing
This book is sublime, masterful, surprising, full of spirit and unabashed feminism. Composed of experimental vignettes and glimmers from the globe-trotting, empathic, socially conscious writer, teacher, poet, Sandra Cisneros. Some reviews here have expressed disappointment in the so-called lack of 'juicy' details revealed, but I felt just the opposite. The stories of Cisneros' life are courageous in their sensitivity and revealing of the lifelong influence that her migratory childhood (as the so...more
Feb 20, 2019El rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I met Sandra Cisneros on the page in college, like many young people do, having been assigned The House on Mango Street and Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. At first I rejected it all, like I tended to do at that age because I was just that sort of person. As I grew up, though, I found a deeper appreciation for Cisneros and, I'll admit, she's part of the reason why I am now working on my graduate degree in Creative Writing. Yes, that's right. And it was just this past January, during my t...more
Oct 10, 2015Anne rated it liked it
I feel kind of cheated by this book. I'm a long time Cisneros fan, and I'm used to waiting over a decade for her next book and then being blown away. I expected this to be a memoir told in stories; instead, it's a collection of introductions to books and essays she read at various speaking events. They are well written and there are some gems, but serious life experiences are carefully skirted. She mentions lovers and affairs that hurt her, but never ever goes into depth about love and sex. She...more
Oct 05, 2015Leslie Reese rated it it was amazing
Sandra Cisneros’s writing is honest and poetic, and lacks the self-consciousness of someone aspiring to be erudite. I mention this because I think for someone who is multi-lingual, who has read a lot, and lived and traveled around the world; who graduated from a prestigious writing program, and has been lauded with the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship among other awards and honors it seems she could have easily gone in another direction - speaking a lot of academese, for instance - but instead s...more
May 22, 2018Lisset rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
What A Book! If I was a Cisneros fan before, this really sealed the deal. So many aspects of this life story resonates with me.
A House of My Own: Stories From My Life is a charming memoir in the form of compilation – book reviews, forewards, epilogues, etc. – composed over her writing life and presented more or less in chronological order. Part search for home, part exploration of grief, family, and art, Sandra Cisneros writes with a language that is disarming and playful, communicating volumes in a few words. She talks, for example, about “trying to please [her] Chicago nemesis” (loc. 233). Her San Antonio partner, on...more
Feb 14, 2016Adrineh rated it it was amazing
I decided to read Sandra Cisneros' A House of My Own: Stories from My Life after reading a review by avid reader and active GoodReads user Rowena. I've never read any of Cisneros' books and, to my surprise, never heard of her either. Thank you, Rowena, for introducing me to her! I believe there is the right book for the right time, and this was the book for me at this time. Cisneros writes about writing, about her lifetime of finding places to write, of finding her own space — it's no coincidenc...more
Sandra Cisneros Husband
beautiful
I loved this book and this review I'm writing from my phone will surely not do it justice. Each chapter stands on its own and together paint a picture of Cisneros' life as a writer struggling to find her 'home'. I found myself pausing after each piece, feeling like I needed to give it time to settle in me before going on to the next. At the same time, I couldn't get enough and didn't want to stop reading. I still don't want it to end. I don't know where to begin to describe why I loved it so much...more
The lush, shiny pages, full of wonderful photographs, are good beds for Cisneros' memoir/jaggedy autobiography. Her voice is strong over three decades; this collection of non-fiction details her thoughts and movements well. The desire to find a home of your own; you can't go home again. The travels across country and abroad, especially the pre-PC periods, are deftly captured. Her family, friends, artist collaborators and nemeses, her awareness of flowers and animals and sites and food and color,...more
When she was reading in Portland, Sandra Cisneros talked about losing track of what she had written BC (before computers). Her reading was powerful and sweet, her advice wise and generous. I am a longtime Cisneros fan, and I wrote my review of her visit before I had even finished the book: http://janpriddyoregon.blogspot.com/2... These are essays Cisneros said she had to get in print before they were lost, written over the past thirty years or so. They are 'occasional' pieces, written for specifi...more
Jul 10, 2016Jamie rated it really liked it
Essays as a memoir--definitely not a memoir. Cisneros revisits and refines many many essays and speeches from her illustrious career; she illuminates many many facets of her life that I had not previously known about her. I love her commitment to all art and to deepening her commitment to herself and her writing, and that is served well by her revision of essays and compilation into one text. It's wonky that way, though, and the many long footnotes. There are great elements for excerpting with s...more
Like slipping into someone else's beautifully rendered life. Like being warmly invited but landing more comfortably than a mere guest would. Experience Cisneros's trademark vibrant poetry while traveling the world with her at all stages of her life. Escape and be pushed closer to yourself. I can't say enough about this book.
Sep 20, 2017Dominic rated it it was amazing
Full disclosure: I am a huge Cisneros fan. When I finally got around to reading A House of My Own, I expected a collection of deep cuts for fans like me and random essays from other sources clipped together into a book. What I found there instead is something a lot more cohesive than expected—and a something easily accessible to anyone interested in how creative people keep the well from drying up. It was a joy to read (and much of the time to listen to the audiobook, read by Cisneros herself) th...more
I’ve been a fan of Cisneros since middle school, when I read “Eleven,” like a lot of American middle schoolers. She perfectly conveyed what it felt like when you woke up on your eleventh birthday, the first time a momentous day doesn’t feel momentous. I didn’t actively pursue her until recently, when I read The House on Mango Street at the tail end of 2013, and now when I saw this in the new arrivals at my library. This book is gorgeously produced. It’s printed on thick white paper and has full...more
Dec 28, 2015Joyce rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: audio, autobiography, literary, memoir, multicultural, nonfiction, sense-of-place, sense-of-times, women
What a lovely memoir, with nonfiction pieces chronicling her life and her development as a writer. She reads the essays, and that definitely adds a very personal touch. I'd only read her novels, which she also writes about here, but these essays provide a fuller picture of the growth of an artist and the sense of obligation she feels as a writer with roots in more than one culture. She writes, 'For those of us living between two worlds, our job in the universe is to help others see with more tha...more
her voice and writing are so beautiful and draws you in. I still remember the first time I read her in high school and how my AP english teacher marveled at the compliment I gave her then. It still stands, her words move and resonate with me like few others can do. This was a lovely anthology, filled memoir and stories and writing. You're growing and moving with her through her life and I can't wait to read it again and again.
This book was lovely and captivated me in a way that many books can't manage. She inspires me to write, to be my best self and to no longer be afraid. She is me and I am her as the only daughter of Mexican parents. I could relate on many levels and am so happy her voice penetrates through all the noise. The way she weaves words leaves you in awe at times. I'm biased as a Latina, but recommend this as a Latina who is slowly becoming proud of her roots and learning to see the beauty.
This is a beautiful self portrait of Sandra Cisneros told through a collection of talks, stories, book introductions and forewords, and tributes to other artists. The theme of her need for a house of her own runs through the collection. With the various writings there is an overlap of stories and themes, which enriches each story and shares more insights and history about Cisneros' life, her spirit and artistry. Her writing style is described as lyrical. Her work is a pleasure to read. I looked...more
Mar 22, 2019Natalie rated it it was amazing
Sandra Cisneros is an artful writer. Her command of language is inspirational and her story is fascinating. She opened my eyes about aspects of my own life I never thought about, made me fall in love with Mexican and Mexican-American culture, and even inspired me write my own poetry. This was every book I ever want to read: an memoir in the form of an essay collection written by a poet. I loved how she wrote about artists, culture, and the way she saw beautiful things. I too want to own a pink h...more
Aug 17, 2018Mell rated it liked it
A House Of My Own Sandra Cisneros Pdf
Goodreads just lost/failed to save my thoughtfully written review. This is good but a bit repetitive because it's a collection of essays, speeches and introductions written over the years. Cisneros is brilliant but the book is a bit long and feels occasionally disjointed, as a patchwork collection can. This was my choice for the 'book written by a feminist' for the Summer Reading Challenge.
Jan 12, 2018Bookish rated it it was amazing
I miss hearing from Sandra Cisneros. She doesn't do talks or interviews very often and the ones she does are recorded even less frequently. So reading A House of My Own: Stories from My Life felt like I had a front row seat to interview after interview (even though this isn't the format the book takes) in which she relates society, culture, and politics to how her life and her art have unfolded. She brings up the art and artists that have influenced her life in various ways - my favourite bits o...more
As with everything I read from Sandra Cisneros, I am constantly inspired and in awe of this book. The truth, as plain as in her other books, is so raw and perfect.
Lovely, as always.
'Just because a cat has kittens in the oven,that doesn't make them biscuits.' Stories without beginning or end,connecting everything little and large,blazing from the centre of the universe into el infinito. Great read.
Oct 05, 2015Michelle Lancaster rated it really liked it
Biography Sandra Cisneros A House of My Own: Stories from My Life Alfred A. Knopf Hardcover, 978-0-385-35133-1 (also available as ebook and audiobook), 400 pgs., $28.95 October 6, 2015 'As I write this, I’m ending my sixth decade. A new cycle in my life is opening and old one is closing. I wish to look backward and forward all at once.' A House of My Own: Stories from My Life by Sandra Cisneros is an autobiography of sorts, an assemblage of nonfiction pieces spanning the years 1984 through 2014. Cisner...more
My Goodreads' goal for 1st part of 2016: Reading ethnic writers, mostly fiction. So I have read -A House of My Own- as a taste of what is to come. In 1990s I read other Sandra Cisnero books: -House on Mango Street- and -Woman Hollering Creek- and identified with the feminist concerns and with the feminine divine. I got busy with other things and forgot about Sandra Cisneros. I saw this book at a local library and immediately borrowed it. I have been reading memior and a memior of a former favorit...more
Mar 18, 2016False rated it really liked it
From the Chicago neighborhoods where she grew up and set her groundbreaking The House on Mango Street to her abode in Mexico, in a region where 'my ancestors lived for centuries,' the places Sandra Cisneros has lived have provided inspiration for her now-classic works of fiction and poetry. But a house of her own, where she could truly take root, has eluded her. With this collection--spanning nearly three decades, and including never-before-published work--Cisneros has come home at last. Ranging...more
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Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954. Internationally acclaimed for her poetry and fiction, she has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lannan Literary Award and the American Book Award, and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation. Cisneros is the author of two novels The House on Mango Street and Caramelo; a collection of short...more
Sandra Cisneros has worked hard to surpass the reputation of 'The House on Mango Street,' the tale of a Mexican American girl coming of age in Chicago. In the 31 years since that novel was published, she has written short story collections, books of poetry, a children's book and another novel — but that early book continues to define her.
So instead of moving away from 'Mango Street,' Cisneros has built an even bigger, more impressive structure around it with 'A House of My Own: Stories From My Life.'
This memoir in essay form includes personal stories about family and revealing travelogues detailing unexpected encounters as a single woman journeying solo. It also pulls together nonfiction writings that range from literary tributes to such greats as Eduardo Galeano to monographs highlighting visual artists who deserved 'a few rose petals' in gratitude for creating work that moved the author, and keynote speeches punctuated by hard-won insights: 'So often you have to run away from home and visit other homes first before you can clearly see your own.'
Home is a theme throughout, usually in the form of clever aphorisms ('A house for me is a space to reinvent oneself, like putting on a new dress.'), and Cisneros drops countless anecdotes about writing her famous first novel. But eventually home becomes less associated with the house on Mango Street, particularly when she applies it as a metaphor to other developments in her life, for example her literary activism: 'We do this because the world we live in is a house on fire and the people we love are burning.'
One surprising element of 'A House of My Own' is the author's openness about her struggles before and after her literary success, shattering any romanticized perceptions her readers might have about her fame or fortune. She doesn't hesitate to mention 'the year of my near death' — a depression following the triumphant rerelease of 'The House on Mango Street' that she dubbed 'Hell's basement' — and the times she would accept any dinner invitations because she was 'subsisting mainly on French bread and lentils so that my money could last longer.' But she's quick to reassure us (and perhaps herself): 'Despair is part of the process, not the destination,' proving there's even a lesson to be learned from a writer's low points.
Cisneros is refreshingly forthcoming about many of the people in her life, yet she only hints at romantic relationships — lovers are not as present as friends and family, her critical support system, who are deservedly celebrated. 'Those remembered in stories never die,' she writes.
Two figures, however, who show through clearer than all the others are Cisneros' parents. It's hard not to beam at the mention of her mother's trademark malapropism 'Good lucky!' and at the love Cisneros exudes for her father, despite a complicated relationship. It's when she writes about Don Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral that her poetry shines most brightly: 'There is stored in my father's Spanish, the way a spider might be sealed in amber, a time and place frozen just out of reach, but that I can still hold up to my eye to make the world more golden.'
Although she claims she never wanted to be a teacher, first because she didn't feel confident enough to be one, and later because she had sacrificed so much to become an author that she didn't want to compromise her writing time, Cisneros makes plenty of observations about writing that read like notes on craft. When she's musing on the art of the memoir, for example, she states: 'Perhaps all memory is a chance at storytelling and every story brings us closer to revealing ourselves to ourselves.' But the true gems in the book are the personal introductions that precede each nonfiction piece. These become opportunities for Cisneros to offer corrections, to admit to getting her facts wrong and to own up to a lack of knowledge or even to immaturity at the time of the writing.
'I had to live a life first,' she explains, 'and then ask the hard questions later.' It's a level of honesty that endears Cisneros to the reader.
At the end of the book, after retelling the widely known controversy of her 'purple house' in San Antonio, Cisneros also explains why she sold her famous home and moved to Mexico. Her life-changing decision comes with yet another personal insight: 'I am not my house. Therefore, I can let go everything I've built.'
This statement also resonates for her as the author of 'A House of My Own,' a dazzling essay collection that is part artist statement, part declaration of independence from 'The House on Mango Street' as she closes yet another chapter in her writing journey. After all, Cisneros declares, 'The book is the sum of our highest potential. Writers, alas, are the rough drafts.'
González is a writer and critic living in New York City. He's also a professor of English at Rutgers-Newark, the State University of New Jersey.
