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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
. These delicious, poetic stories are full of pain and joy., October 19, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories (Paperback)
Sandra Cisneros, the author of "Woman Hollering Creek" gives us a vibrant variety of stories which reveals some of the strength, true love, and wisdom within women. Cisneros, as a gifted writer and a storyteller, shares stories filled with moments of pain and joy. Women Hollering Creek, offers the life experiences of women who have lived both the Mexican and American life. These delicious, poetic stories bring alive beautiful characters (multifaceted women) who experience true life situations. Each character portrayed in this book, go throughout a catharsis full of pain, anguish, love, hope, and ecstasy. Cisneros is a brave author who shows a unique vision of a women's heart. Her wise work constructed by her poetic style, shows her power as a woman and a writer. In this book, she takes you down a river of sadness, with a long ribbon of laughter. An example of her style is this passage that captivated me, "Your eyes are beautiful, you said. You said they were the darkest eyes you'd ever seen and kissed each one as if they were capable of miracles. And after you left, I wanted to scoop them out with a spoon, place them on a plate under these blue blue skies, food for the blackbirds." It is very fortunate that I read this book, because it has given me so much inspiration. Cisneros as a Latina women, has inspired me (another Latino) to continue on my long journey of becoming a writer. Her beautiful prose gives the reader a sense of the world she brings alive. For example, "The laughing sound of the river and canals, and the high melancholy voice of the wind and the branches of the tall pine." I suggest that every writer should read this book. Another reason why I recommend this book is because it has shown me the astonishing perspective of a woman which no matter what, a man can not have. Me, as a man, would never experience what a women experiences. This book is very valuable to me, since it provides the opportunity to see the inner beauty and strength of a Latina women. A third reason why I recommend this book, is because it invites you to imagine and taste the Mexican culture through a woman's eyes. Woman Hollering Creek, served me especially and can be a great resource for others to learn about Mexican lifestyle. This book informed me more about that romantic, joyful, and traditional Mexican life. The rating I give this book is a ten, because it has helped me understand where women are coming from a little better. I have gained more respect for women who are writers because she gives her heart to her readers.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Poetically written exploration of women's experiences, June 10, 2002
This review is from: Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories (Paperback)
This is the book which made me a feminist during my undergraduate years, and on which I subsequently wrote my senior English thesis. No author of short stories can turn a phrase the way Cisneros can, and her poetic evocations of different stages of life from young girl to mature young woman shed a multi-faceted light on Hispanic women's experiences in which every paragraph becomes thought-provoking. In addition, read as a whole thematically, this anthology can be seen as similar to the sort of artistic coming-of-age novels such as Hermann Hesse's Peter Camenzind. The key turning point in this development may be the story "Little Miracles, Kept Promises," which is a series of letters left at the shrine of La Virgin de Guadelupe. This reveals the many layers of the shrine, which is the site of an old Aztec goddess with whom Cisneros identified, and who allows for a new revelation of feminine power in the Mexican heritage which comes out for the rest of the work. However you choose to read it, this is a collection which will both delight and challenge all who come prepared.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Short stories that sparkle, October 31, 2001
This review is from: Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories (Paperback)
Woman Hollering Creek is a powerful collection of short stories from Sandra Cisneros. One of the main strengths of her writing is her ability to make her characters (especially her first person narrators) very accessable. She is able to get into the minds of, and portray, many of her characters in a very lifelike way. She seems especially adept at dealing with the children in her stories. For instance, the story "Eleven" (one of the many gems in this collection) is the account of a little girl on her eleventh birthday. It deals with helplessness of a child in the face of an authoritive adult. It also looks at a childs preoccupation with the opinion of his/her peers. Cisneros manages the tale in such a way that it seems inevitable that the reader will identify with the girl. That, in itself, is a sort of mastery of craft. These stories range from impressionistic, two-page shorts that read like poems, to longer, more detailed accounts of relationships. As with any collection of short stories, there are those that are more successful than others (in other words those that you'll relate to better than others). However, all of the tales have a sort of vivid life to them; and, in all, I think that this is a very well rounded collection. Perhaps the only real point of difficulty that readers may face in this collection is Cisneros' use of spanish phrases throughout the book. However, don't let such things discourage you. Many of these phrases can be understood within the context in which they are written (so they aren't too much of a stumbling block). Also, these stories are too good to let a few words discourage you from reading this book. I would recomend this book to anybody who is interested in the struggles of childhood (especially that of minority children), as well as the pains and pleasures of intimate relationships. I would also recomend this book to lovers of good, colorful short stories.
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