Sandra Cisneros’s House on Mango Street is like one of those good assorted chocolate boxes. Each unique, each better than the other ones in the box. Every time I am given one of these chocolate boxes, I tell myself that I will eat one a day. Moderation is not my best option. I end up eating them all in a single sitting. I will even find myself excuses and justifications for why it was okay for me to do so. It was my birthday, it was Christmas, I was very sad, I was very happy, I decided that I should, any of these are good justifications for finishing a box full of chocolate. If you are wondering, yes, my dentist is handsomely paid. My genetics and me are ensuring that he retires well.

I was out in Chennai with N, she is a writer and a marine biologist. I must say this because as someone who had a lot of colorful picture books of ships, sea, and underwater creatures, had large marine animals themed book labels growing up, I find the idea of marine biology extremely cool. She is an interesting person in many ways, but it’s the marine biology that did it for me. I love how much she reads. I love hanging out with women who read. I tell them that I read this, and they’ll tell me you should try reading that and go on to recommend me a book that changes the way I approach life. I am extremely influenced by women around me who talk about what they read. N and I were at one of those cafes that also had a bookstore in it. She picked up Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street and said that I must read it.

I don’t get to read as much as I used to anymore. To not miss out on a lot and also to get the best, sometime in 2022 or so, I decided that I would read work by women and non-binary people from non-white backgrounds. Does this mean I don’t read cis-het men at all? of course not. I read them when they write in peer-reviewed journals. I read a decent amount of that, so it’s covered. Don’t worry. I am very non-discriminatory this way.

Another test I use to determine whether I will love the book before I read it is, I go to a random page and read and see how much it makes me want to read on. I have very little time to spare; I don’t want to finish a book and wonder why I spent my time on it. I believe that the author should put effort into reaching the reader. The author should maintain a personal diary if that’s not the intention. Why waste ink, paper, and time?

The random page I opened read, “But my mother’s hair, my mother’s hair, like little rosettes, like little candy circles all curly and pretty…”. I wanted to gobble the rest of the chocolate box right then and there.

I read the book on the train back to Bangalore. Remember, I am trying to eat one chocolate a day here, I am trying my best. I got home and told myself that I would read one chapter before bed every night. Cisneros’ chapters are bite-sized. On some days, I found myself not stopping at one chocolate. You see, these were really good chocolates. At the rate I was going, I was afraid it’d be over soon. After a few days, I put it away and told myself that I would create an occasion to savour the rest of the box, to celebrate it. Kodaikanal was an appropriate occasion.

I went to Kodaikanal with Cisneros, Grimm, and Sutherland in print and a whole bunch of others in digital. I ate all the remaining chocolates in Cisneros’ box in one go. I am sad that they are over, but I am also happy that I got to celebrate it like I wanted to.

If you have read The House on Mango street, tell me what I should read next. If you have not yet read Cisneros’, you must! If you are in Bangalore, you may borrow my copy. If you are not in Bangalore but you are someone whose postal address I have, let me know, and I can post it over to you.