Daughters Of Fifth Sun

From award-winners such as Sandra Cisneros, Ana Castillo, and Julia Alvarez, to up-and-coming talents published by small presses, a wide-ranging anthology of literature captures the experiences of Hispanic women in and outside the U.S.

Threaded throughout this tantalizing but uneven collection of contemporary Latina writings is the theme of straddling two worlds?those of English- and Spanish-speaking cultures. The authors, though mostly American-born, have Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican or Native American backgrounds. In 17 short stories and nearly as many poems, this balancing act is manifest both in the subject matter, drawn primarily from family roots and relationships, and in the fact that most of the work was written in English, although often richly interwoven with Spanish phrases. Notable short stories include "The Kiss," by Julia Alvarez (How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents), a deftly told tale of a woman's rebellion against her elderly, iron-fisted father, and the hypnotic, elliptical "Eyes of Zapata," by Sandra Cisneros (The House on Mango Street), which recounts a family's experience of war in Mexico. The poems, all in free verse, tend toward the imagistic, surreal lyrics of much Latin American poetry. In Miriam Bornstein's "On Becoming Round," the speaker supposes that "Neruda knew nothing about pots and pans/ and putting words in little hands." Variety is both this collection's strength and weakness; too many of the selections by lesser-known writers have a disappointingly unfinished quality, making fresh voices like those of Cherrie Moraga, Ana Castillo and Teresinka Pereira stand out all the more.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The 17 short stories and numerous poems in this anthology reflect the dualities of contemporary Latino culture and its conflicts of languages, roots, families, and communities. The authors reflect the range of that culture, from Chicana to Dominican American, from Cuban American to other Latin American. The well-known and frequently anthologized Latina writers such as Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alvaraz, and Marjorie Agnosin are included, as are refreshing new voices, such as Denise Chavez, Miriam Bernstein, and Maya Islas. Judith Ortiz Cofer's "Nada" and Carmen Tafolla's "Chencho's Cow" are magical. Most of the works were originally written in English, but a few are translated from Spanish. The brief poems are all in free verse. Like any anthology, this is somewhat uneven but still worth adding to comprehensive Latino and American women's collections.
Mary Margaret Benson, Linfield Coll. Lib., McMinnville, Ore.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.