How we cite our quotes: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
For although the mother confused their names or called them all by the generic pet name, "Cuquita," and switched their birthdates and their careers, and sometimes forgot which husband or boyfriend went with which daughter, she had a favorite story she liked to tell about each one as a way of celebrating that daughter on special occasions. (1.3.7)
Mami is an epic storyteller, and yet she never writes anything down! Hm... maybe you don't have to be a writer to participate in literature. She's a reminder that the oral tradition is really important—maybe more important for this family than writing.
Quote #2
Yolanda often read poems addressed to lovers, sonnets set in bedrooms, and she knew her mother did not believe in sex for girls. But the mother seemed not to notice the subject of the poems, or if she did, to ascribe the love scenes to her Yoyo's great imagination. (1.3.38)
Okay, literature isn't necessarily based on facts. But come on! It's pretty hard to write about sex if you've never experienced it before. Mami is being really naive here.
Quote #3
"If she read all the great books, maybe she'd remember something important from having been human."
"Freud," the doctor said, listing names on his pad. "Darwin, Nietzsche, Erikson."
"Dante," the father mused. "Homer, Cervantes, Calderón de la Barca." (1.3.100-102)
When the doctor thinks of "great books," he thinks of scientific works written by German and English philosophers. When the father thinks of "great books," he thinks of works of literature written in Greek, Italian and Spanish. No matter how many of these books Sandra manages to read, though, she never seems to have all the answers. In fact, all this reading seems to be ruining her life. It's literally driving her crazy.