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A review by catherine_the_greatest
How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
4.0
Julia Alvarez's first novel tells the story of the four Garcia sisters through a series of vignettes told in backward chronological order. It's an ambitious plan and for the most part it works, although the movement backwards is sometimes jarring. The story is semi-autobiographical and I wonder how many details are straight out of Alvarez's life. (Many of the stories are heartbreaking.)
I picked this up after reading her latest novel [b:Afterlife|52898645|Afterlife|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585507194l/52898645._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71323044], which also features four sisters and appears to be semi-autobiographical as well. There are certain similarities between the quartets in each novel, although the names and birth order change. Ms. Alvarez wrote [b:Yo!|286843|Yo!|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173419952l/286843._SX50_.jpg|868032] (which I haven't read) as a sequel to Garcia Girls, focusing on her alter-ego character who apparently stirs up drama by using her family as literary inspiration. Afterlife contains references to Antonia (the character most similar to Alvarez) having done the same. I find these intersections between an author's fiction and real life fascinating.
I picked this up after reading her latest novel [b:Afterlife|52898645|Afterlife|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1585507194l/52898645._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71323044], which also features four sisters and appears to be semi-autobiographical as well. There are certain similarities between the quartets in each novel, although the names and birth order change. Ms. Alvarez wrote [b:Yo!|286843|Yo!|Julia Alvarez|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173419952l/286843._SX50_.jpg|868032] (which I haven't read) as a sequel to Garcia Girls, focusing on her alter-ego character who apparently stirs up drama by using her family as literary inspiration. Afterlife contains references to Antonia (the character most similar to Alvarez) having done the same. I find these intersections between an author's fiction and real life fascinating.