House of Houses
Autor: Pat Mora
Número de Páginas: 298Combining poetic language and the traditions of magic realism to paint a vivid portrait of her family, Pat MoraÕs 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. ÒPoet MoraÕs complex and dramatic family history comprises more than personal reminiscences: it also embraces resonant aspects of Mexican American history. Mora recounts her familyÕs 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 houseÑthe house of housesÑduring a single year, a fruitful metaphor that allows her to dwell on the bright ...
