El Bronx Remembered

A really nice read today while visiting my Mom in upstate NY.  I was able to read the short stories of Nicholasa Mohr in El Bronx Remembered.  The book highlights the author’s remembrances of her time growing up in the Bronx as a child emigrating from Puerto Rico.  Many of the stories illustrated the challenges of being “different” and how family members began their journey as an “outsider.”   The book captured many emotions from joy, to sorrow, to humiliation.  Imagine graduating from high school as your class valedictorian and having to wear “orange” dress shoes as your family saved all of its money to have a party for you.  Well it happened to Hector and he lived to tell.  Or the story of the family who struggled to make ends meet (family of six kids) and the mother decided to kill the family chicken for dinner, but guess what happened in the midst of the chase?  The young children caught Mom….  Guess who got to live to see another day?  Or the story of a young 15 year-old girl who gets pregnant, much like her mother had at that age, and ends up marrying a 40 year-old gay male in the hopes of “covering up” both of their internal struggles.  My favorite story was of Mr. Mendelsohn, the neighbor of a Puerto Rican family, who invites them into his life when he is alone and unable to connect with others.  It is a heartwarming story of unexpected connections when one opens their hearts.  In all, there are twelve short stories that provide an in-depth insight into the lives of immigrant life in the US.  The author is “spot on” and invites us to meet characters who are real, the situations are real, and I loved it.  Having spent some time in the Bronx, during my Fordham days, I saw a little of this life first hand, having taught catechism class on Sundays, though the book is set in the late 1940s-50s, the family heritage and drama rings true even today.  Great book to share with a young adult.  Good read!