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HOUSE OF HOUSES PA (Bluestreak)
by Pat Mora
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Beacon Press (1998-05-20)
ISBN: 080707201X
EAN: 9780807072011
Dewy Decimal #: 811.54
Paperback: 296 pages
SKU: N1756
Condition: Very Good
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Editorial Reviews
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Product Description
A magical story of one family, told in the voices of multiple generations. Mora's house of houses is a large, traditional Mexican house, inhabited by Mora's father, the fighter who hit no one; her mother, the extrovert, her grandmother, the Mexican Cinderella, a red-haired orphan taken in by wealthy realtives; and others who bring gifts for one another in ritual, language, stories, and recipes.
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Amazon.com Review
Combining poetic language and the traditions of magic realism to paint a vivid portrait of her family, Pat Mora's House of Houses is an unconventional memoir that reads as if every member, death notwithstanding, is in one room talking, laughing, and crying. In a take-off on the Day of the Dead, the story begins with a visit to the cemetery in which all of her deceased relatives come alive to share stories of the family, literally bringing the food to their own funerals. From there the book covers a year in the life of her clan, revealing the personalities and events that Mora herself so desperately yearns to know and understand. By abandoning the traditional memoir form, Mora allows the reader to meet in person each member of her extended, often eccentric family, learning of their lives firsthand. In this way, the principal actors serve to drive the narrative they helped to create. The people are as rich and elaborate as any fictional characters, including a father who can transform himself into a bird, and a grandmother who, though blind, sees visions of the Virgin Mary. Woven into the story are songs, recipes, and colloquialisms that reveal the family's Mexican heritage and signal the subtle transformations that occur upon moving north to Texas. In the end, Mora's tender touch with language creates an imaginative reunion between past and present, leaving a legacy for future generations.
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Customer Reviews
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Loved It!
Rating  (5)
Date: 1998-07-13
5 out of 5 customers found this reveiw helpful
Some "magical realism" stories (with dead relatives interacting with the living) seem contrived; this memoir's use of the same device does not. Though I am not Hispanic nor Spanish-speaking, I am a native of Texas and loved this book. It resonated with me in part because much of it takes place in Texas (El Paso), and also because I find family histories compelling (my own family -- and other families).I disagree with the New York Times reviewer (above and on the book jacket) who says the author's use of Spanish phrases cannot be picked up from context clues. Nonsense! The author gives the English translation right in the same paragraph!A good read that can be picked up and put down as time warrants.
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