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A review by sallysimply
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez
4.5
I did not mean to finish this in a single day, yet here we are!
It's been a long time since I read a Julia Alvarez novel, and now I'm wondering why that is when her writing is so beautiful and engaging. From the moment I started The Cemetery of Untold Stories, I could not put it down, and once I was done, I was already eager for a re-read and sad that I didn't have a physical copy to annotate. (I'll be remedying that asap!) There are some exquisite lines in this!
Having the central theme of this book be stories feels like a lovely invitation to think through our own. It's a reminder that you don't have to be an author or a storyteller to have stories that deserve to be told. I especially loved Filomena's narrative arc as an example of this. She was, by far, my favorite character, and I wanted so badly for everything to turn out well for her in the end.
I appreciated experiencing much of Alvarez's signature style in this: the multiple timelines, the interconnected character narratives, the way the reader gets to start making connections before the characters do. It's also a bit meta with the references to In the Time of the Butterflies, which I think is an added treat to long-time fans but probably not impactful enough for it to matter for new readers.
Ultimately, I'm glad to have read it and am looking forward to reading it again, this time with my pens, highlighters, and tabs in hand.
It's been a long time since I read a Julia Alvarez novel, and now I'm wondering why that is when her writing is so beautiful and engaging. From the moment I started The Cemetery of Untold Stories, I could not put it down, and once I was done, I was already eager for a re-read and sad that I didn't have a physical copy to annotate. (I'll be remedying that asap!) There are some exquisite lines in this!
Having the central theme of this book be stories feels like a lovely invitation to think through our own. It's a reminder that you don't have to be an author or a storyteller to have stories that deserve to be told. I especially loved Filomena's narrative arc as an example of this. She was, by far, my favorite character, and I wanted so badly for everything to turn out well for her in the end.
I appreciated experiencing much of Alvarez's signature style in this: the multiple timelines, the interconnected character narratives, the way the reader gets to start making connections before the characters do. It's also a bit meta with the references to In the Time of the Butterflies, which I think is an added treat to long-time fans but probably not impactful enough for it to matter for new readers.
Ultimately, I'm glad to have read it and am looking forward to reading it again, this time with my pens, highlighters, and tabs in hand.