Woman Hollering Creek: And Other Stories

I wish I liked this since so many people I respect sing its praises. Instead of being drawn into Cisneros's voice or themes, I found the execution ... (show more)

I wish I liked this since so many people I respect sing its praises. Instead of being drawn into Cisneros's voice or themes, I found the execution of the stories to be largely frustrating. Cisneros likes to use lists in her stories, lists of sounds, lists of items for sale at the grocery, lists of things that remind her of a child's ear, etc. For me, this got old very quickly, and became a huge distraction from whatever the story was. I wanted to like her insight into Mexican-American culture. I wanted to like the feminist angle to the stories. The lists prevented that. That the stories are very mundane events in the lives of very ordinary people also bothered me, as there was nothing compelling me to want to know more about those people. Cisneros writes character studies with a poetic flare. If these features appeal to you, so likely will her stories. If, like me, you prefer more plot and fewer lists, then go elsewhere. (show less)