Women with Big Eyes (English and Spanish Edition) [Mass Market Paperback]

Angeles Mastretta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

Each story in this "remarkable collection"* reveals a different woman, yet all are linked by a single thread: the strength of desire. Vibrant, sly, wise, earthy, and full of life, these are stories that mesmerize.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thirty-nine indomitable aunts are captured in a series of lyrical snapshots in this autobiographically inspired collection, a bestseller in the award-winning author's native Mexico. Mastretta (Lovesick) originally conceived these brief stories as a way of telling her daughter about her long line of powerful female ancestors; the resulting fictional series of portraits delivers charming lessons in life and love. Among the most memorable of Mastretta's big-eyed women are dutiful Aunt Leonor, her only clandestine desire a craving for medlars, a bittersweet fruit; Aunt Paulina, who meets a Jewish musician and learns that neither love affairs nor works of art are ever quite complete; Aunt Natalia, who dreams of becoming a mermaid; Aunt Fatima, who is courted by the same man for 10 years and discovers that "love, like eternity, is a yearning"; Aunt Daniela, who "fell in love the way intelligent women always fall in love; like an idiot"; and Aunt Ofelia, who never shares her troubles with anyone, determined to "wrinkle up" with smile lines rather than "wrinkle down." Homing in on the essence of each aunt, Mastretta also captures the flavor of her native Puebla: "...the volcanoes, the sky, the mole, the chalupas, the national anthem, the highway to Mexico City... the bittersweet chocolates, the music, the smell of tortillas...." This edition includes the full Spanish text and showcases Mastretta's engaging ability to capture the pivotal moments of a woman's life, when everything changes or begins to make sense for the first time. Though the translation can sometimes be rocky, this celebration of womanhood will captivate readers who enjoy Isabel Allende and Laura Esquivel.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The women who come to life in Mastretta's engaging bilingual story collection are independent and passionate individuals, and she writes about them with compassion and, above all, humor. Each story portrays a different woman as she enters a crucial point in her life, such as Aunt Daniela, who "fell in love the way intelligent women always fall in love: like an idiot." Or Aunt Amanda, who suddenly marries her deceased mother's ex-lover in order to quiet the townspeople's gossip about her parentage. Part fable, part mysticism, the stories are tied together with details of everyday life in the author's native Puebla, Mexico. Followed in their daily devotions, their hours of embroidery and meal preparation, these upper-class women are at their best when asserting their dominance over suitors or husbands. Autobiographical in its inception as Mastretta searched her family tree for strong, unique women, this collection became much more as her imagination and vibrant mysticism took over, turning it into what she calls "a plane ticket to another world." Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Trade; Bilingual edition (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English, Spanish
• ISBN-10: 1594480400
• ISBN-13: 978-1594480409
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 1 x 7.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,543,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Character sketches painted with words., September 4, 2006

By 

D. McCue "Bigskeeter" (Norman, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women with Big Eyes (Hardcover)

I love this book. It's a powerful sketchbook of characters. The author introduces each of these characters and makes them so interesting that you just can't stop reading about them. The stories are short and tasty.

There are three things about this book that I find amazing:

1. The writing is as beautiful as it is sensual. Extremely well done.
2. It is the first book I've read that contained both an English translation and the original Spanish text since my high school Spanish teacher handed me "Don Quixote". "Women with Big Eyes" isn't the classic that "Don Quixote" is, but it is a lot more fun to read.
3. I fished this brand new book out of the bargain bin in a WalMart store for three dollars. That makes it one of the best reads for the money I've found all year.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An author of breathtaking power and beauty, October 29, 2004

By 

John Dewey Stewart (Park City, KS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women with Big Eyes (Hardcover)

Angeles Mastretta has captivated me! Her voice is completely her own, but you will be reminded of elements of Anais Nin, D.H. Lawrence, Yukio Mishima, Gabriel Garcia Marquez - even poets like Pablo Neruda and Rainer Maria Rilke. If you like any two of these writers, I predict you will fall for her as I have. Short stories, beautifully told - stories of real women, living real lives. A book you will devour, over and over.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars magic, February 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Women with Big Eyes (Hardcover)

Clicheed? Maybe, but only in the sense that all stories are merely reworkings of previously existing stories. It is the author's pulchritudinous style that makes each of these vignettes riveting, insightful, unforgettable, and one of my personal favorites. Read this book if you want to remember that magic exists in the guise of a woman.