In the Time of the Butterflies

author
Julia Alvarez

plot synopsis in 50 words or fewer
Fictionalized account of the Mirabal sisters—three women who played a key part in an underground movement to overthrow the Dominican Republican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, in the early sixties.

what really matters
The visceral picture of the Dominican Republic during a regime of terror that Alvarez paints. An incredible story turned into unbelievable fiction. One of those books that reminds you just how much fiction really does matter. Unforgettable.

some of the hype
"Potent and luminous Julia Alvarez as a writer of grace and power."
—The Philadelphia Inquirer

I was moved to tears, not of sadness but of joy. The sisters Mirabal continue to live as long as women like Julia Alvarez are brave enough to tell their story... A novel of great cariño.
—Sandra Cisneros

"Haunting...full of pathos and passion with beautifully crafted anecdotes interstitched to create a patchwork quilt of memory and ideology...Her novel is a wonderful examination of how it feels to be a survivor, how it feels to come from a society where justice and freedom are unwelcome."
—The Nation

some other things this author has written
¡Yo!
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents
In the Name of Salome
Homecoming
The Other Side/El Otro Lado
Something to Declare