Focusing on the relationship between two fiercely independent women--Teresa, a writer, and Alicia, an artist--this epistolary novel was written as ...
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Jul 25, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
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This book was highly recommended to me a while back, and I quickly added it to my wish list as it looked exactly like the kind of book I love to read. Honestly, I'd say this book was a disappointment. All the men were losers, manipulative or abusive or cruel. The women seemed to wander from man to man, from loser to loser. And that was the plot of the book. The two main characters in the book write letters to each other, bemoaning the men in their lives and celebrating their strength as powerful
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Jul 24, 2008
Patrick
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Reading The Mixquiahuala Letters felt, as the title suggests, as if I was following a correspondence, albeit a once sided correspondence. As all the letters were by the narrator to her friend reminiscing on their past experiences and ultimately their relationship. With each letter Castillo’s thoughts come and go, one leads to the next, snatches of memories, longer bits, short flashes – her train of thought. Making the “story” not about them, but how someone actually “reminisces.” Unfortunately b
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Aug 18, 2009
C.
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Great book. A collection of letters from Teresa to her gringa friend throughout their travels and lives, from when they meet in Mexico into middle age. The author suggests that you read them in three particular orders, omitting some depending on what "mood" you choose. I chose "quixotic" and it was lovely. Then I went and read the letters I skipped and got a different perspective on how she's crafting her narrative. Castillo is a Chicana poet and a fantastic writer. Hig
Jan 06, 2009
Ryan
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I found this at the used book store after I had read So Far From God. I expected a similar crazy romp, but this is a more serious book. The past is remembered here, of two young women traveling Mexico together. The air of the novel is hazy, as if recollections weren't entirely solid, or even necesarrily the way it happened. By design, surely, but I didn't enjoy this book very much. I still have it on my shelf so I may go back and read it again.
Oct 20, 2011
Kim
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This is a good book, and it's fun to teach. Castillo suggests three different ways of reading the book: 1) for the conformist, 2)for the cynic, and 3) for the quixotic. My students and I all read it differently and had fun with the different interpretations.
May 28, 2009
Steven
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A bit cheesy and a lot didactic. I found its optional modes of reading to be more gimmicky than creative. The narrative voices are strident and ungenerous.
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Aug 16, 2008
Mel
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Castillo’s epistolary novel left this reader feeling voyeuristic. Her characters, especially male, did not feel round or complete. The novel, possibly as a result of her structure felt disjointed and at times hard to follow. Historically, epistolary novels, Fielding’s Pamela come to mind, have text between the letters to help remove the reader a step from the intimacy of the letter writing process; without that step between there is a level of discomfort created in the reader. I almost wonder i
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Aug 09, 2011
Elizabeth
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enthralling. well-written, a sincere story. love the style. this is my story, too.
Oct 12, 2007
Wendy
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I love the idea of this book: a narrative of multiple options, bifurcated/trifurcated paths, story lines that curl back upon themselves, then skip forward. At the beginning of the book, she gives three options for moving forward: for the conformist, the cynic, and the quixotic. I couldn’t decide which I was, or which I wanted to pretend to be, and so I plunged forward. I read Letter #1 and then realized none of the three options began with the first letter. So I continued to read, straight throu
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Nov 24, 2009
Analu
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Recommended to everyone male and female but more for females. This book I have since recently loaned to Vanessa. I have read it about 6 times. Speaks a lot on the depth of female relationships, friendship, heartaches, life, etc. etc. The format in which it is written makes for a wonderful read if you are one who enjoys not only reading but reading letters.
Dec 25, 2007
Bethany
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i loved that there were three optional orders for reading the letters instead of a table of contents, and i thought it was beautifully written, but i found the two main characters extremely irritating.
i suppose it just wasnt my cup of tea...
however i LOVE ana castillo's poetry, and would suggest checking that out
i suppose it just wasnt my cup of tea...
however i LOVE ana castillo's poetry, and would suggest checking that out
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Jun 10, 2008
Kelcey
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I like this book more after teaching it. I had to dig into those critical essays that help illuminate all that Castillo is up to in this novel--the ode to Cortazar, the very structured nature of the multiple tables of contents, the one-way letters, the re-casting of shared memories, etc.
Oct 21, 2008
Sandra
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One of my best friends, Betty, mailed this book to me. It not only brought me closer to her as a friend, but it also introduced me to a writer I continue to admire, Ana Castillo. It was the first time I completely understood what it was like to fall in love with writing.
Aug 07, 2007
recommended for any gal who can get away for a road trip with her best pal...
I love these characters.
I love these characters.
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