The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
Have you ever experienced a situation like the ones portrayed in the book, meaning have you stayed long periods in a country that is not your own and where they do not speak your mother tongue? If yes, do you see your experience reflected in this text?
Why do you think it is hard to be a Latin-American immigrant in the USA? What do you think of the way in which Magdalena and Maxine [Who are they? –Jon] manage their bicultural background?
Can you give an example from the text in which Spanglish is used particularly effectively? Would the passage have the same effect solely in one language? Why or why not?
How did you find the choice of languages (Spanish, English and Spanglish) for this novel? Do you think it has an impact like the one I talked about? Would you rather have it only in one language?
Did you enjoy the bilingual nature of this book or did it make you get lost more often? If the book was translated into only one language, would the reader get a similar experience out of the thoughts and conversations of the characters?
What do you think was being constantly asked in this book?
Do you have any words, phrases, or discourses in mind that you feel are untranslatable? Language that can only be understood and appreciated in its original form?
