Julia Alvarez Libri

La bellezza, la vivacità e l'indomabile fragilità delle quattro sorelle Mirabal, note come "farfalle", emergono nella loro lotta contro la dittatura del generale Trujillo. Le sorelle, assassinate in un'imboscata, rappresentano le eroine della liberazione dominicana. Cresciute in una famiglia benestante, rimasero unite da un affetto profondo, nonostante le loro differenze. Minerva, la ribelle, diventa l'avvocato degli oppressi; Patria, la devota, si unisce alla guerriglia per motivi religiosi; Maria Teresa, romantica e frivola, si impegna nella causa per amore; mentre Dedé, l'unica sopravvissuta e meno incline alla politica, racconta la loro storia anni dopo, riunendosi finalmente alle sorelle. La loro eredità è così potente che nel 1999 l'Assemblea generale delle Nazioni Unite ha designato il 25 novembre come Giornata internazionale per l'eliminazione della violenza contro le donne, in onore delle sorelle trucidate. La loro vita e il loro sacrificio continuano a ispirare la lotta per i diritti e la giustizia, rappresentando un simbolo di resistenza e coraggio.

Repubblica Dominicana, 1960: Anita de la Torre ha quasi dodici anni, frequenta la scuota americana e non ha mai dubitato di essere una ragazza libera. Ma a poco a poco i suoi parenti emigrano negli Stati Uniti, Tio Toni scompare, Papi riceve strane telefonate. Un giorno la polizia segreta del governo fa irruzione in casa loro, alla ricerca di prove di un complotto contro Trujillo, il terribile dittatore. Anita sarà ben presto costretta a convivere con segreti e paure, per poi nascondersi e infine fuggire. Perché essere liberi talvolta è una conquista lenta e dolorosa. Un serrato e coinvolgente romanzo di impronta autobiografica.

Questo romanzo abbraccia un secolo, concentrandosi sulle vite di una madre e di una figlia, ispirato a eventi reali. La narrazione segue Camila Henriquez Urena, che si avvicina al pensionamento dal suo incarico di insegnante al Vassar College. Mentre esamina documenti di famiglia, inizia a svelare la verità su sua madre, Salome Urena, una figura venerata e poetessa nazionale della Repubblica Dominicana, morta quando Camila aveva solo tre anni. A differenza di sua madre, che ha dedicato appassionatamente la sua vita all'educazione delle giovani donne in una nazione turbolenta, Camila ha vissuto una vita di quieta conformità, insegnando spagnolo a ragazze americane di alta classe ignare degli ideali rivoluzionari. Ambientato nel 1960, mentre Cuba vive un tumulto, Camila affronta una decisione cruciale sul suo futuro. Attraverso questo viaggio, apprende della vita tragica di sua madre e scopre infine la propria passione e impegno. Questa storia esplora temi di identità, eredità e il coraggio di abbracciare la propria voce.

With a powerful and poignant introduction from Julia Alvarez, Resistencia: Poems of Protest and Revolution is an extraordinary collection, rooted in a strong tradition of protest poetry and voiced by icons of the movement and some of the most exciting writers today. The poets of Resistencia explore feminist, queer, Indigenous, and ecological themes alongside historically prominent protests against imperialism, dictatorships, and economic inequality. Within this momentous collection, poets representing every Latin American country grapple with identity, place, and belonging, resisting easy definitions to render a nuanced and complex portrait of language in rebellion. Included in English translation alongside their original language, the fifty-four poems in Resistencia are a testament to the art of translation as much as the act of resistance. An all-star team of translators, including former US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera along with young, emerging talent, have made many of the poems available for the first time to an English-speaking audience. Urgent, timely, and absolutely essential, these poems inspire us all to embrace our most fearless selves and unite against all forms of tyranny and oppression. Original languages include Spanish, French, Portuguese, Kaqchikel, Mapudungun, Miskito, and Quechua.

Set during the waning days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republica in 1960, this extraordinary novel tells the story the Mirabal sisters, three young wives and mothers who are assassinated after visiting their jailed husbands.

Grade 8.

Already a Butterfly is a gentle picture book tale about self-soothing practices and self-confidence beliefs. With so much to do in so little time, Mari is constantly on the move, flitting from flower to flower, practicing her camouflage poses, and planning for migration. She’s the busiest butterfly around. But does being productive mean she is happy? Mari couldn’t say. The only way she feels like a butterfly is by acting like one. Little does Mari know, the secret to feeling like herself is simply to focus her breath, find her quiet place, and follow her instincts. With the guidance of a thoughtful flower bud, Mari soon learns to meditate and appreciate that she was a butterfly all along. Acclaimed author Julia Alvarez extolls the importance of mindfulness, reflection, and self-care for young children in this gratifying picture book, stunningly illustrated by award-winning artist Raúl Colón. Christy Ottaviano Books

At last! A zesty, exuberant follow-up to the wildly popular How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, full of Julia Alvarez's keen observations and tender affection for her characters. The Garcia Girls are back, most notably Yolanda, or Yo, who has grown up to be a writer. In the process, she has managed to get kicked out of college, break more than a few hearts, have her own heart broken many times, return for extended visits to the Dominican Republic her family fled when she was a child, and marry three times. She has also infuriated her entire family by publishing the intimate details of their lives as fiction. This brilliant novel is a full and true exploration of a woman's soul, a meditation on the writing life, and a lyrical account of the immigrant's search for identity and a place in the world. !Yo!'s bright colors, zesty dialogue, warm feeling, and genuine insight could only come from the palette of Julia Alvarez. Description from Penguin Group.

"Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves--lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack--but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words. Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including--maybe especially--members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?"--Publisher's website

Forced to flee their native Caribbean island after an attempted coup, the Garcias--Carlos, Laura, and their four daughters--must learn a new way of life in the Bronx, while trying to cling to the old ways that they loved.

Great American novelist Julia Alvarez returns with a luminescent tale about storytelling that feels like an instant classic. "Only an alchemist as wise and sure as Alvarez could swirl the elements of folklore and the flavor of magical realism around her modern prose and make it all sing . . . Lively, joyous . . . often witty, occasionally somber and elegiac," praises Luis Alberto Urrea. This engaging novel, written in playful, crystal-clear prose, delves into themes of friendship, love, sisterhood, and the haunting nature of unfinished stories. Alma Cruz, a celebrated writer, inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic and envisions it as a graveyard for her untold stories—literally burying her manuscript drafts and the characters she struggled to bring to life. However, her characters defy her intentions, engaging in conversations and rewriting their own narratives. Filomena, the local groundskeeper, becomes a sympathetic listener to these secret tales, which include figures like Bienvenida, the erased wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, and Manuel Cruz, a doctor who fought in the Dominican underground. The narrative raises questions about whose stories are told and whose are buried. Ultimately, Alma discovers the enduring vitality of stories, reminding us that the tales of our lives are never truly finished, even at their conclusion.

Imagine what a dictionary might look like about thirty years hence, when all of the world's problems are solved and our current dictionaries are a distant memory. Dave Eggers, Jonathan Safran Foer and Nicole Krauss have lined up an incredible array of writers to bring you that futuristic dictionary and a vision of the world as it might be. Think of it as a dictionary of language for describing what the future could look like a dictionary that is both useful and romantic, hopeful and necessary, pragmatic and idealistic, and frequently funny. This is science fiction but with a difference.

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, a “phenomenal, indispensable” (USA Today) exploration of the Latina “sweet fifteen” celebration, by the bestselling author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of the Butterflies. The quinceañera, a celebration of a Latina girl’s fifteenth birthday, has become a uniquely American trend. This lavish party with ball gowns, multi-tiered cakes, limousines, and extravagant meals is often as costly as a prom or a wedding. But many Latina girls feel entitled to this rite of passage, marking a girl’s entrance into womanhood, and expect no expense to be spared, even in working-class families. Acclaimed author Julia Alvarez explores the history and cultural significance of the “quince” in the United States, and the consequences of treating teens like princesses. Through her observations of a quince in Queens, interviews with other quince girls, and the memories of her own experience as a young immigrant, Alvarez presents a thoughtful and entertaining portrait of a rapidly growing multicultural phenomenon, and passionately emphasizes the importance of celebrating Latina womanhood.

In 1960, toen Julia tien jaar oud was, vluchtte het gezin Alvarez van de Dominicaanse Republiek naar de Verenigde Staten. Julia's vader had deelgenomen aan een mislukte poging om het regime van dictator Rafael Trujillo omver te werpen en ballingschap was de enige manier om zijn leven te redden. Vader Alvarez nam zijn gezin mee naar, New York en probeer de in de Bronx de kost te verdienen als arts, terwijl zijn vrouw en vier dochters hun best deden zich aan te passen aan een vreemde cultuur, een levenslange strijd. Iets aan te geven is Julia's eigen. Persoonlijke verhaal. Het handelt over de invloed die het gevangenzitten tussen twee culturen op haar leven heeft gehad, van een wanhopig verlangen om erbij te horen en een 'echte' Amerikaan te zijn tot een nostalgisch terugverlangen naar haar geboorteland. Daarnaast belicht Julia Alvarez de andere grote factor in haar leven: het schrijverschap. Voor Julia iets waar ze niet zonder kunnen omdat ze veel te vertellen én uit te leggen heeft. Zo ontstond Iets aan te geven, een warm, persoonlijk en openhartig document van een bijzondere vrouw.

De vijftigjarige Alma werkt aan een historische roman over een uitzonderlijk moedige vrouw, Doña Isabel, die in 1803 met een groep weesjongens uit Spanje vertrok om de Nieuwe Wereld van de pokken te redden. De jongens waren de dragers van het pokkenvaccin, wat in die tijd de enige manier was om een vaccin tijdens een dergelijke reis intact te houden. De dramatische ontwikkelingen in het leven van Doña Isabel verweven zich tijdens het schrijven steeds meer met het leven van Alma.

Een Dominicaans-Amerikaanse schrijfster die een medische expeditie rond 1800 naar de Nieuwe Wereld tot onderwerp heeft, ontdekt parallellen met haar eigen leven.

Het leven van de drie zusters Mirabal die zich verzetten tegen de dictatuur van generaal Trujillo op de Dominicaanse Republiek en dit met de dood moeten bekopen.