Martita, I Remember You / Martita, Te Recuerdo: A Story in English and Spanish

"Every time that Sandra Cisneros has a new book out, I race to the library. I’ve never been disappointed, and this book is no exception. It’s a short story that Cisneros wrote in English, then had translated into Spanish with an unconventional tête-bêche binding: there’s a front cover for the English version, and when you flip the book over, there’s the Spanish one. The story is structured around letters between three women – Corina, Martita and Paola – who became friends in Paris and are now trying to revive the embers of that bond. Fans of Cisneros will recognize fictionalized elements of her own life: a young Latina woman abroad trying to kick-start her writing career while waiting on an arts grant she desperately needs, all the while making friends and getting her heart broken. But Corina’s story takes turns quite unlike Cisneros’ life and makes for an ending that I’ll be thinking about for a while."