THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by...

THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros (Vintage: $9). Cisneros uses a series of brief, linked stories to depict a young girl’s experiences in a lower-class Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. Poetic and perceptive, Esperanza quickly realizes that the gritty poverty of Mango Street could easily imprison her, as it has imprisoned so many before her. Recalling her great-grandmother, for whom she was named, Esperanza writes: “She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn’t be all the things she wanted to be . . . I inherited her name, but I don’t want to inherit her place by the window.” Cisneros’ fragmented prose evokes her character’s dreams and memories--and bespeaks her unusual talent.