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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
slow-paced
This is a book I wanted to like more than I actually did.
Alvarez has a writing style that did not click with me. She writes in her Author's Note that she wanted to humanize the Mirabal sisters whose legend in the Dominican Republic has only grown as time has passed. To me it comes across on focusing on mundane and unnecessary detail.
Alvarez has a writing style that did not click with me. She writes in her Author's Note that she wanted to humanize the Mirabal sisters whose legend in the Dominican Republic has only grown as time has passed. To me it comes across on focusing on mundane and unnecessary detail.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
At the age of 10 years old [a:Julia Alvarez|7277|Julia Alvarez|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1220651344p2/7277.jpg] had to flee the Dominican Republic because her father had gotten on the wrong side of the Trujillo regime. A strong desire to understand this particular time period, and what happened to Las Mariposas, caused Alvarez to write this book.
This book is told in alternating first person POVs from each of the four sisters over a period of 22 years. We know that the Butterflies did indeed die in 1960 but it doesn't take the horror out of the moment when Dedé finds out that they did. It's a somewhat emotional book that I really enjoyed. That said, I would have liked to have seen more interactions between the characters and have more of an understanding of why Alvarez's characters made the choices they did. What would cause four women (from a macho society to boot) to put their lives on the line the way that these women did? I would have liked to see a bit more in that direction.
I did really like it and I especially liked the cultural information that was a part of the story. I also really liked the way that it showed how much these women inspired the rest of the country, to the point that they became such an inspiration that they almost became public property as a celebrity would. This has inspired one of those moments when I need to absorb D.R. history through osmosis because I want to know everything right now! A Wikipedia page is insufficient.
This book is told in alternating first person POVs from each of the four sisters over a period of 22 years. We know that the Butterflies did indeed die in 1960 but it doesn't take the horror out of the moment when Dedé finds out that they did. It's a somewhat emotional book that I really enjoyed. That said, I would have liked to have seen more interactions between the characters and have more of an understanding of why Alvarez's characters made the choices they did. What would cause four women (from a macho society to boot) to put their lives on the line the way that these women did? I would have liked to see a bit more in that direction.
I did really like it and I especially liked the cultural information that was a part of the story. I also really liked the way that it showed how much these women inspired the rest of the country, to the point that they became such an inspiration that they almost became public property as a celebrity would. This has inspired one of those moments when I need to absorb D.R. history through osmosis because I want to know everything right now! A Wikipedia page is insufficient.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fictionalized version on the life of the Mirabel sisters, who stood up against the regime of Trujilo, the despot of the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, it remains important to read about despotism these days.
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No