In the Time of the Butterflies in Around the World in 80 Books

Mar 26, 2019 Nadine in NY Jones rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, era-mid-20th-c, based-on-real-life, womens-day

She remembers a clear moonlit night before the future began. They are sitting in the cool darkness under the anacahuita tree in the front yard, in the rockers, telling stories, drinking guanabana juice.

This will probably mark me as a dummy, but I wasn't expecting this book - which I knew was about the three assassinated Mirabal sisters - to be so sad!!. The first half moves along just fine, we get to know all four sisters as they grow up, marry, have children. Then the second half happens, a ...more

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Sep 22, 2013 Astrid Lim rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, historical-fiction, politics, latin-america, gift

This one is a powerful read. After reading Oscar Wao, I was very interested with Dominican Republic history and the legendary Trujillo. What they faced was a bit similar with what our country faced, lead by a dictator (disguised as president) for more than 30 years. This book captured the moments of Mirabal sisters' lives in a very good way. Strong narrative and characters descriptive, I can feel the struggle these sisters had many years ago. The translation is also okay, not great but still fin ...more

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Jul 15, 2015 Erica rated it really liked it

Lovely fictionalization of the Dominican Republic under the 1950s-era Trujillo dictatorship and the "Mariposa sisters" freedom fighters. Would have liked a bit more beautiful prose--it's very direct. Beginning with the sisters' childhood mentalities, the prose doesn't develop much into adult cadence/vocab later. I did love the attention to each character's reasons for joining the resistance--nice character studies of the emotions behind revolutions.

"Is pity always a part of love?"
"The complete l ...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Ruth rated it really liked it

Julia Alvarez novel on the Mirabal sisters or the butterflies during the terrible Trujilio dictatorship is nothing short of amazing. Tragic and uplifting.

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Jun 30, 2010 Erin (NY) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-own, read-in-2010

This book was so good! The best part was learning a bit about the history of Dominican Republic. The characters were interesting and very likable. The were all so brave an inspiring. I loved that book and I would love to read Julia Alvarez's other books. ...more

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