Arsenic and Adobo

“Hence I was working at my Tita Rosie’s restaurant rather than running my own cafe, which is what I’d been going to school for before I found out Sam was a cheating scumbag.”

This quote is an example of how Lila struggles with balancing Familial Pressures and Personal Identity. The familiar insult, scumbag, gives Manansala’s prose a casual, intimate tone.

“In the bowl is ginataang bilo-bilo. Chewy rice balls, tapioca pearls, jackfruit, purple yam, and saba banana cooked in sweet coconut milk. The best thing to eat on a cold day like this.”

Here, Lola Flor tells Derek what it is in the traditional Filipino dish, developing the theme of the Importance of Food. The need for this explanation highlights how Filipinos encounter ignorance about their culture in the United States. Flor is from the Philippines, as is the dish she prepares. Derek, a white man from Shady Palms, Illinois, doesn’t know diverse foods, despite being a food critic.

“I wouldn’t have their work ethic construed as something criminal.”

Here, Lila defends her family’s action of cleaning up the table after Derek is rushed to the hospital. This quote is an example of institutional racism. The police become suspicious of the Macapagals, a Filipino family, for doing their jobs.

“Tita Rosie’s Kitchen was meant to be warm and comforting, the feeling of having a meal at your home away from home.”

The atmosphere and decor of Tita Rosie’s Kitchen are contrasted with the modern, simple decor at Java Jo’s in this quote. The Macapagal family’s concept of home is deeply associated with food. Furthermore, the descriptors “warm and comforting” develop the setting.

“Did I miss anything big while I was gone?”

Lila asks this when Adeena gets defensive about drug use. Adeena’s secrecy here foreshadows Lila’s later discovery of a major plot point: Adeena doesn’t tell Lila that Jo died of a drug overdose. Much of the novel is written in dialogue, making the narrative fast-paced and conversational.

“Never had a kind word come out of his mouth.”

In this quote, Martha describes Derek as she discusses how Derek ran one of his earliest scams at Stan’s Diner. This conversation develops the theme of Economic Vulnerability and Labor Dynamics. This quote also develops the characterization of Derek as an unkind, vindictive person.

“She was good about working the room and making sure everyone had what they needed.”

This quote develops the theme of Economic Vulnerability and Labor Dynamics. Lila observes Martha from a professional standpoint and judges her to be a good server. She aligns food service with care, emphasizing that Martha’s skills as a server come from her ability to take care of customers’ needs.

“I sighed and nibbled on an ube crinkle, so lost in thought I couldn’t even enjoy how the light coating of powdered sugar gave just enough sweetness to the subtle, almost vanilla-like flavor of the purple yam.”

This passage develops the theme of The Importance of Food through the motif of ube crinkle cookies. The sensory description utilizes a comparison to something non-Filipino readers may be more familiar with than ube: vanilla. The ube crinkle is Lila’s signature dish and the first one listed in the recipe section at the end of the book.

“Dear Lord, why did this keep happening?”

This humorous comment subtly references the theme of Familial Pressures and Personal Identity. The humor comes from both Adeena and Lila’s godmothers classifying Lila getting food with Jae and Marcus as dates. Living in a small, close-knit community filled with family members and friends, Lila’s romantic life is afforded little privacy.

“Adeena and I looked at each other, having a conversation with our eyes and the barest of body language.”

This quote describes how Adeena and Lila debate whether they should tell Jae about their unofficial investigation of Derek’s murder. The alliteration, or repeated first syllable, in the phrase “barest of body language” highlights how “bare” refers to both sparseness and showing one’s body.

“I can already tell your bond is special. You’ve found someone who gets you.”

Here, Jae admires Adeena and Lila’s relationship. The phrase “finding someone” is often used to describe romantic relationships, so Jae’s choice to describe a friendship in this way highlights the importance that Adeena and Lila place on their friendship. This quote reflects the theme of chosen family amidst struggles with Familial Pressures and Personal Identity.

“All you care about is your precious food.”

This quote develops the theme of The Importance of Food. Yuki says this to her husband Akio, and his single-minded focus on food and work is in part why she cheats on him. As a restauranteur in a precarious economic position, Akio has to prioritize his business over romance.

“The only thing that saved me was Sam paying off his connection so that he’d claim I had no idea the goods were illegal—which was true. But Sam was a little rich boy and didn’t want his name to get dragged into the case, so it was easier for him to make me the sacrificial lamb.”

In this passage, Lila describes her criminal past, developing the theme of Economic Vulnerability and Labor Dynamics. Lila takes the blame for her fiancé’s crimes because she is from a lower socioeconomic class. Here, Manansala illuminates one privilege of generational wealth.

“My aunt was getting old. Old and tired and massively overworked.”

This quote, which describes Rosie, also develops the theme of Economic Vulnerability and Labor Dynamics. Rosie is “massively overworked” because the Macapagals need the money from the restaurant to survive, and food service is both demanding and volatile. The repetition of “old” indicates how hard work can age people.

“I couldn’t imagine anyone falling in love with Shady Palms, but I understood the pull of reconnecting with your roots.”

Once the reader knows the identity of Derek’s killer, this quote becomes ironic. Kevin tells Lila that he runs Java Jo’s because he fell “in love with Shady Palms,” when in fact he is there to take revenge on Derek for selling Jo the drugs that she overdosed on. Lila is suspicious of this reason, which develops the setting as a small and forgettable, even unlikeable, town.

“Funny how one’s self-awareness went totally out the window when it came to family.”

In this quote, Lila privately reflects on Amir’s obliviousness to why Adeena is upset. The casual diction of “totally” adds to the idea that the narrative reflects her unfiltered thoughts. It also sounds conversational, as if she is talking to the reader.

“I totally understand your instinct to protect your family […] I also know there’s no way your family had anything to do with Derek’s death.”

This is a piece of dialogue between Elena and Lila that develops the theme of Familial Pressures and Personal Identity. Elena says the same word that Lila thinks, “totally,” highlighting the conversational tone of Lila’s internal monologue.

“Oh sugar.”

This is a humorous callback to a previous moment when Lila says “sugar” instead of swearing because of her strict family. In the previous moment, it is a piece of dialogue. However, this passage is part of her thoughts, which includes the reader in the joke.

“Only if you make it, Miss Nettie. Nobody can do it like you do, especially not in Chicago.”

This quote develops the Importance of Food. Lila associates Nettie’s sweet tea with many fun times she had at Big Bishop’s BBQ as a teenager. For Lila, food is more than mere ingredients: It also contains emotions, like nostalgia.

“He was like family! But nobody lets you down like family, I guess.”

Nettie says this about Derek. The repetition of “family” in this piece of dialogue highlights the theme of Familial Pressures and Personal Identity. Derek’s self-centered scams harmed his found family of Nettie and George Bishop, developing his characterization as disappointing and egocentric.

“Tita Rosie’s warmth was genuine, but my family’s hospitality could be a little on the pushy side.”

This is what Lila thinks when Jae tells her that Rosie gave him a large amount of food. The diction of “warm” describes Rosie, here, and her restaurant, in a previously discussed quote (64). Her restaurant is an embodiment of her.

“We both snorted because the only press we had was the local newspaper staffed by three or four people and whatever high school intern they could trick into free labor by claiming it’d look good on their college applications.”

This quote highlights socioeconomic privilege. The students who can afford to work an unpaid internship—and whose parents will pay for their college tuition—are of a higher socioeconomic class than Lila. The food service industry doesn’t have unpaid internships, so it can attract more people than the media or other jobs that require experience working unpaid internships.

“I cursed the Shady Palms News team out in my head.”

Lila is targeted as a prime suspect by the reporters on the Shady Palms newspaper staff. This staff used to include Derek, so the reporters side with him against Lila. The coverage of Derek’s murder investigation, as well as Derek’s scam with Mr. Long and Mr. Nelson, jeopardizes both Lila’s life and her family’s livelihood.