What gives the novel its beauty is the language. Castillo lifts her story from soap opera to a rare state of literary art through the power in Carmen’s voice. The events of Carmen’s life are given dignity, irony and sharp humor. Carmen describes her relationship with Agustin as "a love dried up like a persimmon left in the fruit bowl too long and both of us too lazy to throw it out." Whereas, when she sees Manolo for the first time "he looked so good he made my arms itch." And the scene when she cleans out her mother’s refrigerator places the comedy of familial territoriality right next to the inadequacies of love:

I must let go of the guilt for having failed her now, failed her so well without even trying, without even knowing how I did it, while she still sleeps soundly in the next room. And the following morning I come to terms with myself, the defective daughter that I am, inside and out, and realize that if I have not always felt [my mother’s] love, I’ve loved myself enough for the two of us.

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