¡Buenos días!
Today I’ve created a visual quote for you from Marie Arana’s American Chica, this week’s featured book.
I hope you like it!
Saludos,
Kalyn
Tag Archives: Marie Arana
Book Review: American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood
American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood
Written by Marie Arana
Published by Bantam Dell
ISBN: 978-0385319638
Age level: Adult
Amongst many other things, Marie Arana, author of American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood, is a brilliant storyteller. American Chica, her memoir, tells the story of a childhood, growing up with a Peruvian engineer and aristocrat for a father and an American musician as a mother. She begins with slowly discussing and dissecting her family structure: her perfect sister and her adventurous brother, her two parents who seem, at times, so different from each other, and her role. In the end, it’s not only a beautiful narrative of her background, it’s also a telling tale of the lineage of a family and the connection of two different cultures that offer distinctly divergent ideas of what it means to be “American.”
Wendy Gimbel, author of the New York Times book review for American Chica, stated:
“One of the many reasons the reader can’t put this memoir down is the author’s impressive command of her craft. “Storytelling,” the critic Walter Benjamin once wrote, “sinks the thing into the life of the storyteller, in order to bring it out of him again. Thus traces of the storyteller cling to the story the way handprints of the potter cling to the dry vessel.” Arana has left her own imprint on her material, while at the same time displaying virtuosity in the storyteller’s traditional gifts: sparseness, clarity and a passion for allegory.”
Our Next Good Read: American Chica
Join us December 7th at 
St. Clair Winery from 5:00-7:00 pm to discuss our next book. We are reading American Chica (Highschool/Adult level) by Marie Arana.
Here’s a sneak peek into the book from Goodreads:
In her father’s Peruvian family, Marie Arana was taught to be a proper lady, yet in her mother’s American family she learned to shoot a gun, break a horse, and snap a chicken’s neck for dinner. Arana shuttled easily between these deeply separate cultures for years. But only when she immigrated with her family to the United States did she come to understand that she was a hybrid American whose cultural identity was split in half. Coming to terms with this split is at the heart of this graceful, beautifully realized portrait of a child who “was a north-south collision, a New World fusion. An American Chica.”
Here are two vastly different landscapes: Peru—earthquake-prone, charged with ghosts of history and mythology—and the sprawling prairie lands of Wyoming. In these rich terrains resides a colorful cast of family members who bring Arana’s historia to life…her proud grandfather who one day simply stopped coming down the stairs; her dazzling grandmother, “clicking through the house as if she were making her way onstage.” But most important are Arana’s parents: he a brilliant engineer, she a gifted musician. For more than half a century these two passionate, strong-willed people struggled to overcome the bicultural tensions in their marriage and, finally, to prevail.
Be sure to get entered in our drawing for a free copy of the book!! All you have to do is comment on any blog post by November 30th!
We’ll also be raffling off a copy of January’s featured book, Shadowshaper. Join us that evening to be entered!
We hope to see you on December 7th!
Book Giveaway: American Chica
We’re giving away a copy of American Chica written by Marie Arana–our featured novel for December book group meeting!! Check out the following from Goodreads:
In her father’s Peruvian family, Marie Arana was taught to be a proper lady, yet in her mother’s American family she learned to shoot a gun, break a horse, and snap a chicken’s neck for dinner. Arana shuttled easily between these deeply separate cultures for years. But only when she immigrated with her family to the United States did she come to understand that she was a hybrid American whose cultural identity was split in half. Coming to terms with this split is at the heart of this graceful, beautifully realized portrait of a child who “was a north-south collision, a New World fusion. An American Chica.”
This should be another fascinating read, brought to you by the Vamos a Leer blog team! A perfect read for anyone interested in learning more about Hispanic heritage and the immigrant experience. To be entered in the giveaway, just comment on any post on the blog by November 30th. Everyone who comments between October 27th and November 30th will be entered in the drawing. If your name is chosen, we’ll email you ASAP about mailing the book to you.
Don’t forget, we also raffle off a copy of the following month’s featured novel at each book group meeting. So if you’re an Albuquerque local, join us for a chance to win!
Good luck!
Vamos a Leer 