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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
the writing was at a 5th-grade level and the only reason we didn't read it in elementary was because of the sexual content. about the inclusion of the sexual content, couldn't alvarez find a way to humanize the mirabal sisters without using sex as a way to relate with them meanwhile also disrespecting them?? she (mostly) fabricated the whole entire story, which leads me to believe that the sisters didn't actually go through half of the romantic and sexual 'challenges' that were in the book.
it was also incredibly boring and none of the characters had any personality or development. not to mention the pointless metaphors.
it was also incredibly boring and none of the characters had any personality or development. not to mention the pointless metaphors.
I found this a compelling read. It is hard to argue with its effective structure, distributing the story among the four sisters, and blending the personal with the political. I was also very interested in the subject matter as (shamefully) I know almost nothing about the history of the Dominican Republic.
In that sense, I guess that I am the target audience that Alvarez discusses in her postscript note (i.e., a North American who has the privilege of knowing almost nothing). That said, I do take the point of several whose reviews of this are strongly negative. In general, freely and overtly fictionalizing real people with real histories is tricky and problematic (of course, straightforward histories do their fictionalizing on the down-low, so there isn't a clear-cut distinction). And here, specifically, there's an extra layer of problematic given that Alvaraez is catering to the tastes and knowledge level of the North American audience.
Even as I was reading, I would be pulled up short by the things the author chose to render in Spanish very sporadically, so I think these issues were nibbling at my brain, even when I was enjoying the book. I guess in summary, I enjoyed this as a novel, but that in itself is something of a problem.
In that sense, I guess that I am the target audience that Alvarez discusses in her postscript note (i.e., a North American who has the privilege of knowing almost nothing). That said, I do take the point of several whose reviews of this are strongly negative. In general, freely and overtly fictionalizing real people with real histories is tricky and problematic (of course, straightforward histories do their fictionalizing on the down-low, so there isn't a clear-cut distinction). And here, specifically, there's an extra layer of problematic given that Alvaraez is catering to the tastes and knowledge level of the North American audience.
Even as I was reading, I would be pulled up short by the things the author chose to render in Spanish very sporadically, so I think these issues were nibbling at my brain, even when I was enjoying the book. I guess in summary, I enjoyed this as a novel, but that in itself is something of a problem.
war einfach nicht für mich. mir waren das viel zu viele Charaktere und man wusste über alle viel zu wenig, als dass man sich für sie interessieren hätte können. das buch ist historical fiction, aber für eine person, die nicht viel (nichts) über die dom rep in den 40 ern bis 60ern weiß, hatte man das Gefühl, dass einem viel zu viele infos fehlen und man nicht genug darüber weiß, um die Story einordnen zu können. es ist irgendwie gar nichts passiert und die zeitsprünge haben alles übel verwirrend gemacht. vllt versuch ichs nochmal zu einem anderen Zeitpunkt, aber für jetzt hatte ich einfach nicht die geduld, mich in die politics des Diktators reinzudenken. vom Schreibstil her war es wirklich toll, aber inhaltlich hat es mich nicht überzeugt
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
The Chicano studies minor in me sees books like this and just can't resist. The premise of this book is made even more fascinating by the fact that it is based on true events. The Mirabal sisters, all beautiful, classy ladies from a well-to-do Catholic family, boldly opposed their country's brutal regime, and paid for it with their lives.
The story takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. General Rafael Trujillo ("El Jefe") is in complete control of the country and imprisons or kills all that oppose him.
Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa are all active in the revolutionary movement. After a visit to their husbands in prison, their wrecked Jeep was found at the bottom of a cliff, the lifeless bodies of the three sisters and their driver inside.
It was no accident.
A fourth sister, Dede, more practical and less fiery, did not make the trip and survives to tell their story.
This book switches between the first-person persepectives of the three sisters and third-person, present day life of the surviving sister.
The book chronicles the girls' lives from their childhoods and their first involvements in the insurgency, their prison time, and finally their deaths. It gives equal weight to their personal lives and their political actions, which humanizes, rather than deifies them. They may be running guns for the revolution, but they also need to get their kids into bed on time.
This was not a life-changing book that demands five stars, but it was a gripping and fascinating book about a time and place that I know too little about.
The story takes place in the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. General Rafael Trujillo ("El Jefe") is in complete control of the country and imprisons or kills all that oppose him.
Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa are all active in the revolutionary movement. After a visit to their husbands in prison, their wrecked Jeep was found at the bottom of a cliff, the lifeless bodies of the three sisters and their driver inside.
It was no accident.
A fourth sister, Dede, more practical and less fiery, did not make the trip and survives to tell their story.
This book switches between the first-person persepectives of the three sisters and third-person, present day life of the surviving sister.
The book chronicles the girls' lives from their childhoods and their first involvements in the insurgency, their prison time, and finally their deaths. It gives equal weight to their personal lives and their political actions, which humanizes, rather than deifies them. They may be running guns for the revolution, but they also need to get their kids into bed on time.
This was not a life-changing book that demands five stars, but it was a gripping and fascinating book about a time and place that I know too little about.
Second read, just as powerful as the first. Will always remain one of my “must reads”
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read this in book form. So much I liked and enjoyed. I love historical fiction for the parts of history it teaches me. Of course, this is largely a fictionalized story but I wouldn't have known about the Mirabal sisters otherwise. The fictionalized parts of the book were well written and enjoyable but strange to turn real people into fictional characters. Overall, a good read.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes