Human Heros

Trujillo murdered hundreds of thousands of people, ruled the Dominican Republic for decades, and was compared to God in textbooks and mottos. He is a legend that doesn’t need any more embellishments but Alvarez invents these characters that could be mistaken as historical figures. Nothing is too romantic and no character is completely Herculean which is why this book has the perfect combination of fiction and fact. She could have led the characters in a straight line from growing teen to insurgent but instead she lets her characters remain women while they journey through the rebellion. The sisters find husbands, have children, and approach the same problems as the common woman does but at the same time they strive for the goal of bringing down Trujillo. For example, even in the first few chapters when they are aspiring to become nuns but in the end become political radicals shows not only the broad spectrum of talent and intelligence that merits a novel but also allows the characters to go through a metamorphosis which is closer to real life than something like a birth rite.

At the same time, people do not often write about ordinary people who do nothing. Alvarez took an extraordinary story and imagined Trujillo’s mistresses’ friends, his guard’s victim’s family, or any other nth degree of separation that everyone could have easily forgotten then twisted a woman, like a strand of ivy, around the tension of his reign. The ordinary characters in extraordinary situations are incredulous but Alvarez exemplifies believable femininity and strength through timing and real life parallels.