2. In the Time of the Butterflies, Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies tells the story in the alternating voices of the four Mirabal sisters, who defied the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo, until he had three of them killed. (This is not a spoiler; you find it out in the first chapter.)
I really wanted to like this book, on account of the title is so cool, but in the end I can't muster any strong feelings for it. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t like it either; it’s really pretty forgettable.
I think the problem is the focus of the book. The book is focused very much on the family life of the Mirabals: the relationship between the sisters and their husbands and all their various relatives. Unfortunately, only two of the sisters have interesting voices; the other two are forgettable.
The other problem with this approach is that the attempt to organize a revolution against Trujillo occurs almost entirely off the page. Therefore, it doesn’t make emotional sense to the reader when the Dominicans start looking up to the Mirabal sisters as heroines of the resistance. What have they done to deserve it? A lot, we’ve been told, but we haven’t seen any of their revolutionary actions so it doesn’t feel real.
In the end, the problem is that the book isn’t sure whether it wants to be a family or a political drama. Instead, it tries to mix the two, and as a result the family drama is half-baked and the politics too thin to make up the difference.
I really wanted to like this book, on account of the title is so cool, but in the end I can't muster any strong feelings for it. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t like it either; it’s really pretty forgettable.
I think the problem is the focus of the book. The book is focused very much on the family life of the Mirabals: the relationship between the sisters and their husbands and all their various relatives. Unfortunately, only two of the sisters have interesting voices; the other two are forgettable.
The other problem with this approach is that the attempt to organize a revolution against Trujillo occurs almost entirely off the page. Therefore, it doesn’t make emotional sense to the reader when the Dominicans start looking up to the Mirabal sisters as heroines of the resistance. What have they done to deserve it? A lot, we’ve been told, but we haven’t seen any of their revolutionary actions so it doesn’t feel real.
In the end, the problem is that the book isn’t sure whether it wants to be a family or a political drama. Instead, it tries to mix the two, and as a result the family drama is half-baked and the politics too thin to make up the difference.