By Julia Alvarez. 309 pp. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. $18.95. he had four girls. Enough said.'' Those are the words that the mother of the Garcia sisters, introduced in Julia Alvarez's acclaimed novel ''How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents,'' wants inscribed on her tombstone.y Julia Alvarez. 309 pp. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. $18.95. he had four girls. Enough said.'' Those are the words that the mother of the Garcia sisters, introduced in Julia Alvarez's acclaimed novel ''How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents,'' wants inscribed on her tombstone.
The Lxx translates it with the Greek verb sozo, which means to rescue one from peril, danger or suffering, to protect from loss or destruction, to heal, to make whole, to keep alive, to preserve life (physical but especially spiritual - compare Ps 6:4, Ps 86:2).
This ROOT-WORD is SOPH which means WISDOM. It comes from the Greek sophos. The list points up the fact that the SOPH laughs at true wisdom at the very moment when he himself tries to appear wise. The poor SOPHomore is hard put to it pretending to be wise when he has only just come out of the freshman class. His SOPHistication sits uneasily on his immaturity.