Rating: 
Summary: Why these sisters acted the way they did?
Review: This book is an awesome account about the lives of the four Mirabal sisters, who lived in the Dominican Republic during the period from the mid 1940's to 1960. During this time, a dictator, Trujillo, ruled the Dominican Republic and many people including some of the sisters planned a revolution. Each of the sisters was different. Over time, each sister's view changed due to the events that affected their lives. Julia Alvarez is amazing in the way she makes them come alive so the reader can know how they came to their fates on November 25, 1960. To achieve her goal, Julia divides the book into three sections of four chapters each. In each section, the sisters describe what they did and why.The oldest, Patria, has a very strong religious belief. Like God commanded in the Bible, she believes her life was "built upon rock" and as long as she does God's will, things will turn out all right. Patia begins to change her values when she loses her third child. However, she does not even think of joining the revolution until she sees a young boy killed by the dictator's soldiers. Her main goal is always to protect her family, using God's help. Patria does not have to go to the prison that day. Her husband, Pedrito, is not even there. So why does Patria go with her sisters, Mate' and Minerva, when Pedrito isn't even at the prison? Maria Teresa (Mate') is the youngest sister. she writes her story in the form of a diary. Minerva, one of her older sisters, gives Mate' her first diary. Mate' looks up to Minerva. Minerva teaches her many things about life, especially about her soul, which Minerva describes "as a deep longing, which never can be filled up". Mate' is a romantic who wants more than anything to have love. Mate' joins the revolution because she wants to be like Manerva and because she is in love with Leandro, one of the revolutionaries. Although Mate' usually follows Minerva's wishes, she does not always agree with her. she becomes very suspicious after her and Minerva's husband are transferred to a remote prison up in a mountain, especially after their uncle tells them that Trujillo wants them dead. So why does Mate' go to the prison after her uncle's warning? Minerva is the third sister. Ever since she is young, she believes that every wrong should be made right. That is why Minerva goes to the university to get a law degree. Minerva also believes that women should be treated as equals to men. At an early age, she learns that the dictator thinks women are below men. She fights against this. Unlike the rest of her sisters, Minerva doesn't marry young. She marries Manolo, a revolutionary, in her late twenties. With Manolo, she becomes head of the revolutionary movement. Minerva does not have to return home that night she visited the men at the prison. So why does she not listen to Manolo who begs her to spend the night in the prison's town? Dede' is the second oldest and the only one who has survived. She is also the one telling Julia Alvarez the story of the Mirabal sisters. Dede', the organized one, always does what is expected of her. Dede' marries the man she is supposed to even though she does not love him. She stays with him for years in her childhood house before divorcing him. Dede' never joins the revolution. Although she says it is because her husband, Jaimito, will not allow it, she also admits that she fears the outcome. Dede' begs her sisters not to go on the day of the tragedy. She fears that they may all die, especially since it is rumored that they may get killed. Dede' greatest fear is that she will be left alone. So why does Dede' not travel with them to the prison? Is it because someone has to survive to tell the story? Julia Alvarez is well-suited to write this book because she lived in the Dominican Republic and fled from there to the United States when her father was attempting to overthrow Trujillo's government. By the time she returned, the island had become a vacation resort. Even the deserted mountain area where the girls were killed was a resort area. Although the book is based on history, it is basically a fictional account of their lives from the information that Julia gathered. The book is well worth reading, especially if the reader wants to know the answer to the posed questions. Through the Mirabal sisters own eyes, the reader gets to know what made each of them tick.
Rating:
Summary: In the Time of the Butterflies
Review: What would you do if you knew something about your family history that everyone wanted to know? If you were the one with all the valuable information, would you tell? I definitely recommend In the Time of the Butterflies. Julia Alvarez tells the story of the Mirabal sisters through Dede Mirabal. She describes her life with her sisters during the reign of the fascist dictator, Trujillo. In the book, we learn about a true time and the struggles that these sisters went through.
The four sisters, Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Theresa, all grew up in the time that Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic. As the novel begins, you can see they each have their own different personalities and paths in their future lives. We learn about their struggles as time goes on. Minerva is very political and wants her country to be communist. This goes against Trujillo, and her life becomes jeopardized. This does not stop Minerva from carrying on with her plans to overthrow him. She becomes stronger and gets more people to help her. Patria wants to become a nun, but she feels that her calling is to become a mother and get married. Later in the novel, she joins Minerva after she loses her faith. She lost a child in birth, it was still born. After that, Patria felt empty and wanted something more for her children. Maria Theresa, the youngest, was always free spirited. She had different boyfriends, until she found the one she wanted to marry. She had a baby, and soon got caught up in Minerva and Patria's activities against Trujillo. All three of the girls soon were in trouble, the government was looking for the girls to place them under arrest. Dede was always timid. She had always had her normal life planned. She wanted to be married and have children and live a respectable life. When her three sisters got caught up in communism, she wanted to join them, but was afraid. She didn't want to get in trouble with the government, and her husband was against it, so she didn't want to go against him. She would often sneak out in the middle of the night though to listen to an illegal radio station about the communists and rebels. She was torn between living a safe life while obeying her husband and following the bonds of sisterhood for a better life and government.
Trujillo was the leader of the Dominican Republic. He made it a law to have his picture next to the required picture of Jesus. All he tried to do was to be in complete and total control. Trujillo made himself like a god. While on the outside he seemed to be a great leader and have many followers and admirers, some realized that he hid things. Anyone that went against him, he had arrested or killed. People, who were arrested and not claimed by family, often disappeared forever. He cheated on his wife and had many girlfriends that he threw away when he was done with them. Trujillo was cold and fascist, and only cared about himself. He was brutal to his people and would try to brainwash them, and then did anything to cover it up.
Imagine this was your life, and everyone wanted to know it several years later. Could you bring yourself to tell the story? I once again highly recommend this book. Julia Alvarez wrote it very well. The novel is captivating and keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more.
Rating: 
Summary: Recommended
Review: In the time of the butterflies is a highly recommended novel. Julia Alvarez is the author of the political drama classic. This novel portrays the four Maribal sisters in an admirable light. The author gives you a chance to follow these women personally and emotionally until their death. There are many themes and concepts brought to the table in the novel. Alvarez does a beautiful job of laying out the strengths and weakness of these four women.
Alvarez is a brilliant writer who used many different techniques in portraying these women. In the beginning of the novel, you are already aware of the girls' deaths. She also ties in Spanish words. This brings you even closer to the girls by becoming apart of the language and culture. Alvarez does a wonderful job with the women's passion and their relationship with the husbands, children, and each other. An underlying theme in the novel is devotion. The girls wouldn't have accomplished half of the things they did without it. All four were devoted to religion, children, husbands, and to the revolution. With all of the trials and tribulations of life, the girls stuck with it until the bitter end. "I moved back home with children in early August, resuming my duties, putting a good face over a sore heart,..........What brought me back? It wasn't God, no senor. It was Pedrito, his grief so silent and animal -like. I put aside my own grief to rescue him from his."Partria, pg 53. In reading this book you gain a lot of knowledge about the political history of the Dominican Republic. This country was large a dictatorship. It is amazing how anyone could live under the wrath of Trujillo. You see these powerful men torn apart by the people who were under him. There is a sense of deception and manipulation among the government. The girls unravel this and try to stop it. This shows how strong and powerful the sisters were, when they found something they could truly fight. Through out the book, there is a sea of climaxes. When the girls learn to truth about their beloved leader, is one of them. This brings a quick change in the girls' innocence to the world around them. Everything they thought was good now was evil and dark. "Bad things?" I interrupted. " Trujillo was doing bad things?" It was as if I had just heard Jesus had slapped a baby or Our blessed Mother had not conceived Him he immaculate conception way. " That can't be true," I said, but in my heart, I felt a china-crack of doubt. Minerva pg17 "I see the picture of our president with eyes that follow me around the room, and I am thinking he is trying to catch me doing something wrong. Before I always thought our president was like God, watching over everything I did." Maria Teresa pg39 Another turning point in the book is when the girls are in jail. Alvarez gives vivid images as to what it was like. There is a sense of desperation, and sadness with a little bit of hope. This is a lifetime experience for the girls. It is a privilege as the reader to be able to share this experience. The girls become different people after their time in jail. "I saw tiny cells with very little air and no light. I heard doors open, I saw hands intrusive and ugly in their threats...I heard moans, screams, desperate cries." Patria pg201 " Twenty-four of us eat, sleep, write, go to school, and use the bucked-everything- in a room 25 by 20 of my size 6 feet. I've walked it back and forth many time, believe me...still you loose you shame quickly in this horrid place. Maria Teresa pg228 This book lets you share so many things with the Maribal sisters, their failures and success. There is a sense of sadness when they die. The reader becomes wrapped up in their lives, not wanting them to end. Alvarez accomplished many things in writing this book. In the time of the butterflies is a highly recommended book.
Rating:
Summary: A Great work
Review: Alvarez' novel is amazing, and highly recommended. The book is a beautiful read to past time, yet is a highly charged and politically motivated wonder. There are so many feminist and political points to ponder, that this novel will keep the reader's attention, as well as encourage a deep reflection once done.
Rating:
Summary: In the Time of the Butterflies
Review: In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez, is gripping novel based on a historical tragety of Mirabal Sisters during the Dominican Republic's Trujillo dictatorship. Julia Alvarez's style of composing the four main characters in first-person text, and with a slight metaphoric tone was very powerful. As a female in North America, I struggle to even grasp the hardship endured by Mirabal sisters during the rise of Trujillo. I commend them for stepping out of their ignorance to learn the reality of their country's situation, and fighting for a better life for their children even at the risk of their own lives. It makes me wonder how much I, as an American, let be unknown the control of my own government. I'm sad to know that I never learned about the courageous Mirabal sisters until today. They should be recognized globally.
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Summary: What a wonderful book
Review: I am not a huge fan of all of Julia Alvarez' work, but this particular book was a marvel. How Alvarez could've written the book with just a few historical facts boggles the mind. As a Latina, I feel so proud that a woman with Alvarez' sensitivity and intelligence can bring stories of her homeland to the mainstream. "In the Time of Butterflies" is a wonderful book, and you will be in tears by the end. It's an "Oprah" kind of book. Just wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This book is one of the best politically based books i have ever read. I read it for an english honors project and i have found the story an amazing one. it is a wonder why so little people know about the mirabel sisters. i would recommend this book to anyone who has the courage to try something new.
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Summary: Viva Las Mariposas!
Review: I traveled to the Dominican Republic this summer and met the surviving sister with no prior knowledge of Las Mariposas! The book helped me understand the Maribal sisters and why they are icons in Domincan history. Beautifully written Julia Alvarez creates such a scene that you feel like you are there and you can't help but to cry. "How the Garcia girls lost their Accents" (also a good book) doesn't compare in the least bit. You are there in Ojo de Agua everyday with those girls and you feel their struggle along with the entire Island. This book is not only por los Dominicanos, but also for los Americanos who need to understand the struggle! Viva las Mariposas!
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down. . .
Review: The story of Las Mariposas piqued my interest after seeing about 15 minutes of the film based on the book. Subsequently I obtained the book and could not put it down. . .it was incredibly engrossing. Alvarez does a great job of drawing the reader into the characters and their lives, and at the same time educates the reader of the political situation in the Dominican Republic at the time. The only thing preventing me from giving it 5 stars is that it's only based on the sisters; the situations and the characteristics attributed to the women are not neccessarily factual. This book has compelled me to learn more about the sisters, who they truly were, and their plight. I strongly recommend this book to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: You'll wish the story never finished...
Review: Julia Alvarez is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. In the Time Of the Butterflies is such a wonderfully gripping tale that I was saddened when I reached the last page. Ms. Alvarez writes in such a way that you feel you personally know each of the Mirabal sisters and their friends. They are courageous, intelligent, funny and extremely dedicated to the freedom of their country, Dominican Republic. I wished the story kept going so as not to lose touch with the 4 wonderful sisters I felt I became friends with in my mind. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants comedy, adventure, and love.
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