I think I too enjoyed the afterword a little more than the actual story... But still!! Such a simple , powerful book! Sandra Cisneros has such a beautiful way with words. I love her constant use of similies & metaphors. It's as if she has no fear in her writing. Anyway.. I saw an interview she did in regards to this book & I just HAD to read it when I read a quote from it online.. (other reviewers have quoted it too..) "in Mexico they say when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that part of them is born in you.." --I always felt that way too.. This book takes you on a quest to find a missing Marie (a cat) & along the way we meet a vast array of characters from Sandra's neighborhood. Sandra's dealing with the recent death of her mother & it was during this quest that she learns that love & her mother is always alive & she's never alone as she keeps the love she has for her mother alive. Love is always there. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful! Super quick (one hour tops?)read. Reads like a children's book, complete with pictures on every page. It is an adult theme, however. When middle-aged adults lose their parents, many may feel like an orphan. This addresses that sensation and the grief that accompanies it. It especially highlights how those around us may essentially blow off or minimize the feelings as in what's the big deal, not meaning to be insensitive, but yet sometimes are. Cisneros finishes the book with a true adult message explaining how the book came about based on her own mother's death.
Adult book about grief; lovely illustrations & describes our very unique San Antonio.
—selarry
What a beautiful book about death, spirituality and interconnectedness
—Kerlin
Beautiful. Fable of love, loss and grief, and the return to love.
—k123
Lovely illustrated book for adult readers about grief and loss.
—zoey
A beautiful celebration of grief.
—Luigi
