《芒果街上的小屋》 一本優美純凈的小書，一本“詩小說”。由幾十個短篇組成，語言清澈如流水，點綴著零落的韻腳和新奇的譬喻，如一首首長歌短調，各自成韻，又彼此鉤連，匯聚出一個清晰世界，各樣雜沓人生。所有的講述都歸于一個敘述中心：居住在芝加哥拉美移民社區芒果街上的女孩埃斯佩朗莎。生就對弱的同情心和對美的感覺力，她用清澈的眼打量周圍的世界，用美麗稚嫩的語言講述成長、滄桑、生命的美好與不易和年輕的熱望與夢想，夢想有一所自己的房子，夢想在寫作中追尋自我，獲得自由和幫助別人的能力。

Minerva writes poems
　　Minerva is only a little bit older than me but already she has two kids and a husband who left. Her mother raised her kids alone and it looks like her daughters will go that way too. Minerva cries because her luck is unlucky. Every night and every day. And prays. But when the kids are asleep after she's fed them their pancake dinner, she writes poems on little pieces of paper that she folds over and over and holds in her hands a long time, little pieces of paper that smell like a dime.

　　She lets me read her poems. I let her read mine. She is always sad like a house on fire——always something wrong. She has many troubles, but the big one is her husband who left and keeps leaving.
　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　密涅瓦寫詩
　　密涅瓦只比我大一點點，可她已經有兩個孩子和一個出走的丈夫。她媽媽肚子撫養孩子們，看來她的女兒也要走她的老路了。因為她運氣這樣糟，密涅瓦哭呀哭。每個夜晚每個白天。并且祈禱。不過，在喂完孩子們煎餅晚餐后，他們就睡著了，她會在小紙片上寫詩。那紙片他折了又折，捏在手里很長時間了，聞起來像一角硬幣的小紙片。

　　她讓我讀她的詩，我讓她讀我的。她總是悲傷得像一所著了火的房子——總是有什么出了問題。他麻煩太多了，最大的麻煩就是丈夫會出走，而且不停地出走。