Rating: 
Summary: A vivid portrait of Dominican women
Review: Alvarez sketches a colourful picture about the life of a Dominican woman poet Salome Urena and her daughter as well as family and community. The relations between mother and daughter and between a woman and her husband are explored, as well as the lack of relationships and a void experienced by some of the characters. The time span between the different generations and the geographic span from the Dominican Republic to Cuba to upstate New York are easy to follow. Interesting, enjoyable, as usual Alvarez is compelling.
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Summary: Another Place and Time
Review: Alvarez's novel about the history of two Dominican women - a daughter, and the 'famous' mother she never knew - of parallel lives is an intriguing delight. The mother's (Salome) story is told going forward; while the daughter's (Camilla) story is told backward in time...and never the two do meet. By far, Salome's story is more exciting...a young Dominican girl growing up during political strife (in the 1800s), becoming a renowned poetess of political during political upheavel. Lively, humorous, and never disuaded in getting her point across, Salome is a pure joy to get to know. Her daughter's story starts in 1960 (as she retires as a university professor)and told backwards...and this is where the novel loses steam. Unfortunately for the reader, Alvarez has created a rather dull, uninteresting character in Camilia (a dowdy, closeted lesbian) who never seemed to enjoy - or at least - feel comfortable in life. This tends to slow down the pace quite a bit, but redemption is not far away if you can make it to the proceeding chapter which bounces back to Salome's story. Supporting characters ( sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, step-mothers, friends, etc.) bring life to this story, as well. At the end of the novel it left me wanting for more, and thinking: What if the mother and daughter lived in each other's place and time (Salome in the 20th Century would have been wonderful!)? Definitely, worth it to spend time with this family.
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Summary: An Imagination Novel About a Poet and Her Daughter
Review: Based on the real lives of the Dominican poet Salomé Urena and her daughter Camila, Julia Alvarez's newest novel explores the public and the largely imagined inner lives of two revolutionaries, one of whom fought with words and the other who wished she could have. Both characters are extraordinarily imagined, with the line between fact and fiction so expertly smudged it is almost impossible to guess where each leaves off. Alvarez chooses to switch between the points-of-view of the two women, who never knew each other well due to Salome's untimely death, making for some confusing transitions despite the chapter headings designed to guide the reader. Don't get frustrated because this flaw is minor compared to the rewards you'll get from reading this. My advice is to allow Alvarez's skill to take you where she wants. You won't regret it. This may not be Alvarez's best book, but it is an admirable one all the same. I suspect most fans will not be disappointed, and she will gain some new readers along the way.
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Summary: my favorite author disappoints me
Review: I have enjoyed all of Ms Alverez books until this one. It did not engross me for a minute. I very seldom put a book down but after 180 pages I put it on half.com. Camilla was one dimentional,Salome at times interesting but the structure of the book confusing and I had to keep going back to the chapter heading to see where I was. Hopefully she will will write the next one to equal In the Time of the Butterflies.
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Summary: One of her best!!!!!
Review: I have read almost all of Julia Alvarez's works and found this one to be best!! I think she is brilliant in interweaving fiction and history. In Salome, she not only weaves fiction and history, but she also transcends time by moving back and forth between Salome's life and Camila's. Through this work of fiction you can truly appreciate one country's fight for independence.
Rating:
Summary: Well Done
Review: I haven't read much literature along these lines, but I thought the history lessons, combined with family interactions and the unique point of view of the two primary female charaters (at the mercy, really, of a male-centric society) made for interesting reading.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best!!!!!
Review: I judge a good book by whether, and to what extent, I think about the book after I've finished reading. Needless to say, nearly two weeks after finishing this book, its passages and characters have stayed with me. Alvarez's writing is simply beautiful, much more like poetry than prose. The "historical" background on political strife in the Dominican Republic was insightful, and I found the characters to be quite complex and interesting. This is the first book I've read by Julia Alvarez, and now I'm eager to delve into her other works.
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Summary: Haunting and beautiful
Review: I judge a good book by whether, and to what extent, I think about the book after I've finished reading. Needless to say, nearly two weeks after finishing this book, its passages and characters have stayed with me. Alvarez's writing is simply beautiful, much more like poetry than prose. The "historical" background on political strife in the Dominican Republic was insightful, and I found the characters to be quite complex and interesting. This is the first book I've read by Julia Alvarez, and now I'm eager to delve into her other works.
Rating: 
Summary: fair-to-middling
Review: I was very interested in the subject matter and was gratefied to learn about a little known aspect of Latin American literature(in the northern hemisphere) but while Camillas' character seemed complex and fully drawn, Salome was over-idealized and one demensional.The chapters about her bored me because she seemed more like an icon than a real flesh and blood person.
Rating:
Summary: Loving it...and still do
Review: I'm actually only half way through this book but I'm loving it! I become completely engrossed in Alvarez' writing. She traverses through the lives of Salome, and Camilla (Salome's daughter) in parallel stories. "I merely write what we all know to be true," is one of Salome's responses to others commenting on her poetry. I think Alveraz does this as well -- whether or not the actual story is true, she depicts ordeals that we all go through What I really love is that this novel combines the histories of Dominican Republic, a bit of Haiti, Cuba and the US. I'll be back when I finish it with my final review, but for now I give it a big thumbs up. ****
Back, having completed the novel. Read it.
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