Chicana Paradise and Other Stories

by Jesi Lopez Malignaggi, Daniel J Malignaggi (Editor)

Set through the late 1960s and 1970s, Chicana Paradise and Other Stories is a collection of vignettes that captures the heart and soul of the literarily unexplored northeast Los Angeles. The novel is a journey through a neighborhood where young Chicanas were seeking their cultural identity amid traditional expectations. A weaving of words takes the reader along with Mexican-American girls growing up facing racial prejudice and discrimination while questioning the religious and supernatural forces that permeate their lives. These vivid stories reflect glimpses of the true realities of life in the inner city where poverty and societal struggles are the norm. This storytelling journey, which still resonates today, peeks into the lives of women and their daughters who are trying to navigate between hope and truth in those chaotic decades.

126 pages, Paperback

Published January 12, 2020

Reviews

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of short vignettes that speak of love, strength, and resilency in the face of poverty. Many of the characters in these stories find power in family, ancestry and culture. These stories show that there is beauty in the ugliest of circumstances.