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boo_king_it 's review for:
In the Time of the Butterflies
by Julia Alvarez
emotional
reflective
tense
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:
N/A
This novel is a powerful piece of historical fiction. Following four sisters throughout their lives, you watch their mindsets, attitude, and character change yet these characters stay true to themselves. Through the diverse, yet connected, sisters Alvarez explores what makes someone a revolutionary. Although published in 1994, the questions this novel raises have yet to be answered. What makes someone a revolutionary? Are they just braver than others? Do they see something the rest of us don’t? The common glorification of the revolutionary will have us think that you have to have exceptional qualities, but Alvarez poses what I think is most likely the truth. What motivates people to risk their lives in political action is not always some deep dedication to the cause. That deep dedication has consequences for the people closest to you. Children grow up without parents, mothers bear the loss of their children, and one may feel their life was wasted. This last consequence might be the most controversial. Was it a waste to dedicate your life to revolution if the outcome wasn’t the utopia you imagined? If you were murdered at a young age? If you left behind a grieving village? People are ready to shame those that “turn a blind eye” to tragedy or dictatorship. This novel challenges that rhetoric with the radical notion that people have diverse motivations and inaction in the face of oppression might actually have it’s place in the arc of justice.
Ultimately, I walked away from this novel with a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. I cried and laughed and loved along with these characters even though I come from a patently different family, culture, time period. That’s the power of this novel and I’m thankful I happened upon Julia Alvarez.
Ultimately, I walked away from this novel with a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the Dominican Republic. I cried and laughed and loved along with these characters even though I come from a patently different family, culture, time period. That’s the power of this novel and I’m thankful I happened upon Julia Alvarez.