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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Is art a kind of violence, the writer ravaging the lives of people around her to create characters and stories?
At the age of seventy, Dominican-American author Alma packs up the rough drafts of her unfinished manuscripts, returns to the Dominican Republic where she has inherited land, and buries the boxes under sculptures created by an artist friend. But her characters refuse to stay buried. They tell their stories to Filomena (the neighbor Alma hires to care for her “cemetery”), to each other, and ultimately to Alma too. This dose of magical realism along with a taste of Dominican culture, tantalizing plots, and fascinating, complex characters made this a fun read.
And it sums up one of the reasons I love books: “Listening to all these stories has opened up so many windows in Filomena’s life. … So much sadness, so much wonder, so much joy. Her heart is messy with feelings, her mind with possibilities, twists and turns. It was simpler before. And yet, she would not go back. Now there is room in her heart for everyone, or most everyone.”
This is my first book by Julia Alvarez, and I’m excited now to read In the Time of Butterflies.
At the age of seventy, Dominican-American author Alma packs up the rough drafts of her unfinished manuscripts, returns to the Dominican Republic where she has inherited land, and buries the boxes under sculptures created by an artist friend. But her characters refuse to stay buried. They tell their stories to Filomena (the neighbor Alma hires to care for her “cemetery”), to each other, and ultimately to Alma too. This dose of magical realism along with a taste of Dominican culture, tantalizing plots, and fascinating, complex characters made this a fun read.
And it sums up one of the reasons I love books: “Listening to all these stories has opened up so many windows in Filomena’s life. … So much sadness, so much wonder, so much joy. Her heart is messy with feelings, her mind with possibilities, twists and turns. It was simpler before. And yet, she would not go back. Now there is room in her heart for everyone, or most everyone.”
This is my first book by Julia Alvarez, and I’m excited now to read In the Time of Butterflies.
3.5 stars
I really enjoyed In the Time of the Butterflies so was excited to read this one. There were many mentions and the stories were interconnected in some ways which I enjoyed.
This novel took some time to figure out the ways in which the different storylines connected. I think the connection was great and the stories really spoke to me but the present day and the logistics was a little confusing and not as compelling to me. The large number of POVs was quite confusing for a lot of the book so I wasn’t a huge fan. But overall it was very sweet and I liked it but it wasn’t life changing.
I really enjoyed In the Time of the Butterflies so was excited to read this one. There were many mentions and the stories were interconnected in some ways which I enjoyed.
This novel took some time to figure out the ways in which the different storylines connected. I think the connection was great and the stories really spoke to me but the present day and the logistics was a little confusing and not as compelling to me. The large number of POVs was quite confusing for a lot of the book so I wasn’t a huge fan. But overall it was very sweet and I liked it but it wasn’t life changing.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
some of the narrative was a little confusing but it all clicked together in the end. really interesting story telling
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5 stars because I struggled to get through the last 75 pages, due to the book losing a lot of momentum about halfway through Part III. Because, as all fantasy readers know, multiple POVs can really kill a book's pacing if not done carefully with intention.
But listen, I'm not a big magical realism reader and yet I vibed with this so much. The concept of burying unfinished manuscripts and those manuscripts' characters' ghosts coming to life alone was unique and tailored-to-me in a way that led to deep considerations of how stories live and breathe and who creates the meaning within them. And let me tell you, there were lines in this book that will stick with me for a long time. In many ways I wish I had been taking notes so I could remember them all.
But listen, I'm not a big magical realism reader and yet I vibed with this so much. The concept of burying unfinished manuscripts and those manuscripts' characters' ghosts coming to life alone was unique and tailored-to-me in a way that led to deep considerations of how stories live and breathe and who creates the meaning within them. And let me tell you, there were lines in this book that will stick with me for a long time. In many ways I wish I had been taking notes so I could remember them all.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes