Have You Seen Marie?

by Sandra Cisneros (Author, & Narrator)

The internationally acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street gives us a deeply moving tale of loss, grief, and healing. The word 'orphan' might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra feels as she finds herself motherless, alone like 'a glove left behind at the bus station.' What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, posting flyers and asking everywhere, 'Have you seen Marie?' the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning.

Genres: Fiction, Poetry, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Cats, Latinx, Audiobook

Audiobook

First published October 2, 2012

About the author

Sandra Cisneros is internationally acclaimed for her poetry and fiction and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lannan Literary Award and the American Book Award, and of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the MacArthur Foundation.

Cisneros is the author of two novels The House on Mango Street and Caramelo; a collection of short stories, Woman Hollering Creek; two books of poetry, My Wicked Ways and Loose Woman; and a children's book, Hairs/Pelitos.

She is the founder of the Macondo Foundation, an association of writers united to serve underserved communities (www.macondofoundation.org), and is Writer in Residence at Our Lady of the Lake University, San Antonio. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.

Reviews

[Melissa Tamayo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I too enjoyed the afterword a little more than the actual story... But still!!

Such a simple , powerful book! Sandra Cisneros has such a beautiful way with words. I love her constant use of similies & metaphors. It's as if she has no fear in her writing. Anyway.. I saw an interview she did in regards to this book & I just HAD to read it when I read a quote from it online.. (other reviewers have quoted it too..) "in Mexico they say when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that part of them is born in you.." --I always felt that way too..

This book takes you on a quest to find a missing Marie (a cat) & along the way we meet a vast array of characters from Sandra's neighborhood. Sandra's dealing with the recent death of her mother & it was during this quest that she learns that love & her mother is always alive & she's never alone as she keeps the love she has for her mother alive. Love is always there.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful!

[Mona Frazier · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite quotes (of many) from this lovely book is "There is no getting over death only learning how to travel alongside of it." The quote aptly describes the journey the author takes you through while she is searching for her lost cat, Marie.

There is so much to love about this book before one even begins reading. From the first page of illustrations, by Ester Hernandez, artista extraordinaire, I was captured by their serenity and vibrancy.

Some of the images in the book reminded me of Japanese woodcuts. Others, vivacious colored pencil drawings. The illustrations perfectly accompany the melodic text and characterize the many people and moods found in the novel.

An overriding sense of grief and loss weave throughout the story. There are touches of humor, but overall the sadness is palpable. I sighed in some sections, teared up in others.The author calls her book a
"fable for grownups," and for "orphans in midlife."

But I can see parents reading this to children, older kids reading to younger, and all of them enthralled and touched by the story.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Even sadness has its place in the world.”

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has the form of a children's book, with charming and colorful illustrations and large type, succinct paragraphs. But Cisneros says in her Afterward that she wrote it, following the death of her mother, for adults. Sandra's friend Roz, along with her cat, Marie, drives three days from Tacoma to visit in San Antonio. Marie promptly runs off. We become acquainted with Cisnero's San Antonio, and with neighbors (many of them real people, who posed for the artist) who are eager to help as Roz and Sandra search for Marie. At every turn they are reminded in a matter of fact way of the losses of others. (Don't worry too much about Marie)

One of my favorite things about Sandra Cisneros is her unique way of describing things, and her vernacular.
". . . the widow Helen sat on the sidewalk doing business with weeds" and "his two girls hanging upside down from the porch rail like possums."

This book won't take you long, but you will probably want to read it more than once.

[Sharon Barrow Wilfong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in Spanish to practice my Spanish and since I am not fluent, I did not understand everything. My Spanish is not adequate to writing the review in Spanish so I am writing it in English.

What I did understand was that a woman was looking for her lost cat, but these feelings were somehow intertwined with the loss of the author's mother.

She and her friend are in San Antonio looking for her friend, Roz's, black and white cat. They meet a lot of the neighbors and ask them if they have seen the cat.

It is almost like a children's novel where one meets each neighbor because the language seems basic and there are illustrations for each page. However, toward the end, the search becomes surreal as the author seems to go into a dream like state with nature and comes to terms with her grief and loss.

Keep in mind, that I may have missed something in trying to translate the words in my mind.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wavering between two and three stars. I picked this up from the New Releases shelf at the library because I liked The House on Mango Street way back when. (Despite his misogyny, the legacy of my freshman English teacher lives on!) It's a quick read, like a longer children's book. The illustrations are lovely and Cisneros uses powerful language, but the story really didn't grab me. The metaphor of looking for a lost cat as a way of grieving her mother is underdeveloped; it gets lost in the details about the search.

This was squarely two stars for me until the outstanding afterword which gave meaning to the meandering story that came before it. My favorite line is, "There is no getting over death, only learning how to travel alongside it. It knows no linear time. Sometimes the pain is as fresh as if it just happened. Sometimes it's a space I tap with my tongue daily like a missing molar." (p. 94)

Second favorite: "I wish somebody had told me then that death allows you the chance to experience the world soulfully, that the heart is open like the aperture of a camera, taking in everything, painful as well as joyous, sensitive as the skin of water." (p. 90)

[Suanne Laqueur · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this on a whim, thinking I could read it out loud with my daughter. I did and it was wonderful wonderful, most wonderful. A beautiful story, beautifully illustrated.

[marriah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Cisneros because she is proof you can be successful without labeling yourself as ONE specific type of writer. Whether it’s fiction or poetry or a hybrid type of work, her talent shines through. In this book in particular, despite it being a quick read, I was astounded by the way each page was it’s own. Each page could have existed on its own and still have been profound. In the afterword she says: “Sometimes the pain is as fresh as if it just happened. Sometimes it’s a space I tap with my tongue daily like a missing molar” like get out what the hell.

This is a perfect way to softly guide yourself into recovering from grief.

[eri b.❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm afraid. I'm all alone. I have never lived on this earth without you.

I didn't know this was a picture book. It amazed me that, within its simplicity, it managed to deliver some interesting messages and a profound story. The drawings were perfect. Two lines, one of them the opening line of the review, left me a little breathless. Overall, a good, warm-felt story about loss and community.

[aj toomer · Rating 5 out of 5]

But if I don’t feel, how will I be able to write!

[Rehan Abd Jamil · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cat missing, missing a dead mom and meeting neighbours..

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review of Have You Seen Marie? is up on my blog now!


https://bookreviewsfromanovelnerd.wor...

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to attend a reading of this book by Sandra Cisneros, and I must say she did an amazing job of bringing this story to life (not that reading it alone wouldn't be wonderful as well). The story is deceptively simple enough for anyone to enjoy - children included - but when you start looking into the layers of emotion and the meaning behind the characters in the story, it becomes a new experience.

The book is tied in with Cisneros' personal experience, and, honestly, that's what makes it more relatable to me. She always seems able to connect that experience with readers through characters and situations that are just so human and seemingly normal in their uniqueness.

Looking for the lost cat and meeting all sorts of people along the way who have been touched by grief - the same feeling she is feeling weighed down by - is no exception.

^I do apologize, as I should have gone to sleep many hours ago, and my brain cannot function to write coherently at the moment. So I'll just give in to writing as my stream of consciousness sees fit and say, "Yeah - good book!" ;D

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, simple story about grief and connections. The narrator has recently lost her mother and writes, "Every day I woke up and felt like a glove left behind at the bus station. I didn't know I would feel this way. Nobody told me. I'd been hiding in my house since. Most days I didn't even comb my hair, and most days I didn't care. The thought of talking to people made me woozy."

Into this state of affairs arrives Rosalind and her cat, Marie -- who promptly runs off. The narrator is the only person Roz knows, so of course, she has to help.

The result is a journey, not of healing, but of change and birth. As Cisneros says in the afterword: "In Mexico they say when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that a part of them is born in you -- not immediately, I've learned, but eventually, and gradually."

The short story is illustrated by Ester Hernandez, who perfectly captures the denizens of San Antonio.

[Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book touched me where I needed it, though I wasn't aware of that need at all. I am in a state of grief, and these words were a healing poultice to my heart.

The book reads like a long poem. Sandra is searching for a cat, but really, the part of herself she lost when her mother died.

Ms. Cisernos paints a lovely picture of her San Antonio neighborhood, with its eclectic residents of varied cultural backgrounds. She weaves them together like the individuals they are into an even more beauitful whole. Illustrations by Ester Hernandez add to the character of the book as well.

Without reading the afterword, which delves more deeply into mourning, the book stands alone as a comfort book, offering solace and hope to those who have lost something, someone.

[Kathleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Based on a book review I had read, I looked forward to reading this book. Although childlike in its simplicity, I felt like I was missing what other reviewers found so profound. So I read the book a second time (mind you, it's less than 100 pages with illustrations). The premise is that through the process of looking for a lost cat, the author has a spiritual journey dealing with the death of her mother. I think the book is beautifully illustrated, but reading the Afterward was my favorite part. To me, these few pages were the most comforting for someone trying to understand loss.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Cisneros, and she really does use some beautiful language here. Some of the natural objects shown have anthropomorphic traits, but the images are fresh. I also like the concept behind the book, the larger idea that we can become orphans when we experience parental loss. I also give her kudos for involving her community in this work and letting Ester Hernandez do some beautiful drawings. In the end, though, this "fable for adults," left me wanting for more depth. I wanted to be pulled in to the story, understanding the hurting and healing process with greater clarity.

[Iri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. Just what I needed to read.
It really heals your heart.

[Ege · Rating 2 out of 5]

Between 2 and 3 stars.

"Even sadness has its place in the universe."

"I wish somebody had told me love does not die, that we can continue to receive and give love after death."

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘In Mexico they say when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that a part of them is born in you—not immediately, I’ve learned, but eventually—gradually. It’s an opportunity to be reborn. When you are in between births, there should be some way to indicate to all, ‘Beware, I am not as I was before.’’

‘Some people who heard me perform it out loud thought it was for children, but I wrote it for adults—I wrote this story in the wake of death—poco a poco, slow by slow, little by little. A writer who had come to visit had lost her cat. I wish somebody had told me then that death allows you the chance to experience the world soulfully, that the heart is open like the aperture of a camera, taking in everything, painful as well as joyous, sensitive as the skin of water. I wish somebody had told me to draw near me objects of pure spirit when living between births—The trees—Flowers, especially the sympathetic daisy.’

‘I knew as I wrote this story that it was helping to bring me back to myself. It’s essential to create when the spirit is dying. It doesn’t matter what. I can’t make a casserole, but I felt useful during a time when I usually feel useless, and I was grateful. There is no getting over death, only learning how to travel alongside it. It knows no linear time. Say what they say, some may doubt the existence of God, but everyone is certain of the existence of love. Something is there, then, beyond our lives, that for lack of a better word I’ll call spirit. Some know it by other names.’

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s such a simple little story, but the meaning will hit home for anyone who has lost someone close to them, particularly a parent. I thought the afterword for the book was even better than the book itself, which I found a bit too repetitive. The language is absolutely gorgeous, but it’s Sandra Cisneros, so that’s no surprise. The book’s concept is a beautiful idea, but it could have been completed in a few hundred words and I feel like little would have been lost. I listened to the audiobook version so I was deprived of the illustrations. I’m still not sure what they look like, but based on the afterword, I think it would have helped.

[BookChampions · Rating 4 out of 5]

A self-dubbed "adult fable," Have You Seen Marie? may at first glance seem like a book for children, but it really an offering to adults, perhaps made to feel like children or "orphans," when, late in life if we are lucky, lose a parent. Cisneros' small reflection on that space of time between the initial loss and the acceptance and transcendence that comes later is surprisingly powerful in its simplicity. I will definitely rereading this some day...but hopefully not for some time.

If you still have an ache in your heart from a loved one who has died, you may want to spend a moment before bed reading this generous vision of a book. It may just make you feel a little bit less alone.

[Zulfiya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A parable about the loss of of a mother. Even though the concept is interesting and is presented in the form of a search for a missing cat, it did not exactly affect me in the way the author possibly intended.
It is styled as if it is a book for children, but in fact, it is a book for adults.

It seems like the author wanted to include too many ideas for this format. On one hand, she tried to portray her residential area as a microcosm, and, on the other, it is a book of grief and realization that death is inevitable despite the emotional difficulty to accept it.

I do not regret reading it, but I also think that it could have been in a more poignant way ... or we just got used to everything mega in our culture of consumerism, and grief can not be quiet any more.

[gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro muy bonito. Me encantó el epílogo :’) Me conecto con el oración que dice

“…un doctor quiso recetarme pastillas para la depresión. “Pero si no siento — le dije — ¿Cómo voy a poder escribir?” Necesito poder sentir las cosas profundamente, buenas o malas, y vadear a través de una emoción hasta la otra orilla, hacia mi renacimiento…Incluso la tristeza tiene su lugar en el universo.”

Me encanto las imagines también, que lindo :)

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deceptively simple picture books for grown-ups. The author and her friend search for her friend's missing cat, meeting neighbors and sharing stories of loss and messages of hope. Ms. Cisneros wrote this shortly after her mother died and reflects how during that time grief. "I have never lived on this earth without you," she writes of her mother. The search for the cat, the care of neighbors, the love of a friend bring her to a deep awareness of how alone she felt in a world without her mother and, yet, so nurtured by the memory of her mother's love. A small, poem of a book.

[Nellie Herren · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🤧😭😍

These books—- how are these little gems finding me! 😍

The AFTERWORD just what my ❤️ needed!

“ when someone you love dies, a part of you dies with them. But they forget to mention that a part of them is born in you. Not immediate, but eventually… gradually”

“Beware , I am not as I was before - handle with care”

Mental Note: come back and find this gem.

[Elianne van Elderen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought the book (immediately after reading the House on Mango Street) for the writing of Sandra Cisneros, loved the book for the illustrations of Ester Hernandez (and the afterword written bij Sandra Cisneros) maybe even more than the story itself.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

i can't believe such a short book had such new (to me, at least) ideas about grief. grief is interesting. it terrifies me, maybe because i haven't really experienced it yet and i know that one day i will. the unknown sadness is worse than the present sadness.

i loved the illustrations! they felt detailed and specific, but many of them had an otherworldly quality as well. i just flipped through them a couple of times to take it all in.

[Madhusree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This reads like a children's book but it isn't.