House of Houses

by Pat Mora

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 salute to 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.

“Poet Mora’s complex and dramatic family history comprises more than personal reminiscences: it also embraces resonant aspects of Mexican American history. Mora recounts her family’s traumatic exodus from Mexico to escape the violence of Pancho Villa and his forces and their struggles to begin new lives in another country. To anchor her psychologically rich, dramatic, sometimes funny, often touching multigenerational tale, Mora uses the image of a house—the house of houses—during a single year, a fruitful metaphor that allows her to dwell on the bright beauty of flowers, birds, and trees, emblems of the loving legacy of her nurturing family.”—Booklist

“Mora has created an ingenious structure for these recollections of her extended family, of their lives and the tales they share about the family’s history. Woven in with these memories are recipes, fragments of songs and poetry, folk remedies, and jokes, all of the small matters that most reveal a family’s identity. In a language deftly mingling the natural cadences of speech and precise, poetic imagery, Mora believably summons up both a group of tough, loving, idiosyncratic survivors and a vivid, detailed portrait of life in the Southwest in [the last] century.” —Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Literature, Biography

317 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Pat Mora (born 1942) is a female Mexican-American author and poet. Pat Mora was born in El Paso, Texas. She is married and has 3 grown children.

Reviews

[Francine Apollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished the latest edition of House of Houses. I read it for MultiCultural Revies (great publication if you don't know it). I submitted my book review yesterday.
This is a touching family memoir; lots of magical realism. It is the sort of book that can make you laugh and can make you teary eyed.
Latin American Lit teachers and American History teachers could include it in assigned to make the history more lively!

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to write a review of this. One of my favorite books

[Katie Taisey · Rating 5 out of 5]

House of houses was a great book that talked about life from a different perspective. I really liked how it is a true story because that can help people can have a better idea of what it is like to be an immigrant. Family is really important to me and being able to read a book centered around a families love for one another is amazing.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Lucrecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased, but this was a superb. Not your usual family memoir.