Woman Hollering Creek

I have to say I absolutely love this book, and that I'd honestly pick it up and read it in my spare time. I'm glad to finally be reading anoher book in english, and the fact that it's so enjoyable is just a cherry on top of it all. Reading a book from a child's perspective seems to be a theme lately in class, and I'd agree that it is quite effective. Children are naive enough that their views on the word are yet to be tainted by societal norms. This child speaks so frankly about her life, and is so eloquent with spewing out her feelings on even mundane problems (like the red sweater story) that you forget about as you grow up. These stories are written in an almost run-on sentence style, and this helps solidfy the character behind the words: a child doesnt have the time to pause in her excitement or anxiousness to be more coherent. We can all imagine listening to a little girl who is somewhat of a chatterbox. This book reminds me somewhat of a dictionary I once received as a child in which every definition was something a child had said (for example grandma was defined as the fat lady who always gives me money). The child refers to those around her with very frank words: Uncle Fat-face, churches smelling like ears...

Although I did not exactly enjoy Marti's excessive descriptive style, Cisnero's is quite appealing. I am also enjoying the way the most mundane and quotidian affairs are described in the story. It's a completely different style from Rivera's, in which only very tumultuous events are described and the reader gets this heavy feeling in their chests. This book's suffering is of a different scale. I was surprised to hear the story of the man who raped her. It is never outright said, mentioned as an initiation of sorts. I couldnt believe what I was reading, and I wonder how old the girl is. By this time I believe a few years have passed since the first chapter, and so it's hard to think of this girl's future ruined because one person has no soul. However, it is nice to hear about her life so plainly, it reminds me of my childhood and brings good memories. It's not often that one feels this way, and mostly because it's not often one reads a book from this point of view. Its very fresh and raw and I'm very much looking forward to out class discussions to see what the rest of the class has been thinking about it as well.