The house on the mango street
芒果街上的小屋
Consisting of 44 short stories,
The House on Mango Street is a powerful book
told by a young girl named Esperanza Cordero.
Each chapter tells a gripping story
about the girl's childhood on Mango Street.
The story takes place in a poor,
Latino neighborhood in Chicago.
Esperanza dreams of the house she will someday have,
her own house, not on Mango Street.
讲解
语言点
consist of 由…组成
The United Kingdom consists of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland.
constitute / compose / make up
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
constitute / compose / make up the United kingdom.
gripping
grip 抓住，紧握
The baby grips mother's hand.
gripping
a gripping novel
精彩点评
A wonderful underrated book?
Let me explain the meaning（Callie "chroi"）
I read some reviews for this book
and I could not believe how underrated it is
and how many people didn't understand it.
Some people say
that it is just a collection of random thoughts,
but that is not the case.
You see, this book a whole story
and instead of having chapters of episodes,
it contains "vignettes" which the dictionary defines as
"a short descriptive literary sketch".
Each vignette contains an important part of the story.
讲解
语言点
underrate
rate
under- 低于，不足
underrate 低估
underestimate
undercooked 没煮熟的"，"
underdeveloped 欠发达的
over
overcooked
case 情况，状况，事实
Is that the case?
in case of 以防万一
Take an umbrella in case of rain.
The whole story describes the thoughts,
feelings, and memories of Esperanza,
an Hispanic girl living in the poverty corner of the city,
with dreams to escape her world.
At the same time,
she grows up and starts to leave her childhood,
while learning about the fears and dangers of the world
she never knew of before.
讲解
Becoming an adult turns out to be a hard challenge.
The first vignette called "House On Mango Street"
is meant to describe the setting.
The second "Hairs" describes the looks
and characteristics of the characters.
The third called "Boys and Girls"
tells the difference between genders,
which is important
because the story deals with men and women.
The following vignette called "My Name"
paints the image of self
and the feelings of hope and the future.
讲解
语言点
turn out to be 结果是
prove to be
The party turned out to be very successful.
turn
turn on 打开
turn on the TV
turn off 关掉
be meant to 意欲，想要
want to
I was meant to give you this book today, but I forgot.
meant
mean
I don't mean it.
deal with 关于
about
This book deals with an important issue.
处理，应付
I don't know how to deal with the situation.
Therefore, these vignettes
are not mere collections of random thoughts
and uneducated language,
but a poetic story with a well drawn setting,
characterization, and gripping tone.
Even though the story evolves around Hispanics,
this is a book for all races.
The poverty and dreams of home
remind me of the experiences
of African-Americans and Chinese,
as well as Caucasians.
讲解
语言点
remind 提醒，让某人想起
that
Please remind me that I must send the email to them tonight.
remind
remind sb. Of sth.
Remind us of memory of childhood.
出版社：译林出版社
出版日期：2006-6-1