This is one of those rare occasions where I just don't get what everyone else sees. For me, the story would be easier to understand through more distinct short stories, rather than the Cubist approach Alvarez uses. The story certainly does convey some of the cultural nuances of the Dominican Republic, but I found even this to be overkill in places. For example, in one passage, she includes a series of malapropisms used by one of the main characters who had migrated to the US. There were so many that they started to seem unreal. I've read a reasonable diversity of cultures and gender emphasis. This just didn't work for me. ( )

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their accents is a book with a series of short stories that recounts the lives of four Dominican-American sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia. It describes the families struggles as they try to adjust to their new american life without loosing their dominican tradition and heritage. It talks about the womens battles with trying to keep their language and staying loyal to their father. ( )

I read this book over the summer for school, an American literature class. This is an interesting situation for me, because the book was later banned (ironically, during banned book week) by the county that rules over our school. It was taken out of the school library and the public library had to put it in the adult section, although our school directly opposes the ban and keeps it on hand and will assign it again next year. I agree with that, that it is not a teen fiction novel, but an adult selection, though most of it takes place in the girls' childhoods. The book is about four sisters who are brought from the Dominican Republic to the United States. It's told backwards, from the time the sisters are adults, to their childhood, and it unravels quite psychologically. For every characteristic of each of the girls in the future, her past is explained. It's an easy enough read, very well put together. Alvarez is gifted with storytelling and a natural knowledge for how to assemble a novel. She is also very nice (she came to a reading a month after the banning, again, making the county feel like jerks), and if you ever do have the chance to hear her read, you will not be disappointed. ( )

This novel trudged along for me. It wasn't boring, but there were too many times where I wanted to stop reading it, but I refused since I had already invested time in it. The Garcia girls, their parents and their New York and Dominican Republic environs make for an interesting story, but this version of their story needed to be re-mixed before its publication. There was something missing here, like one component missing from a homemade cake that leaves the cake flat. But you just can't figure out what the missing, but critical element is. I wanted to like this novel much more than I did. ( )

http://amiralace.blogspot.com/2008/11... ( )