Afterlive
Dominican Republic

Afterlive

by Julia Alvarez

Family & Heritage Literary Fiction Contemporary Fiction Fiction 2020

Summary

What do we owe the people who need us when we are barely holding ourselves together? Antonia Vega, a recently retired literature professor, is still reeling from the sudden death of her beloved husband when her life begins to unravel further: her unpredictable sister disappears, and a pregnant, undocumented teenager turns up seeking shelter. Accustomed to finding answers in books, Antonia discovers that grief and compassion demand more than words. Set in rural Vermont, this intimate, quietly powerful novel explores sisterhood, immigration, moral responsibility, and the courage it takes to begin again. As Antonia navigates a world fractured by fear and distrust, she must decide how to honour her own needs without turning away from the suffering of others.

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Country
Dominican Republic
North America
About the author
Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez

Julia Alvarez is a Dominican American novelist, poet, and essayist celebrated for exploring identity, migration, family, and the experiences of women caught between cultures. Born in New York City in 1950, she spent her early childhood in the Dominican Republic before her family fled to the United States in 1960 because of her father’s involvement in a movement against Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. This experience of displacement profoundly influenced her writing. Her acclaimed first novel, How the García Girls Lost Their Accents (1991), examines the challenges of adapting to life between two cultures. Her subsequent works include In the Time of the Butterflies (1994), In the Name of Salomé (2000), and Afterlife (2020). In 2013, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in recognition of her contribution to American literature. Alvarez continues to write about history, belonging, and the enduring power of storytelling.

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Details
Published
2020
Author
Julia Alvarez