The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez is a magical realism historical fiction novel (3.5/5 stars)

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez is a magical realism historical fiction novel.

I initially picked this up because I read In the Time of the Butterflies in college and that book made me feel things. Like that book, this one is also set mostly in the Dominican Republic and leans heavily into historical fiction around the dictatorship of El Jefe.

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library. It’s narrated by Alma Cuervo and she does a great job. There are a lot of different point-of-view characters.

Listening to the audio was a wonderful storytelling experience for me, but if I wasn’t also following along with my eARC I would have probably gotten confused about some of the time period jumps. There are also a ton of heavy topics in this one, so be mindful of CWs.

I’m always a fan of good magical realism. Here, author Alma Cruz literally buries her unfinished manuscripts in hopes that will help them “rest in peace.” There’s a lot of cool allegories about story and memory, and how we share our family histories.

The whole thing felt very lyrical and magical.

CW: violence, assault, sexual assault (briefly mentioned, not on page), animal death, suicidal ideation and attempt, infidelity, Alzheimer’s, dementia

I received a copy of this book to review. Thank you to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for the complimentary eARC. All opinions contained herein are my own. The Cemetery of Untold Stories came out on April 2nd, 2024.

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