《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。

Mango Says Goodbye Sometimes
　　I like to tell stories. I tell them inside my head. I tell them after the mailman says, Here's your mail. Here's your mail he said.

　　I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes. I say, "And so she trudged up the wooden stairs, her sad brown shoes taking her to the house she never

　　liked."

　　I like to tell stories. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who didn't want to belong.

　　We didn't always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomis on the third floor, and before that we lived on Keeler. Before Keeler it was Paulina, but what I remember most is Mango Street, sad red house, the house I belong but do not belong to.

　　I put it down on paper and then the ghost does not ache so much. I write it down and Mango says goodbye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free.

　　One day I will pack my bags of books and paper. One day I will say goodbye to Mango. I am too strong for her to keep me here forever. One day I will go away.

　　Friends and neighbors will say, What happened to that Esperanza? Where did she go with all those books and paper? Why did she march so far away?

　　They will not know I have gone away to come back. For the ones I left behind. For the ones who cannot out.
　　芒果有時說再見

　　我喜歡講故事。我在心里講述。在郵遞員說過這是你的郵件之后。這是你的郵件。他說。然后我開始講述。

　　我編了一個故事，為我的生活，為我棕色鞋子走過的每一步。我說，“她步履沉重地登上木樓梯，她悲哀的棕色鞋子帶著她走進了她從來不喜歡的房子?！?/span>

　　我喜歡講故事。我將向你們講述一個不想歸屬的女孩的故事。

　　我們先前不住芒果街。先前我們住魯米斯的三樓，再先前我們住吉勒。吉勒前面是波琳娜?？晌矣浀米钋宄氖敲⒐郑У募t色小屋。我住在那里卻不屬于那里的房子。

　　我把它寫在紙上，然后心里的幽靈就不那么疼了。我把它寫下來，芒果有時說再見。她不再用雙臂抱住我。她放開了我。

　　有一天我會把一袋袋的書和紙打進包里。有一天我會對芒果說再見。我強大得她沒法永遠留住我。有一天我會離開。

　　朋友和鄰居們會說，埃斯佩朗莎怎么了？她帶著這么多書和紙去哪里？為什么她要走得那么遠？

　　他們不會知道，我離開是為了回來。為了那些我留在身后的人。為了那些無法出去的人。