6 Powerful Memoirs and Novels by Esmeralda Santiago
Esmeralda Santiago is part of a generation of Latino writers whose backgrounds powerfully drive their words into heartwarming—and sometimes heartbreaking—novels and memoirs that we can’t stop reading.
I have collected 6 of Santiago’s works into this entertaining blog post for you to select your next read!
Why Should You Read in Spanish?
Studying and learning foreign languages involves gaining and practicing productive and receptive skills. Additionally, when it comes to the Spanish language, there are several linguistic variations you should be aware of since people speak the language all over Latin America. In this sense, the significance of literature to become the ultimate fluent speaker is indisputable.
Picking up a book in Spanish that interests you will make it easier for you to dive into stories with deep backgrounds and various cultures that nurture the author’s style.
When you read in Spanish, you visualize realistic applications of grammar and vocabulary as the context helps you understand new words and structures. You can evaluate how much you have learned as you translate complex sentences and paragraphs to achieve a better understanding of the story.
Every author has a personal story and a culture to back their ideas up and power their story. As you read a book you understand a person’s perspective of their environment, their country, and their experiences—the perfect way to learn about a society different from yours.
Who Is Esmeralda Santiago?
Well-educated Esmeralda Santiago was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1948. Seeking better opportunities, her mother took her and her siblings to the United States when Esmeralda was 13 years old.
She attended the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan, got into Harvard University and later obtained her M.F.A degree in Fiction Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She has earned several honorary doctorates and worked as a journalist on papers and magazines. She lives in Westchester County, New York with her husband.
Writing Style
Her life experiences in Puerto Rico in precarious conditions along with her turbulent move to Brooklyn feed her enthralling memoirs and novels.
1. When I Was Puerto Rican (Cuando era puertorriqueña) (1994)
What It’s About
On her literary debut, Esmeralda Santiago relives her childhood in Puerto Rico, her move to the United States, and the culture shock she had to deal with. She recalls the unprosperous life in her homeland and the unsettling feeling as an outsider when she first arrived in Brooklyn.
She tells us that as the oldest of her siblings, she needed to grow up faster than any other kid.
What Others Are Saying
Readers with similar stories relate to this memoir as they claim Esmeralda makes you a part of every scene and exposes the reality when walking into a whole new culture and the family conflicts that came along with it. They assure that the perspective of a young girl falling into a new country and a new life is refreshing and unique.
The Washington Post claimed this story is “…a welcome new voice, full of passion and authority,” while the New York Times wrote that, “She managed to evoke familiarity while also illuminating a place and a family dynamic I thought I already understood.”
2. Almost a Woman: A Memoir (Casi una mujer) (1990)
What It’s About
Following up on the new Puerto Rican kid in New York, we now learn about Esmeralda’s adolescence in Brooklyn and her path towards the Performing Arts High School in Manhattan. As a young woman, she begins scrambling between identifying as Puerto Rican or a New Yorker.
Because of her situation as the oldest sibling, she focuses on narrating her busy life. It all makes her seek her independence confidently, which clashes with her mother’s extremely strict rules.
She remembers how she even had to lose her accent to thrive in her acting career.
This genuine story of a developing artist later got an adaptation as a film, earning the George Foster Peabody award for excellence in broadcasting.
What Others Are Saying
Readers praise how Esmeralda Santiago portrays the difficulties in finding one’s identity and deciding what culture one should take part in when encountering a new world. They describe it as a soothing narrative full of stories that resonate with an audience who has, too, felt like an outsider and that has grown up in strict houses with tough family relationships.
Publisher’s Weekly praises this memoir, “[…] good humor, zest for life, fighting spirit permeate her chronicle and moderate the impact of the hard times she describes.”
Kirkus Reviews called it an honest take on her adolescence and the hardships in letting out her creative spirit within an enclosed household.
3. The Turkish Lover: A Memoir (El amante turco) (2005)
What It’s About
In yet another memoir of her eventful life, Esmeralda Santiago—now a grown woman—bitterly recalls her love affair with “the Turk.”
She gets involved with a distasteful man, resulting in a constant seven-year battle to get out of an abusive relationship. She tells us her story with humanity and even humor—an unforgettable experience of courage.
What Others Are Saying
Readers claim that the heartrending story of her involvement with “the Turk” captivated them as it awoke their empathy for her situation. The story captures the situation of being an immigrant along with the saddening story of putting up with an abusive relationship.
Kirkus Reviews wrote that this memoir hardly focuses on her difficulties as a Puerto Rican immigrant and instead centralizes her infatuation with the man that wronged her for far too long.
Previous admirers of Santiago’s work, the New York Times said that Santiago plainly relives her life without accurately reflecting upon her experience of leaving her mother’s house.
4. America’s Dream (El sueño de América) (1997)
What It’s About
In her first novel, Esmeralda Santiago tells us the story of America Gonzalez. She initially works at a hotel in Puerto Rico. Nonetheless, her life is complicated around her alcoholic mother, her violent boyfriend, and her unhappy daughter.
America finds an escape when she gets a job offer to work as a housekeeper in New York.
Facing new challenges, she realizes that leaving her past behind is not as simple as she’d thought. This novel offers a raw representation of immigrants chasing “the American dream.”
This story got a movie adaptation from the executive producer Edward James Olmos.
What Others Are Saying
Readers admire how Esmeralda wrote the main character that made her a human being prone to make mistakes. They also enjoy the realistic portrayals of the situations America had to deal with.
Some readers were able to relate to the family dynamics Esmeralda wrote in this novel and they enjoyed the engaging style to tell a story.
The Washington Post considered it, “Lyrical [and] haunting, América’s liberating epiphany will have readers . . . on their feet and cheering.” And the Chicago Tribune, “Thrilling and page-turning. The fabulous journey of America Gonzalez…is laid out masterfully.”
5. Conquistadora (2011)
What It’s About
Esmeralda Santiago gives us the hooking story of Ana Cubillas, the Spanish high-class kid whose parents send to a convent.
Ana finds love with the girl next door, Elena, and as they explore their relationship, they come up with the idea of marrying Elena’s twin cousins so they can remain together without people knowing.
As their marriages apparently succeed, Ana finds yet another way of getting what she wants. She convinces Elena and the twins to move to Puerto Rico where the twins’ family owns several plantations. Ana focuses on gaining control over the land through her husband and finds herself in the middle of an unconventional marriage dynamic.
As the story settles in old Puerto Rico—a time of slavery and injustice—Esmeralda gives us historically accurate stories about the region at the time.
This book shows Ana’s driven character, much like the conquistadors that ruled the land at the time.
What Others Are Saying
Readers found themselves turning page after page as the story incorporates several topics that feed the plot with twists and complex characters. They also appreciate the historical facts that make the story realistic and a fascinating book that is hard to put down.
The Washington Post praised Esmeralda’s ability to create complex characters that exist in a realistic world of cruelty and human error.
6. Las Mamis (2001)
What It’s About
Esmeralda Santiago is part of this compilation of Latino authors’ stories about their mothers and the culture shock they went through as they moved to the U.S.
It gathers a generation of Latino writers with similar backstories and working mothers that were essential in their journey as foreigners and it exposes the emotional strength they needed to raise their families against all odds.
They discuss the challenges of motherhood as they taught their children about their stories in their homeland and the changes they had to go through to raise them in a new world.
Aside from Esmeralda, this book contains stories from Piri Thomas, Marjorie Agosin, Junot Diaz, Alba Ambert, and more!
Esmeralda Santiago was also the co-editor of this book.
What Others Are Saying
Readers enjoyed reading so many stories about the bond between mothers and kids and what they faced together. They also praised the variety of emotions such as happiness, regret, sadness, and pride, that made them reflect on their own family relationships
Publishers Weekly stated that “…this anthology also affords an intriguing glimpse of an often-overlooked generation of Latinas. […] This collection of essays eloquently captures the diversity of Latino culture while paying tribute to its most enduring characteristic: amor a madre.”
Read, Engage, and Converse!
Many methods can be useful in your journey to become a fluent Spanish speaker, and reading books in this language can be extremely helpful!
I hope the books listed above caught your attention and that you take the challenge of reading them in Spanish! We want to help you become a fluent speaker, which is why we invite you to sign up for a free class today!
Our one-on-one sessions with native Spanish speakers allow you to practice your conversational skills and impress your Spanish-speaking friends with your extensive knowledge!
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