Giovanni's Room < The House on Mango Street

Giovanni's Room had such an eerie ending. I knew what was going to happen in the end (Giovanni dies, Hella leaves, David is left to his depressing, confused self)but the end still seemed to surprise me. David frustrated me throughout this entire novel.
For some reason, he couldn't make up his mind between Hella and Giovanni. And I understand that two men living together and well, being together wasn't really accepted, but David still had no right to lie to them. I completely blame David for Giovanni's death and I don't think David has repented enough. Yeah, he's miserable, but he set himself up for that kind of misery. Did he ever love Hella? He certainly felt some type of attracting towards her and he missed her when she was in Spain but I'm still confused about what actually he felt towards her. He admitted to loving Giovanni yet he repeatedly told Giovanni he "feels nothing." I thought it was a pretty good novel and even though it was completely predictable, it didn't seem that way. I felt a little depressed after finishing it so I finished The House on Mango Street which is much happier.

I thoroughly enjoyed The House of Mango Street. Although some parts were over very serious issues (Sally's father beating her), I thought the majority of the book was very uplifting and heartwarming. Esperanza, a young girl growing up in a poor neighborhood, is the protagonist. Her name fittingly means "hope" and throughout the novel she hopes to escape Mango Street and someday live in a house. The book is ridiculously short (a little over 100 pages) and easy to read since it's written like a child wrote it. Also, instead of being written in normal chapters, it's written in cute little vignettes which are only a page or two long. The way the novel is written really reminds me of poetry. The words are simple and the sentences are also easy to read, but there is a deeper meaning to almost everything she says. I thought the story was very relatable and the eloquent writing is beautiful. When Esperanza meets the "three sisters" they hauntingly advise her, "You will always be Mango Street. You can't erase what you know. You can't forget who you are." In Spanish, I wrote a bibliography about the author, Sandra Cisneros so before I read the book I knew background information about Mango Street. Cisnernos based the book off of her childhood in Chicago. I think that adds a personal edge to the novel. I love the way that authors end books. It's a make or break thing for me. And the way Mango Street ends is perfect: "They will not know I have gone away to come back . For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out." Overall I totally recommend The House on Mango Street. It's short and sweet(takes like 45 minutes to read). Very uplifting and nice.
The House on Mango Street: 35pgs
Animal Farm: 149 pgs
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: 24 pgs
Total Pages Read Since Last Post...208 pgs!