In the Time of the Butterflies

In the Time of the Butterflies – Julia Alvarez

In November 1960, three sisters were found dead at the bottom of a cliff in the Dominican Republic. The official story said it was an accident. But everyone knew the truth: they had been murdered on the orders of the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo for their role in the underground resistance against his regime.

In the Time of the Butterflies brings to life the real story of the Mirabal sisters, Patria, Minerva and María Teresa, known by their code name, Las Mariposas, the Butterflies, and of their surviving sister, Dedé. Julia Alvarez, whose own family fled the Dominican Republic when she was a child, imagines the sisters’ lives in their own voices, from their childhoods and schooldays to their marriages, their growing political awareness and their courageous decision to join the fight against tyranny.

Told in alternating chapters, the novel shows each sister’s distinct personality and path: the devout Patria, the passionate and fearless Minerva, the young and diary-keeping María Teresa, and Dedé, who lives on to keep their memory alive.

Moving, intimate and powerful, the book is both a gripping story of resistance and a tribute to the courage of ordinary people facing oppression. The anniversary of the sisters’ deaths, November 25, is now recognized by the United Nations as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

In the Time of the Butterflies is an essential read for lovers of historical fiction, Latin American literature and stories of courage.