I would like to introduce our very first guest blogger - my friend, fellow foodie, photographer, and reader, Hana H. Thank you Hana! Her post is below.
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To say that The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is my favorite book would be an understatement. This book moved, troubled, and inspired me. Composed of 44 vignettes, it tells the story of a young Latina growing up in a harsh neighborhood in Chicago. Throughout the book, we see her struggle with her sense of self as it clashes with her family, community, and expectations set by others.
I first read this book for a Chicano Literature class in the summer of 2002, when I ended my first year in college. Although I am not Latina and did not grow up in a harsh neighborhood, I identify with Esperanza's desire to concurrently belong to yet escape from the place she calls home. I think all of us, at some point in our lives, have felt conflicted about "home."
Growing up in Taiwan, moving to northern California at the age of nine, and then on to college in Los Angeles, I never really felt like I had a home. I belonged nowhere yet everywhere at the same time. Having no desire to attach myself to any of the three locations, I felt a dire need to get away to find a place to call my own. During my third year in college, I decided to leave my comfort zone and packed up fragments of my life to study in France for a year.
Before I left for France, I asked my friends and dorm mates to read this book and sign on their favorite vignette. Something for me to remember people by while I'm out of the country. This idea was inspired by the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at UCLA in 2002. Sandra Cisneros was doing signings, and I asked her to autograph on my favorite vignette, "Darius & the Clouds." She is an incredible woman. I asked her if she has read "The Lover" by Marguerite Duras (another book that's made an impact in my life), and she replied that she loved it. In retrospect, I should have asked her to sign on the vignette she felt most connected to. Too bad, what's done is done.
Some of my readers wrote me long good-bye notes; others simply signed. Below is a list of the vignettes which touched the people I care about, and some of their quotes that I want to share with you:
Marin - CH
Those Who Don't - TB
There Was an Old Woman She Had So Many Children She Didn't Know What to Do - "They remind me how I get frustrated when I see unsupervised kids horsing around or doing something dangerous. I'm like, "Where are your parents?!" but I don't actually say that." - VM
The Family of Little Feet - "I read somewhere that shoes make who you are. They carry you every step of the way, can make a difference. I LOVE shoes...but at the same time I hate them..." - VS
A Rice Sandwich - WT
Four Skinny Trees - "For Hope." - VC
No Speak English - "All I want is to have u here, but because I'm a rational person, I'll let u go to France. So the only person to nag @ me now will be my mom, which is bad." - WL
Rafaela Who Drinks Coconut & Papaya Juice on Tuesdays - "I'll never forget the way you smell. You've been the best thing in a long while." - HF
Bums in the Attic - "You know, I don't read for fun...ever!...I gave it a shot and I'm glad I read this book. It reminded me that I am still very much capable of reading." - RY
Bums in the Attic - "Because where else would you keep them?"- AK
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