The short story "The Glass of Milk" has long been a favorite of readers in South America and in the United States. It is a tightly written story that captures the frustrations and desperation of a youth who is down on his luck. But just as with Rojas' other writing, it does this without preaching or demeaning the characters. Rojas' characters are largely drawn from his personal experiences when, as a lad, he wandered around the mountains of Chile and Argentina with his family in search of work and food.

His literary style is easily understood, without a lot of confusing detail. The action in his stories is concise, intense, and direct. Little extraneous information is included. His style is often called plain, according to Naomi Lindstrom. His narrators seldom make commentary on the actions of the characters. Much of his writing falls within the general...