Synopsis:
From the barrios of Brooklyn to the stage at the High School of Performing Arts and later to Harvard, Almost a Woman continues Esmeralda Santiago's amazing story of a young woman caught between two worlds. The oldest of eleven children, she is kept on such a strict leash by her powerful mother that at the age of seventeen she had not yet gone on a date. By no means sheltered however, she is experienced in the harsh realities of welfare offices, beaten up by jealous classmates at junior high school, and taunted by her brothers and sisters as she struggles to learn “Eastern Standard English.” She eventually breaks loose and elopes with a mysterious, perhaps dangerous, Turkish entrepreneur. Almost a Woman is a tale of transformation, comedy, and survival, both a search for independence and cultural identity as well as a mother/daughter struggle of heroic dimensions. Santiago's fans will eagerly embrace this long-awaited volume.
This sequel to the story of Santiago's childhood (When I Was Puerto Rican) covers her life as an adolescent and young woman when she lived in Brooklyn, New York, with her mother (Mami) and 10 siblings during the 1960s. Puerto Rican immigrants, the family suffered through periods of poverty exemplified by the author's trips to the welfare office with Mami, where she translated her mother's Spanish so that they could obtain benefits. Santiago's good humor, zest for life and fighting spirit permeate her chronicle and moderate the impact of the hard times she describes. She studied acting at the prestigious Performing Arts Public High School and, despite feeling out of place because of her heritage, Santiago was able to obtain work in a children's theater and had a small role in the film Up the Down Staircase. Mami prevented her from dating until she was 17, but Santiago details several romantic involvements, including an affair with a Turkish filmmaker. Forced to lose her Puerto Rican accent to widen her acting range, Santiago never lost her connection to Mami, her family and her heritage, and her love for them all shines through this engaging memoir.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The broad outlines of Santiago's life story, begun in When I Was Puerto Rican (1993) and continued here, are familiar; indeed, they limn the quintessential American experience--that of a stranger in a strange land. Santiago, writing prose as notable for its poise and directness as for its sharp detail, picks up where she left off, with her arrival at age 13 in Brooklyn, New York, and chronicles her struggle not only to learn a new language and adjust to a far more diverse and divisive society but also to cope with all the confusion of puberty. The eldest in a family that grew to include 11 children, Santiago was as close as an independent-minded daughter can be to a strict mother, and her Mami emerges as a contradictory yet compelling and admirable figure. Their complex relationship is the fulcrum of Santiago's balancing act between life in their brimming barrio apartment and life in the wider world, where she discovers the joy and frustrations of artistic pursuits and the puzzlements of love. Donna Seaman
This book continues the life story that Santiago began in When I Was Puerto Rican (LJ 9/15/93). After her family's arrival in New York City, Santiago faced the difficult process of assimilation. As the oldest of eight children, she led her siblings in exploring the new culture and opportunities available to them. Santiago's memoir traces her personal growth through her teenage years; she describes her relationships with her family, her early dating experiences, and her first sexual encounters. In the end, she strikes a tenuous balance between her traditional, family-oriented culture and the new world of mainstream American society. Santiago's descriptive prose and lively dialog draw the reader in; we are reminded of the pains and pleasures of adolescence and wonder what happens next in her life. For literary memoir collections.AGwen Gregory, New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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