#51 in Short stories
The House on Mango Street
- 132
- Pages
- about 2.5 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The House on Mango Street” is a slim book of vignettes that says a great deal in few words. Through Esperanza, a girl in a poor Hispanic neighbourhood of Chicago, it offers quick, poetic glimpses of family, class and what awaits a young woman there; readers value it as a window onto a community. Anyone wanting a plot may not connect with it. It reads fast and holds more than its length suggests.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The House on Mango Street is a 1983 novel by Mexican-American author Sandra Cisneros. Structured as a series of vignettes, it tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Chicana girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. Based, in part, on Cisneros's own experience, the novel follows Esperanza, over the span of one year in her life, as she enters adolescence and begins to face the realities of life as a young woman in a poor and patriarchal community. Elements of the Mexican-American culture and themes of social class, race, sexuality, identity, and gender are interwoven throughout the novel.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.3 across 373 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 72% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Short stories average of 7.8. That is how 7.5 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.9 | 39 | 11% |
| Hardcover | 7.2 | 334 | 90% |
Frequently asked
How long is The House on Mango Street?
It has 132 pages — shorter than 82% of the ranked books in Short stories.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Short stories — with scores between 7.7 and 7.8, closest to this book.
