The novel recounts the story of the Mirabel sisters who courageously led a revolutionary movement to overthrow Trujillo, the brutal, violent dictator of the Dominican Republic, and ultimately were brutally slaughtered in the quest to free their people from the tyranny of his regime.

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The Mirabel Sisters

Julia Alvarez is very clear, however, that the novel she has written is a work of fiction, even though it is based on a historical reality. She creates four different personas to narrate the story, Patria, Dede, Minerva, and Maria Theresa, and through their voices the reader becomes acquainted with power structures and interconnectedness.

Click here for activities on Ecofeminist perspectives of the novel.