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btwnprintedpgs's review
adventurous
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
If you love character driven books focused on memories and stories, you'll absolutely love this atmospheric book that merges magical realism with historical and political fiction along with contemporary family drama.
Alma is an author who inherits a property in the Dominican Republic after her father passes. There, she decides to build her cemetery of untold stories - stories long abandoned and in need of a resting place. Where else do untold stories go? Through this, she inadvertently brings together four main characters - Alma, herself, with her messy family still alive and bickering; Filomena, who is hired on as the groundskeeper and who's own story is full of turmoil and loose ends; Alma's dead father, Manuel Cruz, who's story as an immigrant and refugee comes through in his own voice and through Alma's attempt to write it; and Bienvenida, the second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, as she finds her voice again within the cemetery walls.
This is not a story with a lot of plot. Instead, it walks us through lives that are vastly different, but interconnected in ways that will surprise you. There were a lot of threads, and I will admit that at some points the story lost me with the number of characters that were introduced, but over time, it was fascinating to see how interwoven these narratives were. I loved getting to know these characters, I learned, I gasped, I had to pause the audio in utter shock. There was a lot to get my head around, and it was so interesting to listen to a story like this.
Two points of contention. The first is that there are a lot of characters. A lot. So when we're bouncing from POV to POV, through and across time and country, it gets a bit overwhelming on audio. However, when I picked up the physical book, this was one of those books where they didn't have quotation marks for when people spoke, but it was easy to flip back should a time jump totally take me by surprise. I think both the audio and the physical (or digital) would be good to have on hand, because I really do feel like the audio had a magic of it's own to it, but having the story in front of you made it easier to follow along.
All in all, this was a very haunting story, with ghosts of all sorts coming to life in this cemetery. I know that this book won't be for everyone, but if you want something to get lost in, this is a very strong contender, as you'll be hooked by the narrative and captivated by the characters' stories and voices as they all come to life.
TW: murder, political turmoil, infidelity, child death, sexual assault, genocide, racism; mentions death of a parent, abandonment, dementia, emotional abuse, deportation, homophobia
Audio-arc gifted via Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.
Alma is an author who inherits a property in the Dominican Republic after her father passes. There, she decides to build her cemetery of untold stories - stories long abandoned and in need of a resting place. Where else do untold stories go? Through this, she inadvertently brings together four main characters - Alma, herself, with her messy family still alive and bickering; Filomena, who is hired on as the groundskeeper and who's own story is full of turmoil and loose ends; Alma's dead father, Manuel Cruz, who's story as an immigrant and refugee comes through in his own voice and through Alma's attempt to write it; and Bienvenida, the second wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, as she finds her voice again within the cemetery walls.
This is not a story with a lot of plot. Instead, it walks us through lives that are vastly different, but interconnected in ways that will surprise you. There were a lot of threads, and I will admit that at some points the story lost me with the number of characters that were introduced, but over time, it was fascinating to see how interwoven these narratives were. I loved getting to know these characters, I learned, I gasped, I had to pause the audio in utter shock. There was a lot to get my head around, and it was so interesting to listen to a story like this.
Two points of contention. The first is that there are a lot of characters. A lot. So when we're bouncing from POV to POV, through and across time and country, it gets a bit overwhelming on audio. However, when I picked up the physical book, this was one of those books where they didn't have quotation marks for when people spoke, but it was easy to flip back should a time jump totally take me by surprise. I think both the audio and the physical (or digital) would be good to have on hand, because I really do feel like the audio had a magic of it's own to it, but having the story in front of you made it easier to follow along.
All in all, this was a very haunting story, with ghosts of all sorts coming to life in this cemetery. I know that this book won't be for everyone, but if you want something to get lost in, this is a very strong contender, as you'll be hooked by the narrative and captivated by the characters' stories and voices as they all come to life.
TW: murder, political turmoil, infidelity, child death, sexual assault, genocide, racism; mentions death of a parent, abandonment, dementia, emotional abuse, deportation, homophobia
Audio-arc gifted via Libro.fm in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Sexual assault, Murder, and Infidelity
Moderate: Racism and Genocide
Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Deportation, Death of parent, and Dementia
cassielaj's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I really enjoyed the premise of this book, and I think that the themes of storytelling, what constitutes a story, and who gets to tell a story were fascinating to trace throughout the novel.
Of all the characters and their compelling stories, I thought that Filomena and Bienvenida Inocencia really elevated this story. They were both such nuanced characters with my favorite stories, despite the fact that neither particularly thought their story needed to be told.
I thought that the decision to have Pepito tell Bienvenida’s story at the end, against Alma and Bienvenida’s will, was an effective point to drive home the lives that stories take on outside of their subjects.
Note: I found quite a few similarities between this book and Alvarez’s ¡Yo!, which I thought was kind of odd.
Of all the characters and their compelling stories, I thought that Filomena and Bienvenida Inocencia really elevated this story. They were both such nuanced characters with my favorite stories, despite the fact that neither particularly thought their story needed to be told.
Note: I found quite a few similarities between this book and Alvarez’s ¡Yo!, which I thought was kind of odd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Dementia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
burnedoutbookdragon's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.0
If you're a writer, author, or someone who loves bookish stories, this book is for you.
Genre: literary fiction
Diversity: Latina community. Dominican & Dominican-American
Set against the backdrop of a small village in the Dominican Republic, Alvarez invites readers to follow a celebrated author, Alma Cruz, who is seeking to bury all the stories she couldn't finish. Hoping this will give her characters and herself peace.
Alvarez's writing is both poetic and rich, seamlessly blending elements of historical fiction and magical realism. I loved as a reader we got to see a different side of authors. I feel like this book was cathartic and maybe personal for Alvarez. Here we get to see a side of authors who are at a point done with their career and don't know what to do with the untold stories they carry.
We get four different perspectives sprinkled in perfectly, between Alma, Filomena, and two of Alma's story characters. This is a character driven plot, that may feel slow for any action or climax. The alternating of Alma and Filomena's perspective helps alleviate the slowness feeling tedious.
Thank you to Ms. Alvarez's team and Algonquin Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: literary fiction
Diversity: Latina community. Dominican & Dominican-American
Set against the backdrop of a small village in the Dominican Republic, Alvarez invites readers to follow a celebrated author, Alma Cruz, who is seeking to bury all the stories she couldn't finish. Hoping this will give her characters and herself peace.
Alvarez's writing is both poetic and rich, seamlessly blending elements of historical fiction and magical realism. I loved as a reader we got to see a different side of authors. I feel like this book was cathartic and maybe personal for Alvarez. Here we get to see a side of authors who are at a point done with their career and don't know what to do with the untold stories they carry.
We get four different perspectives sprinkled in perfectly, between Alma, Filomena, and two of Alma's story characters. This is a character driven plot, that may feel slow for any action or climax. The alternating of Alma and Filomena's perspective helps alleviate the slowness feeling tedious.
Thank you to Ms. Alvarez's team and Algonquin Books for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Sexual assault, and Violence
kimwritesstuff's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is so heartbreaking, for any readers who cannot handle graphic child loss, this would not be a book for you. I definitely had to put this book down and walk away a few times because it is a very heavy read. With that being said, it is a heartbreaking story that ties together the history of the Dominican Republic and multiple characters.
Alma is the primary character, and she is an author who has used her family's stories as the basis for her books. When both of her parents die, she inherits a parcel of land in her homeland of the Dominican Republic. She decides to move home and create a cemetery of sorts for her untold stories. These stories create both real and fictional historical characters. Through the construction of the cemetery, we learn more about the first wife of El Jefe, a brutal dictator in the Dominican Republic's recent history, and the history of Alma's own father.
The secondary plot of this story follows Filomena, the across-the-street neighbor of Alma who becomes the caretaker of the cemetery. Filomena grew up in a rural campo and later was a live-in maid/caretaker for a wealthy family. Her story is outside the main story until closer to the end, where it starts to intertwine. The beauty of this novel is how the characters touch each other's lives and the rich as well as brutal history of the Dominican Republic.
This book is a brutal read in places. The only reason I didn't give this five stars is that I found this book to be a little bleak. I wanted more hope at the end of the novel. I also really hated Perla and her storyline, though it does serve as a way to show the crooked prison system and how it can be bought.
Overall, this is an achingly beautiful story that could have used a little more hope.
Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual violence, Genocide, Violence, and Racism
Minor: Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
bookreviewswithkb's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
thank you so much to @netgalley and @algonquinbooks for the early review copy! this comes out April 2nd, 2024
my star ratings are based significantly on the amount of feeling i have while reading the book - this book had me feeeeling and wondering and reflecting. Julia Alvarez is such an incredible writer
my star ratings are based significantly on the amount of feeling i have while reading the book - this book had me feeeeling and wondering and reflecting. Julia Alvarez is such an incredible writer
this book is about how our stories humanize us, how stories build empathy and connect our sense of humanity together. how the lack of our stories being told leaves us buried beneath the weight of silence, of misunderstanding. the stories of ourselves, of our love, our mistakes, our shame. of our countries, of their love, their mistakes, their shame
“…these were precisely the characters Alma felt drawn to. The silenced ones, their tongues cut off; wives and daughters taking dictation from their husbands or fathers, improving and revising, in fact cowriting the epics, the sonnets, the ballads, with never a credit to their names. Generations of Anons.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Infidelity
Minor: Miscarriage
amy_joy's review against another edition
3.25
There is just something with books about books that I cannot resist! Additionally, the title and cover are so intriguing that I had very high hopes for this book.
The main character, Alma, is an accomplished author who decides she is ready to stop writing. She has so many stories that she began but didn't finish. How can she put these untold stories to rest but give them the honor they deserve? A cemetery.
The book flows between different character narratives with their own "untold" stories which weave together with Alma's buried storylines.
It took me a while to get in to this book. In the beginning, I couldn't figure out the purpose of Alma's author friend - a writer who worked so hard to finish a book that it impacted her mental health. I had some trouble keeping track of the two writers and figuring out which was which as Alma's author friend is unnamed (I think; I hope I'm not misremembering and there was a name given!). Regardless, the storyline felt unimportant and somewhat boring at the time. Now I understand that this provides the foundation for Alma's decision to create a cemetery for her stories - but it felt choppy and random.
Once the book moved into other characters, and the cemetery was finally built - I became invested and finished the book quickly.
There were many Spanish phrases throughout the book that weren't translated that I wish would have been. Most of the time, context clues were enough to get the gist, but I felt frustrated when I couldn't read the exact text.
After finishing the book, I thought a lot about my own "untold" stories and those of my parents, grandparents, etc. In my opinion, a great book keeps you thinking long after you've read it - and this was the case for me. However, when I look back, I don't know how much I actually enjoyed reading this book. I had some difficulty keeping track of storylines and characters. I also felt that some characters weren't explored enough to justify their actions.
I also feel that it wouldn't be a bad idea to review the trigger warnings for this book prior to reading. There was one violent scene that I was completely shocked and unprepared for.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
The main character, Alma, is an accomplished author who decides she is ready to stop writing. She has so many stories that she began but didn't finish. How can she put these untold stories to rest but give them the honor they deserve? A cemetery.
The book flows between different character narratives with their own "untold" stories which weave together with Alma's buried storylines.
It took me a while to get in to this book. In the beginning, I couldn't figure out the purpose of Alma's author friend - a writer who worked so hard to finish a book that it impacted her mental health. I had some trouble keeping track of the two writers and figuring out which was which as Alma's author friend is unnamed (I think; I hope I'm not misremembering and there was a name given!). Regardless, the storyline felt unimportant and somewhat boring at the time. Now I understand that this provides the foundation for Alma's decision to create a cemetery for her stories - but it felt choppy and random.
Once the book moved into other characters, and the cemetery was finally built - I became invested and finished the book quickly.
There were many Spanish phrases throughout the book that weren't translated that I wish would have been. Most of the time, context clues were enough to get the gist, but I felt frustrated when I couldn't read the exact text.
After finishing the book, I thought a lot about my own "untold" stories and those of my parents, grandparents, etc. In my opinion, a great book keeps you thinking long after you've read it - and this was the case for me. However, when I look back, I don't know how much I actually enjoyed reading this book. I had some difficulty keeping track of storylines and characters. I also felt that some characters weren't explored enough to justify their actions.
I also feel that it wouldn't be a bad idea to review the trigger warnings for this book prior to reading. There was one violent scene that I was completely shocked and unprepared for.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
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