Customer Reviews

Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I'll echo other Amazon reviewers in saying that Cisneros has a truly unique voice. Even when her ultimate point is to say things that we've heard over and over again (and often need to hear even more), she conveys her message by saying old things in unique, truly striking ways. Cisneros actually finds images that have never been used before ("houses the color of bad weather"), and even in in the weaker stories, there is always this pure voice that is a constant joy to encounter.

The stories themselves vary widely in style. There are the short, impressionistic, plotless, poetic ones (that are sometimes my favorites) like "Eleven," "Salvador Late or Early," and "Tin Tan Tan." Then, there are the longer ones that draw so strongly on the author's heritage. The title story and in "Little Miracles, Kept Promises" are particularly strong.

Overall, this is well worth a read. As the other reviewers suggest, it may be of most interest to those drawn to feminist writing and to Chicana writings, but those readers are, by no means, the only ones who can enjoy this. The stories of Woman Hollering Creek should also be of interest to those who simply love good writing.

Women Hollering Creek and other stories by author Sandra Cisneros, is written into different perpectives of everything that happens in life. Perspectives such as love, sex, adultry, abuse, forced marraige and war,etc. All the perpectives are told in a most honest and relistic tone making you want to read more. The most interesting thing about is that it's not just written with one woman's perpective like most books, but through many women young and old. I've read others an so far to me this is the best. I would request this book to anyone who likes to read women's persective in life.

Este libro is something that I could personally relate to. Me gusto como mensionaba las telenovelas, los artists latinos, the saints and religion, y todo de la vida Mexicana. Even though the book got a bit disturbing and graphic at times, es unos de los mejores libros que e leido. Sandra Cisneros ase un gran trabajo in this book, it is so much fun to read y dificil to put down. Se lo recomiendo a todo mundo! Tan tan!

I attended a literature class during the spring semester of 2005. Two short stories from this book were included in my class. Sandra Cisneros writes from the heart. She addresses the issue of domestic violence in the short story, "Woman Hollering Creek." The short story, "Eleven," is about a young girl on her 11th birthday, and how this young girl remembers what it was like to experience behaviors from most of those 11 years.

We live in a country that contains a richness of cultural diversity, and has been built on that concept. I'm seriously concerned about the comments of the previous reviewer,"alphazion." I'm also concerned about the user name as it appears to be racist in nature. The quote selected by this individual, could imply that Ms. Cisneros approves of terrorism!

I throughly enjoy the literature of Ms. Cisneros. She also is the reader for her audiobooks, and to experience being read to by her is something that will remain with the listener for a very long time. I applaud her contributions to the literary field. In addition to her wonderful writing, she is also an excellent teacher and lecturer.

This is one of my favorite books ever. The language is delicious...I quote it to my friends all the time. What a gift!!

These are deeply heartfelt stories; most of them are perfectly balanced glances at moments in a life, whether it be the life of a child or an adult.

Ms. Cisneros is able to capture these moments in a remarkably intuitive and heartfelt way. What skill--but the best thing is, there is nothing obvious or manipulative about Ms. Cisneros' writing. This makes her stories unique. Some of the stories are more successful than others, but you remember her best because of their realism, and their integrity.

If I could write fiction, I would want to write like Ms. Cisneros. She has a certain (dare I say it) purity and truthfulness in her style that is very attractive, and probably only comes to a writer after much heartache, testing and patience, while trying to capture the elusive "voice".

Once again Sandra Cisneros has created a work of great value. I loved this book from beginning to end. The way it is formatted to the detailed explanations of life create a work like none other. Once you read this book, check out House on Mango Street.