What is the author's style in Caramelo, or, Puro Cuento: A Novel by Sandra Cisneros?

The point of view is mainly written in the first person, with the exception of an active narrative between Celaya and the Grandmother and Celaya and her mother where she is getting information for the book. The reader never really knows if she is really talking to these people, or perhaps it is a dream or the people are talking to her from the dead, which is very common in Mexican narratives. However, it is implied that when Celaya is talking to her Grandmother, it is really her grandmother's ghost. Soledad's ghost appears to Celaya in the hospital and asks Celaya to tell the Grandmother's story, which is what the second part of the book is about. It takes a while to catch on and to understand what is going on at the beginning of the chapters because it is not clear who is talking until several chapters in, but once the reader is immersed into the story, it is easy to follow who is talking and when.

The book is divided into eighty-six short chapters, all little stories of their own. Some of the chapters are completely irrelevant to the story but are so entertaining that they add much to the narrative. Some chapters are introduced by songs or poems, and some are just filled with thoughts that everyone in the room is having about a given subject or even about nothing at all. This is done in order for the reader to hear the different voices and different things going on within the book and throughout the characters' lives.