Customer Reviews

Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza, Third Edition

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While this book has been classified under the social sciences, the world's increasing complexity makes this an indispensible resource for the non-profit sector.

Instead of requiring (either intentionally or implied) individuals to choose between and rank various facets of themselves, Anzaldua makes the simple but bold proposition truw social change accepts all of an individual for whom they actually are. Only, then will all societies be able to move forward in pursuit of the oft-mythologized 'perfect world'. That the book (and author in some circles) is attacked for being 'spacey' or rambling says more about the reader's own internalized fear of 'difference' because this book was so inspiring.

Working in progressive movements, I know coalition building is critical to my policy objectives, but the prose helped me understand how emotionally positive the process was. Most 'conventional' public administration textbooks do a wonderful job talking about technology and finances, but rarely factor in the human dimension so profoundly as she does.

Anzaldua may wish to include translations from Spanish in future editions of the book because this would help residents of many other "borderlands" comprehend her own experiences and perspectives more easily than currently possible.

Anzaldua's Borderlands really inspired me much. My Spanish may not be very good, that I can still catch the feelings she had in her mind, intertwined with Spanish, English y otros dialectos Chicanos. While in thinking or writing, the standard language of one society often represents its high position with logic, rationality, and academic neutrality; yet dialects of different ethnic groups then thought to be personal, informal, or sentimental. Therefore, in most of the academic conferences, we rarely see scholars doing their lectures or theoretical debates in dialects, and then ¡K.hmm¡K.our ¡§mother/grandmother/gran-granmother tongues¡ died in academia.

Anzaldua's multilingual texts did show us/US the new ways for revivification and liberation of ethnic minority languages both in academia y nosotras/os corazones. I expect to read more multilingual literature in the future, and I hope everybody can try to respect languages from different cultures or even from different perspectives. Don't just say that they are not worthy of reading since you don't really understand what they are trying to tell you! Reading about Anzaldua and her people's struggles may not be very comfortable, but to me the situation is quite familiar just like being home!

The US- Mexican border es una herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages again, the lifeblood of two worlds merging to form a third country, a border culture.
--Anzaldua

This is a superb book. It approaches the themes relating to Chicano identity, and does so through poetry that extends from the included poems to the cultural-socioeconomic exploration that the body of the text undergoes.
In response to negative reviews posted: yes, Borderlands does confront emotional and cultural issues brought up in other Chicano/ border-culture texts. So what. Not enough books have been written about this, especially in this format that reacts to Chicano/ border-related issues in both an intellectual and emotional/ artistic mannor. The book does this with a beautiful poeticism that carries the essence of the hispanic literary tradition, bringing the culture of the written Spanish world into a primarily English-language book.
The Spanglish included is intended for an English-speaking audience, and is not in my opinion of the true transient nature which is inextricable from spoken Spanglish. So at times the language of the writing does feel a tad contrived; using Spanish as a highlighter for key words of certain themes as opposed to allowing it even-handed participation in the exploration of the author's thesis.
While somewhat obnoxious, this choice points to Anzaldua's desire to make this work accesible to people with little or no knowledge of Spanish. This can be seen as a beacon to draw in people who do not as yet see themselves as connected to the Chicano / Hispanic world.

If you like this book, check out the other collections put out by Aunt Lute (the book's original publisher), as well as writings by author/ playwright / peformer Cherrie Morraga, playwright Magdalia Cruz, poet/ artist Ivan Silen.

I had to read this book for a Women's Studies class. There are about 45 women in the class and 1 man and only about 10 people liked this book.

Unfortunately, I had to do a presentation on this horrible book and presented something that would "make the masses happy".

This was one of the worst books I have read. All I have to say to Anzaldua is: I too am a border woman. Get over it. Move on. WHO CARES?