Cisneros, Sandra (Vol. 193) - Roz Kaveney (review date 6 December 2002)
Roz Kaveney (review date 6 December 2002)
SOURCE: Kaveney, Roz. “Where the Heart Is.” Times Literary Supplement, no. 5201 (6 December 2002): 23.
[In the following review, Kaveney lauds Cisneros's skillful blending of autobiography and fiction in Caramelo, calling the novel an “achieved and enjoyable book.”]
The stories that Sandra Cisneros tells us about her Mexican American family [in Caramelo] are the ones we already know. A young hopeful bride turns into a bullying matriarch, then into a pathetic invalid who manages to ensure that her granddaughter at least no longer hates her. An ambitious young man finds his only real success is becoming a competent father. A smart, almost European metropolis degenerates into a slum; a hopeful revolution against corruption leads to disappointment and dependence on a more powerful neighbour; temporary exile to safety becomes an endless commute between the home where your heart is...
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