3.5
Martita, I Remember You/Martita, te recuerdo
By Sandra Cisneros & Liliana ValenzuelaPublisher Description
The celebrated bestselling author of The House on Mango Street “is back with her first work of fiction in almost a decade, a story of memory and friendship [and] the experiences young women endure as immigrants worldwide” (AP). In this masterfully written dual-language edition, a long-forgotten letter sets off a charged encounter with the past.
As a young woman, Corina leaves her Mexican family in Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming a writer in the cafés of Paris. Instead, she spends her brief time in the City of Light running out of money and lining up with other immigrants to call home from a broken pay phone. But the months of befriending panhandling artists in the métro, sleeping on crowded floors, and dancing the tango at underground parties are given a lasting glow by her intense friendships with Martita and Paola. Over the years the three women disperse to three continents, falling out of touch and out of mind—until a rediscovered letter brings Corina’s days in Paris back with breathtaking immediacy.
Martita, I Remember You is a rare bottle from Sandra Cisneros’s own special reserve, preserving the smoke and the sparkle of an exceptional year. Told with intimacy and searing tenderness, this tribute to the life-changing power of youthful friendship is Cisneros at her vintage best, in a beautiful
dual-language edition.
A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
As a young woman, Corina leaves her Mexican family in Chicago to pursue her dream of becoming a writer in the cafés of Paris. Instead, she spends her brief time in the City of Light running out of money and lining up with other immigrants to call home from a broken pay phone. But the months of befriending panhandling artists in the métro, sleeping on crowded floors, and dancing the tango at underground parties are given a lasting glow by her intense friendships with Martita and Paola. Over the years the three women disperse to three continents, falling out of touch and out of mind—until a rediscovered letter brings Corina’s days in Paris back with breathtaking immediacy.
Martita, I Remember You is a rare bottle from Sandra Cisneros’s own special reserve, preserving the smoke and the sparkle of an exceptional year. Told with intimacy and searing tenderness, this tribute to the life-changing power of youthful friendship is Cisneros at her vintage best, in a beautiful
dual-language edition.
A VINTAGE ORIGINAL
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities57 Reviews
3.5
redsunshine
Created 23 days agoShare
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Arlette Sheyla
Created 2 months agoShare
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“3.5 stars ✨
This was a sweet story of girlhood and recognizing the souls that left an imprint on our lives even in fleeting times. However, it lacked depth and I didn’t feel a connection to any of the three young women.
There’s no doubt that this was beautifully written. It was nostalgic and resembles the journey of any young adult pursuing their dream in a major city, far away from home. There’s a bittersweet innocence in their desperation for the time to make even fraction of their dreams a reality. It’s an all-consuming naivety completely reliant on a desire for more. It was raw and vulnerable.
However, reading these recounts and trying to piece together the story of the three characters felt like when you’re getting chisme (gossip) from a secondary source—some of the details don’t add up and some of the blanks remain up in the air for your imagination. Corina admits that she doesn’t have a good memory; even if the lack of details is explained through that mention, she also states that she’s able to remember emotions. Yet, I’m missing so much of this from the other two characters. I feel like I’m missing critical parts and emotions within the collective story.
Overall, this was a short and simple 50 page read. This novel does well in portraying the exhaustion and adventures of young adulthood, but I wish we got to see more of this through the friendship between Corina, Martita, and Paola.
Audiobook side note: The narrators read super slowly but there’s something very soothing about their voices. I felt like I was listening to a bedtime story.”
abbybratzilla
Created 5 months agoShare
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“A very short read. I’ve never read a story so heavily reliant on letters. I loved the bond between the girls. I am always partial to female friendship. I thought it was a nice and realistic story about life. People weave in and out of your life but can make a lasting impression in your memory. Or even the way you don’t always achieve your original goals but can still find happiness.”
Bibliobrandie
Created 7 months agoShare
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Valeria Pacheco
Created 7 months agoShare
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“Primer libro en español que leí este año. Fue corto y fácil de leer. Me gustó como aprendimos de las amistades de las mujeres y la exploración de los sentimientos de estar lejos de casa a una edad joven por la primera vez.”
About Sandra Cisneros
Poet, short story writer, novelist, essayist and artist, SANDRA CISNEROS is the author of Bad Boys, My Wicked Wicked Ways, Loose Woman, Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, The House on Mango Street, Caramelo, Have You Seen Marie?, Vintage Cisneros—a compilation of her works— and Bravo, Bruno. Her most recent books are A House of My Own: Stories from My Life, which is illustrated with photographs, and Puro Amor in a dual-language edition translated by Liliana Valenzuela and featuring illustrations by the author. Born in Chicago in 1954, she is a citizen of both the United States and Mexico. She makes her living by her pen.
Other books by Sandra Cisneros
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