The House on Mango Street – by Sandra Cisneros (Author)

Told in a series of vibrant vignettes, The House on Mango Street is a story of Esperanza Cordera, a girl growing up in Hispanic quarter of Chicago, in a neighborhood that is neither pretty nor easy. Esperanza, creative and resourceful, knows that she doesn’t want to belong to rundown, desolate Mango Street and strives to reject the low expectations the world seems to have for her.

Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, this is a moving story of a young girl, attempting to rise above the hopelessness around her and inventing for herself what she will become.

“A classic. . . . This little book has made a great space for itself on the shelf of American literature.” —Julia Alvarez

“Afortunado! Lucky! Lucky the generation who grew up with Esperanza and The House on Mango Street. And lucky future readers. This funny, beautiful book will always be with us.” —Maxine Hong Kingston

“Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage . . . and seduces with precise, spare prose, creating unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Marvelous . . . spare yet luminous. The subtle power of Cisneros’s storytelling is evident. She communicates all the rapture and rage of growing up in a modern world.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“A deeply moving novel…delightful and poignant. . . . Like the best of poetry, it opens the windows of the heart without a wasted word.” —Miami Herald

“Sandra Cisneros is one of the most brilliant of today’s young writers. Her work is sensitive, alert, nuanceful . . . rich with music and picture.” —Gwendolyn Brooks

About the author

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.

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