The book does feel like an exhalation. Cisneros candidly ticks through past lives and lovers with an approach that isn’t concerned with what people will think ... Another way Cisneros is unapologetic in these pages is how she describes her body as she ages, not without wit ... Cisneros masters scene-setting, and story, usually with a humorous angle ... She also masters detail and depth in few words ... A love letter to the imperfect self, Woman Without Shame is brave and beautiful.
Cisneros...writes with irresistible intimacy, especially in her poetry. We feel confided in, teased, moved, and jolted as she explores matters earthy and spiritual. Cisneros is funny and lacerating, caring and mischievous ... She also offers stinging social critiques and frank and hilarious riffs on sex. This is a delectably saucy and incisive, righteous and resonant collection.
The introspective latest from Cisneros sweeps through her life with blunt observations and heartfelt prayers ... These plainspoken, affecting poems reveal a writer fortified by a sometimes difficult past who has come to embrace the freedom that comes with self-acceptance.
