debut fiction novel from one of my favorite non-fiction authors. This book has plenty of heartbreak. America's mother is an alcoholic, her daughter is 14 and run away from home, her boyfriend is married and is abusive. America gets the chance to leave her home and move to New York and work in the suburbs. She thinks she can disappear. She thinks she can start a new life.Life always seems to follow you tho, no matter where you go. I liked how America was practical. She wasn't bliding herself with fantasy. She was realistic about her situation, her chances. But like anyone who has been in an abusive relationship knows.. it is hard to escape the past. I enjoyed the book. The ending was tense, even if it was a little cliche. I think that the ideas that the author touches on are interesting.. immigration, class, economics, naturalization, abuse... these could all be individual books.. so she only touched on them. But I like where she went. The only reason I would say not 5 stars was b'c I've read similar.. but not from a Puerto Rican point of view.
I'm familiar with Santiago's memoirs, so I was excited when her novel was an assigned book in one of my classes. Unfortunately, we never got around to reading it in the class. I held onto it because I knew ONE DAY I would pick it up and read it. 5 years later, here it is! I have to say, I enjoyed Santiago's memoirs much more than I did her novel. There's an honesty in them that I just love. However, she's a great writer and it shows up here in this book.America's Dream is about a Puerto Rican woman who takes a job in New York as a live-in housekeeper to get away from her life in Puerto Rico. It tackles domestic abuse, immigration issues, and the idea of what family means to different people. Who would like it?: People who watch Oprah a lot, people who liked "The Help", feminists, chicano studies people.
What do You think about America's Dream (1997)?
This book was quite a quick read, but very engaging. The story telling style that Santiago uses is straightforward and stripped down. I liked the use of Spanish words that bring the reader into the world of America, the protagonist. The story is average and the ending not terribly surprising, but the reading is worth it. As a white man I don't have a concept of the worldview of a Puerto Rican female but this book does a good job a representing the differences between "Yankee" culture and Puerto Rican culture.
—George Zedan
Violence, family dynamics, and lots of descriptions of the "have" and "have-nots" makes this an interesting read. Reading about a character who makes poor choices can often be a turn-off, however the author engages the reader by describing the protagonist and her backstory effectively.Beautiful descriptive prose keeps you reading but the redundant descriptions on setting is sometimes too much and the eye wants to scan for the forward movement.I love the dialogue, the emotional reactions, and interplay between the maids. I loved how the author gave us the dialogue between the mother and protagonist. The villain in the story was well played.I learned some things about Puerto RIco, the culture and language.I didn't like the way the daughter's character was written. She had the same extremes of reaction over the entire book. These glitches may be because this is the author's first novel (1996).I would definitely read Esmeralda Santiago's other books.
—Mona AlvaradoFrazier
