Caramelo- Cisenros (Book #21)

Considering my goal is to read 100 books in 2009 I'm not sure why I'm latching on to novels that are over 400 pages in length equivalent to two books, but I'm glad I made it through this one. This is a sprawling novel told from the eyes of young Celaya. She describes her journeys to Mexico from Chicago with her large family and weaves in stories of her grandmother's past, and her own current life and struggles. The story is told very pretty, and reads almost like a poem instead of a novel. At times this threw me off and could get disconcerting, but on the whole I got over it. She has some beautiful insights into life, and what amazed me the most about her novel is that though Mexico is pretty much as far from Pakistan/India as you can get, the similiarties in culture and values was unbelievable. Her book illustrates how similar human beings are.