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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Deportation
Minor: Car accident
slow-paced
I almost put this book down. Then, after reading two-thirds of the way through prose that was
disjointed, the writing and plot became clear. So I continued. Would rather have spent the time
reading something else.
disjointed, the writing and plot became clear. So I continued. Would rather have spent the time
reading something else.
I was told this book was uplifting. Having read it I still feel like it is, but I am having a hard time understanding why. Besides the disjointed intro, this book was an easy read and it flowed well. It follows Antonia who's recently lost her husband and her interactions with her sisters and the undocumented migrants around her. I enjoyed reading about an older character with a different past and a different outlook. The book feels truthful.
Looking forward to talking about it with my book club tonight.
Looking forward to talking about it with my book club tonight.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Once upon a time, I was obsessed with Julia Alvarez. Her books were prominent on my shelf from the late 90s to mid-2000s. Then, I stopped seeing her books and I forgot to look for her. Glad to say that she is returned to us in Afterlife.
This novel focuses on one sister in a quartet of four, a theme that frequent Alvarez readers will recognize. The main character, Antonia, is figuring out life as she learns to live without her husband. In the mean time, she finds herself deep in the USA’s immigration conflict, by way of the migrants living and working in her rural Vermont town. Oh, and major sister drama. Because when one thing goes wrong, the universe decides that we can handle more.
Touching, funny, sweet, and it’s interesting to see Alvarez transfer her characters to a later-in-life setting.
This novel focuses on one sister in a quartet of four, a theme that frequent Alvarez readers will recognize. The main character, Antonia, is figuring out life as she learns to live without her husband. In the mean time, she finds herself deep in the USA’s immigration conflict, by way of the migrants living and working in her rural Vermont town. Oh, and major sister drama. Because when one thing goes wrong, the universe decides that we can handle more.
Touching, funny, sweet, and it’s interesting to see Alvarez transfer her characters to a later-in-life setting.
Julia Alvarez writes so beautifully but this one didn’t quite resonate with me the way that Garcia Girls and Butterflies did. I loved those two books so much that probably my expectations were in a different place. Still, very poignant meditations on love and loss— in particular how to mend that loss. A nice book.