Ortiz Cofer weaves her tale with the impartial style of a historian. She does not judge her characters' actions, merely relating their decisions and offering proof as to how they decide to take the actions they take. For instance, when she tells the story of baby Josefa, given away by her father to his American boss for increased job security, the narrator never moralizes; she merely tells. Similarly, Ortiz Cofer describes the cockfight with graphic detail, with blood and feathers flying, men screaming and panting, yet she remains impartial to the men's reactions and to the fight itself. She presents the fight as an aspect of rural Puerto Rican culture, neither reprehensible nor commendable.

Ortiz Cofer maintains this storytelling objectivity when her characters move to the mainland. She treats racial prejudice with sterility, explaining that the "good" Paterson hotels do not accept African American or Puerto...