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MKE Big Read Booklist MKE Big Read Booklist Inspired by Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterfl ies “I found in literature a place where the table was set for all. Everybody was welcome. I found true democracy in reading.” — Julia Alvarez Attend one of our many MKE Big Read programs. Visit mpl.org/mkebigread for a full listing. NEA Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest. Other Books by Julia Alvarez How the García Girls Lost Their Accents Political tensions in the 1960s forced the García family from Santo Domingo to the Bronx. The sisters all hit their strides in America, adapting and thriving despite cultural differences, language barriers, and prejudice. Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA 395.24 A473. The quinceañera, a celebration of a Latina girl’s 15th birthday, has become a uniquely American trend. Alvarez explores the history and cultural signifi cance of the “quince” in the United States. Something to Declare 92 A4733. A rich and revealing work of nonfi ction capturing the life and mind of Julia Alvarez as she knits together the dual themes of coming to America and becoming a writer. A Wedding in Haiti: The Story of a Friendship 92 A4733A. The popular author talks about three of her most personal relationships—with her parents, with her husband, and with a young Haitian boy known as Piti. The Woman I Kept to Myself: Poems 811.54 A473W. Seventy-fi ve autobiographical poems rich with the language and infl uences of two cultures—those of the Dominican Republic of Alvarez’s childhood and the America of her youth and adulthood. Fiction and Poetry The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. Although it is set in the United States where Junot Diaz grew up, this moving yet entertaining novel deals with both Oscar’s adolescence in New Jersey while coping with a family curse, and the Dominican Republic experience under dictator Rafael Trujillo. (Continued on back) The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat. On the Dominican side of the river that separates the country from Haiti, Amabelle and Sebastien decide they will marry and return to Haiti. However, ultra nationalist Generalissimo Trujillo is hostile toward Haitians and calls for an ethnic cleansing of Spanish speakers. The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa; translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman. Haunted all her life by feelings of terror and emptiness, 49-year-old Urania Cabral returns to her native Dominican Republic and fi nds herself reliving the events of 1961, when the capital was still called Trujillo City and one old man terrorized a nation of three million. Perla by Carolina De Robertis. Set in Buenos Aires, “Perla” is a coming-of-age story, based on a recent shocking chapter of Argentine history, about a young woman who makes a devastating discovery about her origins with the help of an enigmatic houseguest. These are not Sweet Girls: Latin American Women Poets edited by Marjorie Agosin. 861.008 T413. Despite cultural maxims encouraging them to be silent, women continue to speak, often through the language of poetry. Nonfi ction and Other Media The Caribbean, Central & South American Cookbook 641.59729 F595. A vibrant food journey offering deliciously varied dishes hailing from the mountains of Chile and the vast plains of Argentina to the tropical islands of the Caribbean. I, Rigoberta Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala edited and introduced by Elisabeth Burgos-Debray; translated by Ann Wright. 972.81053 M536. The remarkable life of a Guatemalan peasant woman refl ects the experiences common to many Indian communities in Latin America. Menchu suffered gross injustice and hardship, later learning Spanish and turning to catechistic work. Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean by Alex von Tunzelmann. 972.9 V948. The Caribbean crises of the Cold War are presented in this story of clashing ideologies, the rise of the politics of fear, the machinations of superpowers, and the brazen daring of the mavericks who took them on. República Dominicana [sound recording] Latin Republi Dominic Bachata, merengues, and sones featuring Luis Vargas, Juan Bautista, Alberto Beltrán and more! Rumbo a las grandes ligas (Road to the Big Leagues) [DVD] 796.357 R9366DV. Featuring MLB all-stars David Ortiz and Vladimir Guererro, this inspirational and joyous fi lm charts the course of talented baseball hopefuls from the Dominican Republic to the big leagues. Trópico de Sangre (Rains of Injustice) [DVD] FOR TROPICO. Based on the true story of the Mirabal sisters, politically vocal activists assassinated in 1960 while fi ghting to topple Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo’s bloody and oppressive reign of power. 2017.
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