How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents: Amazon.ca: Julia Alvarez: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Fifteen tales vividly chronicle a Dominican family's exile in the Bronx, focusing on the four Garcia daughters' rebellion against their immigrant elders.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-- This sensitive story of four sisters who must adjust to life in America after having to flee from the Dominican Republic is told through a series of episodes beginning in adulthood, when their lives have been shaped by U. S. mores, and moving backwards to their wealthy childhood on the island. Adapting to American life is difficult and causes embarrassment when friends meet their parents, anger as they are bullied and called "spics," and identity confusion following summer trips to the family compound in the Dominican Republic. These interconnected vignettes of family life, resilience, and love are skillfully intertwined and offer young adults a perspective on immigration and families as well as a look at America through Hispanic eyes. This unique coming-of-age tale is a feast of stories that will enchant and captivate readers.
- Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The old aunts lounge in the white wicker armchairs, flipping open their fans, snapping them shut. Read the first page

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Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

112 Reviews

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(52)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(3)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (112 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book that transcends differences between people, Jun 29 2004

By

D. Pawl "Dani" (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Paperback)

I first read one of the short stories in this book, "Daughter of Invention," in an anthology called GROWING UP LATINO. I found the short story so humorous, touching and sensitive I wanted to read the book that it originally came from.

What I admire about Julia Alvarez is her subtlety as a writer. I found myself chuckling to myself throughout the book, as well as learning more about her experience as a Dominicana told through the eyes of the four fictionalized daughters and the parents who raised them in a time of great political unrest. This was during the time of Trujillo, when their father got in trouble politically for attempting to overthrow his dictatorship. Hence, the reason for their exile to the Bronx, and the circular visits taken by the daughters returning from their schools in the U.S. back to the Dominican Republic.

What I admire about this story (or series of short stories) that discuss and illustrate the challenge of assimilation, racism and identity, is that Julia Alvarez's characters are identifiable with anyone who had has to immigrate and assimilate to a new set of social expectations and assume a bicultural/biracial identity. I think specifically of all the different Latinos from all corners who immigrated here, fleeing social and political unrest, and other groups of people of color who came to this country seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

I am also a great fan of Sandra Cisneros, the lively and biting Chicana writer based in Texas. I have to say that to compare Alvarez's work to Cisneros is impossible because the styles are so different. But, in all honesty, I found Alvarez less hard-edged and more accessible. I highly reccomend this novel as an introduction to a wonderful, vibrant and insightful Latina writer. I want to thank Julia Alvarez for sharing the experience of assimilation and adversity with us, her humble readers.

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4.0 out of 5 stars another great book, April 22 2004

By

K. Rodriguez "K. Rodriguez" (gilroy, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Paperback)

i decided to read this book after reading julia alvarez's other book "in the time of the butterflies", which was really great. this book follows, or rather preceeds, since it was published earlier, in its footsteps. while at 1st the book seems to concentrate more on yolanda as opposed to the other sisters, towards the middle it begins to tell the other 3 sisters stories more. they each come into their own, with little excerpts of experiences from their childhood, coming to america, and back in the dominican republic. this book goes backwards, from the girl's adulthood to their childhood. there are some really charming and memorable parts in this book, and those alone make it a great read, however it ends rather abruptly, it seems as if there should be another chapter after the last one, but what can you expect for a book that goes backwards, it cant go on forever. theres also a sequel to this book called "yo" which i havent gotten to read yet so maybe some questions will be answered there. overall though this is a great read that sucks you in.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A charming little book..., Jan 3 2004

By

Megzi - See all my reviews

This review is from: How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (Paperback)

I enjoy reading books from different cultures' viewpoints, so I picked this up in a bookstore down at the beach. The title grabbed me as I found it quite funny. I loved how the author showed the struggle of the four girls from all of their view points. There were a lot of things that I'm sure young girls, whether they're Latino or not, can relate to. The only thing with this book was how it went back in time. I'm not sure why the author chose to do the most recent first and then the days of them as children last. I thought it should have went the other way, but oh well. Some parts of the book went a bit slow but it didn't last long. I liked the whole plot line, how it didn't go "oh, my life sucks" the way a lot of books for teenage girls do. A cute and clever book, I'd recommend this to any of my friends.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Liked Yo! Better, but this is fun too
Juia Alvarez does a good job of writing interesting characters. And as she does that, she weaves a rambling plot that keeps you turning pages. Read more

Published on Nov 21 2003 by Alicia Walker

3.0 out of 5 stars Not giving this the effort!
If I have trouble immersing myself into a book, I give it 50 pages, just 50 pages. But this one, I stopped at 34 pages. Read more

Published on Nov 6 2003 by (Rizzo) Rizzuto