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m_readss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
justrosaelena's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book, but I could not care for any of the characters. I respect the themes of feminism, immigration, and the American dream. It just wasn't the right novel for me.
ashrocketship's review against another edition
2.0
DNF-ing at 19% because stylistically it's just not the read for me, which is unfortunate because the stories being told are great, but not so great that I'm willing to slog through the prose to get at them.
missnicolerose's review against another edition
4.0
#readtheworld Dominican Republic
A beautiful story of a family caught between two cultures - their homeland of the Dominican Republic, and their adopted home of the United States. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of the four Garcia sisters and their experiences caught between two homes. The tale is told in reverse chronological order, which I found captivating.
The only thing that kept me from 5 stars is that I still felt each sister's story was left unfinished. I didn't get a sense that each of their distinct personalities and stories were fully developed. As a result, at several points I couldn't remember which sister was which as they all seemed to blend together.
I would like to read something else by Alvarez, because I do like her writing and feel that I could really enjoy a story by her told from a singular perspective.
A beautiful story of a family caught between two cultures - their homeland of the Dominican Republic, and their adopted home of the United States. The story is told from the alternating perspectives of the four Garcia sisters and their experiences caught between two homes. The tale is told in reverse chronological order, which I found captivating.
The only thing that kept me from 5 stars is that I still felt each sister's story was left unfinished. I didn't get a sense that each of their distinct personalities and stories were fully developed. As a result, at several points I couldn't remember which sister was which as they all seemed to blend together.
I would like to read something else by Alvarez, because I do like her writing and feel that I could really enjoy a story by her told from a singular perspective.
carlhendy's review against another edition
3.0
There were parts of the book I really enjoyed, mostly the middle. I felt the author didn’t fully dive into the story of each sister which was disappointing.
kayceereads's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Let's preface this by stating that I am never comfortable rating books based on people's real life because who am to rate the experiences you've had and what they've done to shape you. This book falls under this category because it is based on Julia Alvarez's experience as an immigrant and what occurred in her family because of it.
This book is more a series of vignettes told mostly from the perspective of the six main characters: Mami, Papi, Yolanda, Carla, Sophie and Sandra. It dives into what it feels like to come to the U.S. as a child and how it feels to grow up in two different worlds at once.
Positive: I think what this book did very well was to give you a real sense of family with the characters. You understood and connected to their bonds and how they interacted. Or maybe I did because of my Latinx roots. I have had the same conversations with my own family.
Alvarez's writing is engaging and quite strong in its execution. I did also enjoy the narrative structure of the book as Alvarez chose to write it from present to the past. I didn't realize that at first. I thought it was beginning in the present and would then go to the past and build up again to the present. However, it does not. It is divided into three sections: 1989 - 1972 which covers the family, already moved to the States, and gives you a look into their lives as immigrants, 1970 - 1960 which shows you the time building up to (or back from I suppose) when they have to leave because of political reasons, and 1960 - 1952 which covers the sisters childhood in the Dominican Republic.
Negative: While I like the framework of it being a bunch of vignettes that build up an entire narrative, it felt to me like we did not get enough time to flesh out the characters. I could connect to some of their experiences as seen through my own but I did not have time to understand and truly connect to each character. I was disappointed that we would find something out about one of the characters but never really go back to the root of why something happened. SPOILER ALERT: One of the sisters ends up with an eating disorder and has a mental breakdown whereby she has to be institutionalized for some time. We learn about that in her bit but we don't know what lead up to it, what happened after or how she has dealt with it. I would have wanted more. I know that the the idea of leaving the reader with some threads unspoken is one many writers like to use but in certain aspects, like this, it would have been better to know more in order to understand the character.
While I did think the framing of it was different and didn't mind it too much, I do think it is why the ending felt very underwhelming to me and I am so unsatisfied with it ALTHOUGH I do think that bookending the beginning and ending with the same character perspective was a solid decision.
I didn't love this as much as I wanted to especially considering that stories with Latinx characters and their struggles are something I am coming to really enjoy reading.
I do recommend a read though as it was good. I just wish it'd had more meat to it.
Recommend.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Let's preface this by stating that I am never comfortable rating books based on people's real life because who am to rate the experiences you've had and what they've done to shape you. This book falls under this category because it is based on Julia Alvarez's experience as an immigrant and what occurred in her family because of it.
This book is more a series of vignettes told mostly from the perspective of the six main characters: Mami, Papi, Yolanda, Carla, Sophie and Sandra. It dives into what it feels like to come to the U.S. as a child and how it feels to grow up in two different worlds at once.
Positive: I think what this book did very well was to give you a real sense of family with the characters. You understood and connected to their bonds and how they interacted. Or maybe I did because of my Latinx roots. I have had the same conversations with my own family.
Alvarez's writing is engaging and quite strong in its execution. I did also enjoy the narrative structure of the book as Alvarez chose to write it from present to the past. I didn't realize that at first. I thought it was beginning in the present and would then go to the past and build up again to the present. However, it does not. It is divided into three sections: 1989 - 1972 which covers the family, already moved to the States, and gives you a look into their lives as immigrants, 1970 - 1960 which shows you the time building up to (or back from I suppose) when they have to leave because of political reasons, and 1960 - 1952 which covers the sisters childhood in the Dominican Republic.
Negative: While I like the framework of it being a bunch of vignettes that build up an entire narrative, it felt to me like we did not get enough time to flesh out the characters. I could connect to some of their experiences as seen through my own but I did not have time to understand and truly connect to each character. I was disappointed that we would find something out about one of the characters but never really go back to the root of why something happened. SPOILER ALERT: One of the sisters ends up with an eating disorder and has a mental breakdown whereby she has to be institutionalized for some time. We learn about that in her bit but we don't know what lead up to it, what happened after or how she has dealt with it. I would have wanted more. I know that the the idea of leaving the reader with some threads unspoken is one many writers like to use but in certain aspects, like this, it would have been better to know more in order to understand the character.
While I did think the framing of it was different and didn't mind it too much, I do think it is why the ending felt very underwhelming to me and I am so unsatisfied with it ALTHOUGH I do think that bookending the beginning and ending with the same character perspective was a solid decision.
I didn't love this as much as I wanted to especially considering that stories with Latinx characters and their struggles are something I am coming to really enjoy reading.
I do recommend a read though as it was good. I just wish it'd had more meat to it.
Recommend.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars.
catherine_the_greatest's review against another edition
4.0
Julia Alvarez's first novel tells the story of the four Garcia sisters through a series of vignettes told in backward chronological order. It's an ambitious plan and for the most part it works, although the movement backwards is sometimes jarring. The story is semi-autobiographical and I wonder how many details are straight out of Alvarez's life. (Many of the stories are heartbreaking.)
I picked this up after reading her latest novel [b:Afterlife|52898645|Afterlife|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585507194l/52898645._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71323044], which also features four sisters and appears to be semi-autobiographical as well. There are certain similarities between the quartets in each novel, although the names and birth order change. Ms. Alvarez wrote [b:Yo!|286843|Yo!|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173419952l/286843._SX50_.jpg|868032] (which I haven't read) as a sequel to Garcia Girls, focusing on her alter-ego character who apparently stirs up drama by using her family as literary inspiration. Afterlife contains references to Antonia (the character most similar to Alvarez) having done the same. I find these intersections between an author's fiction and real life fascinating.
I picked this up after reading her latest novel [b:Afterlife|52898645|Afterlife|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585507194l/52898645._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71323044], which also features four sisters and appears to be semi-autobiographical as well. There are certain similarities between the quartets in each novel, although the names and birth order change. Ms. Alvarez wrote [b:Yo!|286843|Yo!|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173419952l/286843._SX50_.jpg|868032] (which I haven't read) as a sequel to Garcia Girls, focusing on her alter-ego character who apparently stirs up drama by using her family as literary inspiration. Afterlife contains references to Antonia (the character most similar to Alvarez) having done the same. I find these intersections between an author's fiction and real life fascinating.
jalpert12's review against another edition
2.0
I love love loved In The Time of the Butterflies by the same author by this one was hard toddy through. It was just a series of short "memoirs' of the Garcia girls' lives but told backward. Not great. :(
snaomiq's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciated the various stories/vignettes from the perspective of each sister. However, I did not feel that the story was entirely cohesive. It definitely left much to be desired.
pam_e13's review against another edition
5.0
one of the best books i read in college, made me read all of her others