Pro
* Writer writing about writing
* Love song to both writing and the Dominican Republic
* Smooth, lyric prose well-performed by the audiobook narrator
* Variety of world lit references
* Magic realism elements

Con
* Multiple point of views is terribly overdone lately, even if Alvarez handles it deftly.

Thank you to Julia Alvarez, Alma Cuervo, Algonquin Books, RB Media, and NetGalley for an advanced review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was provided as an ARC from Netgalley.

This book was amazing! I loved the multiple points of view and how the stories seemed to intertwine within the cemetery. Julia Alvarez did a wonderful job of personifying the characters, as she always does, and the way that she infuses the Dominican culture into her stories are timeless. There were multiple times where I could imagine what was around me just from her descriptions. No matter when I read any story of hers I am transported into another place.

The book starts off with a tale of a sisters who inherited parcels of land from their father. One sister takes the most desolate unusable piece property and curates it into a cemetery for stories. As an author who is stuck, she decides that in this place, her "dead" works will have their final resting place. In this place, the stories that never quite came to life, come to life to tell their tales. The stories in this cemetery are thought provokingly realistic and interesting.
This book contains multiple points of view, as there are different stories being told. If can have trouble keeping up with more than one main character, you might easily get a bit confused. It seems as if the stories intertwined at one point. However, I did enjoy the tales and how the book ended.

I highly recommend this book, it can easily

The crucial theme of this novel is storytelling and the magnitude untold stories have upon their characters and authors. Where do the words go if a story is untold? Do they disappear or dissolve off a paper? Do the authors move on to other works without ever looking back? What if these stories and their main characters weighed heavily upon the minds of their creators and the only way to free them would be to tell the story or bury it in the earth.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories mixes in storytelling and the tellers with a little magical realism and local culture from the Dominican Republic. It’s a transcending tale that should be navigated with care. Multiple storylines and characters intersect at various points and the importance will be lost if not followed carefully.

Alma Cruz is a celebrated writer at the end of her career. Looking back on the stories that she was unable to tell she looks for a place to put them to rest. Inheriting a small plot of land in her homeland, the Dominican Republic, she builds a small house and forms a somewhat friendship with one of the locals. This however is not Alma’s story; it is Filomena’s, Bienvenida’s, and Manuel’s stories. Their stories are fighting to be heard by anyone willing to listen or tell their tale.

I enjoyed the audio production of this book immensely. This also helped me focus on each story and character which may have been hard to navigate in print. The narration was superb and the pronunciations in Spanish built inclusivity.

I've been trying to listen to this one for a couple weeks now, but I keep ending up confused on who's story I'm listening to or where exactly in the narrative I am. I'd assume it would be easier to follow if I had a physical copy of the book, but I'm not sure. I had high hopes for this book, and the prose itself is great, but I'm just too confused to bother to keep trying with this one right now. Maybe I'll come back later and enjoy it more, but right now I don't think this is the book for me.

Alma Cruz, the celebrated writer at the heart of The Cemetery of Untold Stories , doesn’t want to end up like her friend, a novelist who fought so long and hard to finish a book that it threatened her sanity. So when Alma inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, her homeland, she has the beautiful idea of turning it into a place to bury her untold stories—literally. She creates a graveyard for the manuscript drafts and revisions, and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her.

I only listened to this book and I should mention that the narration is more in storytelling mode with minimal variation between character voices. While this itself did not bother me, I feel that given the structure of the novel, it was at times difficult to follow the multiple tracks and timelines. I would recommend pairing the book with the audio.

The prose polished to perfection, its (at times almost meta) themes of storytelling and creating ones own legacy are consistent throughout and feel quite personal to the author as well. I can always appreciate a novel with a strong sense of setting and place. Through the combination of her atmospheric descriptions, as well as the frequent intersplicing of Spanish sentences, Alvarez honors her own Dominican roots, as well as those of her characters.This collection has beautiful prose, compelling voices, and comes together in a hypnotic, magical way. I was mesmerized, bewitched, enthralled, entertained, and edified, by each “untold” story.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez is my first book by the author, which is a mix of historical fiction, magical realism, and books about books. I loved the writing, and I loved the characters as well. This one is mainly a plot-driven book. The book is about finding yourself and others through the art of storytelling and much more.

The concept of the book sounds very promising and is surely put out well through the book. I loved our narrator of the book, Alma Cruz, who is set to write a story in her small town in the Dominican Republic, where she inherits a plot of her homeland. The characters speak behind her back in the cemetery, but all she wants is for them to rest in peace.

The book does feel like it was a bit stretched to me. But overall, it was very well executed, and I loved the magical realism aspect added to this unique and whimsical plot in a cemetery setting. The Cemetery of Untold Stories asks: Whose stories get to be told, and whose buried? Finally, Alma finds the meaning she and her characters yearn for in the everlasting vitality of stories.

Definitely pick this up if you are up for a unique and thought-provoking story that is different from your everyday reading. This one is surely going to stay with you even after you have finished reading it. A slice-of-life book in the most beautiful and intriguing way possible.

3.5 stars . A beautifully written story about stories left untold and their need to be heard. Alma inherits a plot of land in the Dominican Republic that she turns into a cemetery for her untold stories. Stories of people that she failed to bring to life. The stories want to be heard despite this, and come to life!

I thought this was so beautifully written, however, I spent quite a bit of time confused. I was confused about whose story was being told often. This is also a character driven novel, and that is not my favorite genre. I do think it is worth reading though!

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for giving me an audio version in exchange for my review.

3.25

I think that audiobook format does a disservice to the book, as it makes it even harder to follow the threads of narration between different characters that are also told throughout different time periods - the story's flow feels disjointed and it is a bit disorienting.
The themes of identity, family, love, loss and secrets was lovely, but I found I could not connect to the characters because of the way the timeline of the book was structured.
The idea of a cemetery of untold stories is beautiful, but I was wanted a bit more from this, especially in regards to the ending and the stories that were left unresolved.

Alvarez is a great writer but this format didn't work for me. I wish Alvarez had picked one story and told that from beginning to end rather than all this jumping around. I really didn't care at all for the main story of Alma, which was boring, but I really just wanted to hear Filomena's and Bienvenida's stories.

3/5

I was very excited to read this book since the premise and title sounded so intriguing to me, however, the story itself was very hard to get into. I didn't find myself connecting to the plot or characters. If I hadn't received this book as an ARC, I would have DNFed it. The writing was very beautiful, however, so someday I plan to try one of her other novels.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

A generational story of several families navigating live in the Dominican Republic throughout history. Themes of immigration, nationalism, obedience, loyalty, and family all with a dash of magical realism. I enjoyed this immensely while reading/listening. The story is told from several POVs and over several timelines. The main story or frame story is told in 3rd person through Philomena and Alma. The magical realism/past timeline stories are told in first person. This worked for me in Alvarez's capable hands.

Pros - the narrator was great. I loved her authenticity and that she didn't force the different voices - just enough to distinguish them. I enjoyed all the timelines almost equally which doesn't always happen. I cared about all the characters and wanted to keep reading/listening to see what happened to them and around them. The writing is beautiful. And I learned a lot about the history of and life in the Dominican Republic, especially during the regime of El Jefe. I don't always like magical realism, but in this case it worked. This was true magical realism -woven expertly in to the story - and not ridiculous fantasy elements that serve as plot points. Just when the story was getting a little slow, she thew in a major WTF moment that I did not see coming and that worked for the characters and story.

Cons - I was a smidge disappointed in the ending. It just sort of faded off into the future. I wanted... something... Not a tidy bow necessarily, but I actually checked to see if I accidently fast forwarded to the end and missed a chapter or two. There were some repetitive parts as well. We get a bit of background into Bienvenida from Alma's POV. And then that story is told again later.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. And I really recommend it to readers. I think it has something for everyone.

I read one of Alvarez's previous books with my book club, and I have some similar opinions here.

I'll start by saying, everything I have read by this author is beautifully written, and completely enjoyable to read. This book had the added advantage of magical realism, which has been my jam of late! That being said, I always feel like things are a little disjointed in the worlds Alvarez creates, I'm always left feeling a little unmoored when I finish her books. In this case, the rapid timeline jumps jarred me out of the stories on occasion, I had no problem following, it just make the reading experience a little clunky.

That being said, this is on the higher end of 3 stars for me, simply because of the beautiful premise and the lovely world created here!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Alma Cuervo
Content: 3.5 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars

A renowned writer, Alma, moves to the Dominican Republic, where she originally comes from, and decides to make a cemetery of unfinished stories in her backyard. An interesting idea. Filomena is a local woman with no friends and (supposedly, no) relatives. Alma employs her to help around the house. In the cemetery, she listens to Alma’s stories. The novel weaves together multiple stories, including those of Filomena and Perla, writer Alma and her sisters, as well as Alma’s unpublished stories.

Multiple stories and POVs may confuse the reader, so it’s better to read/listen to this in fewer parts. I loved the magical realism idea. I know the stories are unfinished, but still, I’m not sure if I missed a few bits of Tatica’s story in the end. Because I would like to know more.

This was my first novel by this author. Julia Alvarez is no doubt a very talented storyteller. The narration by Alma Cuervo is excellent, with authentic pronunciation of Spanish phrases.

Thanks to Recorded Books for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.

I have read other magical realism books but this is my first by this author. I thought it was so beautiful, how the stories wound in and out and around each other. I got really invested in the characters, even though it was hard to follow sometimes (that was probably partly because it was an audiobook, with one narrator speaking from multiple points of view). I will probably read the print version later, so I can revisit these interesting people. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me listen to this audiobook

This is the first book I have read by Julia Alvarez, and it will definitely not be the last. This book read like a collection of short stories, magically woven together in the land and culture of the Dominican Republic. Though some stories shown brighter, and some characters I found myself wanting to read more about, each story and character was enjoyable to read. I listened to this audiobook on a long drive, and I'm glad I had hours of interrupted time or I would have found the characters and their stories hard to keep straight in the beginning. Such a creative way to tell a story and I am so grateful to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for sharing the ARC of this audiobook with me.

"All stories are good stories, if they have the right audience." Thanks to Netgalley for access to this audiobook, which is a very nice performance. I will buy this one in paperback, as this is the kind of book that you want to re-read paragraphs over and over. I am a true bookworm and I love stories about stories. Culturally this was a celebration of the Latinx community with beautiful narratives and intersecting stories. There were times when I lost the plot and had to rewind to make sure I was in the same story. Alma is celebrating the end of her life and how her stories will live on. I think that over time our ancestors tell our stories and that is what keeps us "alive"

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook of The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez.

I was intrigued by the concept of this book. An author with unfinished stories creates a cemetery to bury her untold stories. The characters of these stories do not want to live untold. The characters begin to tell their untold stories to the groundskeeper.

I really struggled with this book. There were so many characters and stories that they started to intertwine together. This story makes me thankful that I live in the United States.

A few of my favorite lines:

"If you bring forth what is inside you, what is inside you will save you. If you do not bring forth what is inside, what is inside you will destroy you."

"Some stories don't want to be told. Let them go."

"Well, if it's not written and not published, it'll die with its teller."

"That's why in certain tribes they say when an old person dies, a library is gone."

“I fell in love with the story I wanted to believe…”

""But also the other voices that come and go with the wind - each one offering a different view of the world.'

This has such a good premise, but the execution felt so choppy. We follow Alma, a former writer who inherits some land in the Dominican Republic. She decides to use some of her land to build a cemetery of untold stories where she literally buries all her unfinished stories, hoping to give her characters peace. But they kinda come to life in that place and the book unfolds from there.

The idea of a cemetery of untold stories is just so good! It's what led me to request this book and it started well enough, but it became a mess. It became very difficult to follow and I'm not sure if it's because I was listening to the audiobook. Maybe if I read the book, it would have been easier to make sense of everything, but since I got the audiobook, I have to be honest about my experience with the story in this format and it was just too convoluted for me to enjoy.

I think the narrator, Alma Cuero, did a good job at voicing this story, but the structure just didn't work for me.

This was an interesting idea for a book and it was written beautifully and the audiobook well narrated. I love the idea of the author in the book, Alma, burying her unfinished writings in a cemetery of her creation so that they can rest in peace. Several characters want their stories to be told, however.

Maybe because I listened to this in the NetGalley app in audiobook form and the chapters were kind of messed up, but I found this very confusing. The stories bounced around so randomly and it caused me to lose track of who was speaking at which time. Some of the stories I could follow were excellent, specifically Perla and Filomena’s, as well as Bienvenida’s. I think it was supposed to feel really meaningful seeing how they all connect, but because of the format, I don’t know how much I connected to it. I would recommend anyone who is interested in this read it in physical form.