Cisneros, Sandra - Caramelo
Mon, Apr. 14th, 2008 12:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterI found this in the YA section of my library, and I have to say, I am very confused by this classification. Even though the heroine is Celaya, who grows from child to teenager in the book, the book itself is a giant, sprawling family saga of the Reyes, encompassing about three generations and at least ten side stories.
The beginning and the middle are about Celaya, including a family trip to Mexico to visit the Awful Grandmother and the Little Grandfather, her father's upholstery business, and her becoming a teenager and engaging in some teenage rebellion. I wasn't as caught up by them, as I had a very difficult time tracking the many time skips. Also, while the prose is gorgeous, the story of a young girl growing up and getting into trouble is not a particularly new one, though Cisneros does add great details.
But the middle! The middle is Celaya telling the Awful Grandmother's story, frequently embellished, often with digressions, and very often with the Awful Grandmother's interjections and protests over how Celaya is changing the story. I love it to pieces. I love the way it is deliberately pieced together to make a better story (the Awful Grandmother: "How can it be winter again? We met in the summer!" Celaya: "But there needs to be dramatic wind here, trust me."); I love the tidbits of Mexican history; I love how the lives of the Reyes intersect with celebrities (including Josephine Baker); I love the love Cisneros holds for Mexico and Mexican history; and I really love the way political history and personal history weave in and out of each other.
Though my interest was petering out a little in the end, when we're back with Celaya-the-teenager, Cisneros managed to save it for me by tying together the mid-section of the book with Celaya's portions. Also, it is a story about storytelling, which hits many of my buttons.
The beginning and the middle are about Celaya, including a family trip to Mexico to visit the Awful Grandmother and the Little Grandfather, her father's upholstery business, and her becoming a teenager and engaging in some teenage rebellion. I wasn't as caught up by them, as I had a very difficult time tracking the many time skips. Also, while the prose is gorgeous, the story of a young girl growing up and getting into trouble is not a particularly new one, though Cisneros does add great details.
But the middle! The middle is Celaya telling the Awful Grandmother's story, frequently embellished, often with digressions, and very often with the Awful Grandmother's interjections and protests over how Celaya is changing the story. I love it to pieces. I love the way it is deliberately pieced together to make a better story (the Awful Grandmother: "How can it be winter again? We met in the summer!" Celaya: "But there needs to be dramatic wind here, trust me."); I love the tidbits of Mexican history; I love how the lives of the Reyes intersect with celebrities (including Josephine Baker); I love the love Cisneros holds for Mexico and Mexican history; and I really love the way political history and personal history weave in and out of each other.
Though my interest was petering out a little in the end, when we're back with Celaya-the-teenager, Cisneros managed to save it for me by tying together the mid-section of the book with Celaya's portions. Also, it is a story about storytelling, which hits many of my buttons.
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Mon, Apr. 14th, 2008 11:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Apr. 14th, 2008 11:34 pm (UTC)