3. Before We Were Free

[osprey_archer]

Julia Alvarez’s Before We Were Free, like her In the Time of the Butterflies, is a novel set in the Dominican Republic during the dictatorship of Trujillo. However, it’s a much more successful novel than In the Time of the Butterflies; while both novels focus more on family drama than on politics, the approach works better in Before We Were Free.

This is probably because Before We Were Free is a children’s novel. It would be unrealistic for our narrator, Anita, to know much more than she does about the brewing rebellion against the dictatorship. Therefore, the focus on family with just the hum of politics in the background seems natural.

While Before We Were Free is a better novel than In the Time of the Butterflies, I still wouldn’t say it’s remarkable. It’s well constructed, and the characters’ relationships are well-drawn—particularly Anita’s early crushes and her relationship with her mother—but there’s nothing to make it outstanding.

Also, there's a loyal Haitian servant who talks to the spirit world who might ping some racial buttons.