The allure of its cover and title initially drew me in, but it was Julia Alvarez’ captivating storytelling and Alma Cuervo's narration that truly immersed me in The Cemetery of Untold Stories.

At its heart, the book centers on Alma, a writer grappling with her Dominican heritage and the weight of her unfinished stories. As she navigates her journey back to her childhood home in the Dominican Republic where she wishes to lay the stories to rest, Alma begins discovering parallels between her life and those of her characters.

Alvarez weaves elements of magical realism into the narrative, enhancing the story's depth as it delves into cultural heritage and personal identity. Through this lens, Alma's journey, and that of her characters, becomes a mesmerizing odyssey of self-discovery.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories is a poignant exploration of storytelling, culture, and the profound significance of letting go. Julia Alvarez is a gifted storyteller, and the emotional depth of this book will have you thinking about Alma, Filomena, and the characters who aren’t yet ready to let go, long after the story ends.

🎧 However, I must admit that the audiobook format fell short in capturing the intricate nuances of Alvarez's narrative. The complex interplay of characters and stories demanded careful attention, and I often found myself rewinding sections to fully grasp the intricacies. I recommend purchasing a physical or digital copy over the audiobook format.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media, and Julia Alvarez for the audiobook ARC!

This one sounded soo good - a unique blend of magical realism and historical fiction in short storyish form, however, I just couldn't get into it like I had hoped to. I did like the audiobook narrator and I've liked the other book by this author I've read but sadly this one wasn't for me and I think it was just too literary for my particular tastes/mood. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

This engaging novel celebrates stories—how they’re told, how they’re forgotten, and how they are uncovered, even after death.

The intriguing storyline: Alma, a famous Dominican writer and professor, retires to inherited land in the Dominican Republic, and decides to bury the remains of all the stories she never finished writing. Her groundskeeper, Filomena, has some intriguing family stories of her own. She’s also able to “hear” the stories told by the various markers.

Alma takes a backseat to the stories of Filomena, her family, and two markers, in particular. One is real-life historical figure, Bienvenida, dictator Rafael Trujillo’s second wife, whose story was erased from written history. Filomena also learns about Manuel, a doctor who has closer times to Alma’s family than we first think.

I loved each of these character’s stories. Filomena’s intrigued me the most, and Bienvenida’s life of privilege yet struggle was fascinating. I’m going to have to do some digging to see how much is true to real-life. As a fan of writing, stories, books, and reading, I really enjoyed this unique novel.

The audiobook is stellar! The same narrator who read Evelyn Hugo narrates it, and she’s terrific. It’s especially impactful to “listen” to a narrator read a novel about the power of story.

One last kudos! Gaby D’Allesandro illustrated this AMAZING book cover! It’s the perfect accompaniment for this novel.

Unfortunately I could not get into the story - I think it was the way it was written with hopping between stories - I thought it was a bit confusing. I think it would be easier to read in physical form. Alma does a great job narrating the story, but it was for me very hard to follow the story in audio. Will probably pick it up in physical form to try it that way because I still think the story sounds interesting.

What an absolute joy of a book. This beautiful story is masterfully told and has so much heart. If Alvarez never writes another word, she'll have retired at the pinnacle of her writing.

Magical realism at its finest! Normally, this wouldn’t be a book I’d pick up, but I really enjoyed the stories and the way they interconnected with one another.

I loved waiting to see what connection I’d discover next and felt a deep admiration for almost every character. The narration of the audiobook was also excellent.

Thanks to Algonquin Books, RB Media and Recorded Books for the ALC!

🅼🅸🅽🅸 🅱🅾🅾🅺 🆁🅴🆅🅸🅴🆆

🪦 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 by Julia Alvarez 🪦

▪️ 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: As a writer that has been holding in stories for the last couple of years, I recognize the burden Alma Cruz experiences in the novel and how difficult it can be to release and bring life to the stories being held captive. With the application of magical realism in the novel, I enjoyed the erratic nature of the stories that refused to be put to rest. We all have something worth writing and sharing.

▪️ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿’𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲: Julia Alvarez’s magical prose, beautiful characters, and intense family drama in 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 is a testament to the power of stories and storytelling across the globe. An individual learns to see the value of who they are and what they represent when their stories are validated, acknowledged, and consumed. Alvarez nearly demands that we conjure up our own power and let the oral traditions/storytelling do the rest.

▪️𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸: Why, yes, of course. Thanks to @netgalley and @recordedbooks for the gifted audio access. Alma Cuervo is the narrator who uses great tone and emotion to serve up Dominican realness and authenticity. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of variation between the different characters. It might be a good thing to pair with the physical copy. Just in case you want to hear more, she has done work with other audios like 𝙄𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨, and 𝘾𝙪𝙗𝙖: 𝘼𝙣 𝘼𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮.

▪️𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

▪️𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱: For readers of historical fiction, magical realism, and literary fictions with topics surrounding Dominican history and culture, themes of family and sisterhood, the immigrant experience, and special sacrifices made.

▪️𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗤𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀: “𝘐𝘧 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘰?”

Thanks to @algonquinbooks for the gifted copy and tour opportunity.

#JuliaAlvarez #TheCemeteryofUntoldStories #historicalfiction #magicalrealism #BookFeature #BooksToRead #Bookish #Bookstagrammer #BookLover #wellreadblackgirl #diversifyyourbookshelf

In “The Cemetery of Untold Stories” by literary icon Julia Alvarez, Alma Cruz is a successful yet burdened novelist who inherits a plot of land in the Dominican Republic. Instead of conventional use, Alma transforms this land into a cemetery for her unfinished manuscripts and the characters within them that never fully came to life. The novel’s concept is both innovative and deeply resonant, reflecting on the stories that define us and the ones we leave behind (and making it a hauntingly unique setting I wish were real). The story explores themes of storytelling, memory, and the power of unspoken histories through multiple timelines and character perspectives. As the characters narrate their hidden tales to Filomena, the cemetery's caretaker, they find a kind of peace and recognition that had previously eluded them.

As a Dominican, I appreciated the authentic reflections of our culture, subtly woven into the characters' actions and the broader narrative, reminiscent of Junot Diaz's storytelling. The rich, cruel history of the Dominican Republic is poignantly interlaced, intensifying the impact of characters' journeys. Twice I gasped out loud and had to put the book down because, after being connected with the humanity of the characters, they still shocked me with their choices.

Overall, “The Cemetery of Untold Stories" is a captivating piece that marries the allure of magical realism with the poignant depth of historical fiction. I bought a physical copy for my personal bookshelf after listening to the audiobook. Highly recommended.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Algonquin books for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Alma Cruz is a writer who inherits a small plot of land in her homeland of the Dominican Republic following the death of her father. After witnessing the decline of a close author friend who fought to finish a book but ultimately succumbed to an untimely demise, she decides that she will avoid the same fate and use her property in the DR to literally bury all of her untold stories. Upon arrival, she comes in contact with a local woman named Filomena whom she soon hires to be the groundskeeper of her "cemetery".

As Alma tries to write her story, her characters come alive and we begin to learn the true stories of the people that she is featuring in her book. They include a history of her father, Dr. Manuel Cruz who escaped from the DR to the United States and the history of Bienvenida Trujillo, the second wife of a Dominican dictator who was relegated as a cast off after she was replaced by his mistress. As Filomena wanders the grounds, she soon realizes that she can actually hear the stories of these "buried" characters and starts to weave her own personal story in between the details of theirs. Woven together, the stories reflect the struggles of the citizens of the Dominican Republic, the challenges presented by family and, ultimately, how people can connect with each other by sharing their own personal stories.

This was a really interesting story to listen to. The narrator did an excellent job of interpreting all of the different characters' stories in her own voice and her inflection definitely lent well to the magical realism qualities of the book. At times, it was a bit hard to follow along when listening because I didn't quite get it at first that Filomena was actually hearing the voices of the buried characters but, once I understood that, I truly enjoyed the rich emotion and compelling stories of all of the characters in the book.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I struggled to follow the audiobook and plot overall. I think it has a lot promise and I doubt I am the target audience.

I picked this book as it was advertised as a novel telling bits of the story of Bienvenida Trujillo, spouse of the dictator of the Dominican Republic, Trujillo. I had heard of the man through another book and learnt tons about this far country, so I was genuinely curious, about the input one could get through the story of his wife.

Unfortunately, the book is only superficially touching the bigger story throughout the small one(s). Because this book is not one story, it is mostly a story about stories. Alma, a praised author, decides to bury her unpublished stories, to give them a place to rest, and not let these consume her. But the untold stories escape their earthly graves, whispering to visitors ready to listen, what they have to tell. The characters awake to life and their lives and muted stories intertwine with those of the listeners.

Though there is poetry in the idea of burying stories and have them more or less tell themselves, it felt a bit forced and crazy to begin with. Though most stories make sense in the end, it did not feel naturally brought up and the different characters seemed to be too far apart to justify such length. It lacked a bit of a red line to follow, so that I never got to get attached to any of the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with a copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

3,5

Not bad at all, but ultimately forgettable I fear. Alma, a successful American author close to retirement, returns to her native Dominican Republic and with her she takes all her unfinished manuscripts, the untold stories that she knows she'll never have the time or energy to finalise and publish.

Instead, she conceives of the idea to bury the stories in a cemetery, designed by an artist friend.

Once at the cemetery, the stories start talking to each other, gradually revealing the past of Alma's family and, interestingly, unearthing the tragic story of Bienvenida Trujillo, the first wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, whom he divorced when she couldn't have children.

Interesting if you want to know more about the Dominican Republic, but as a novel I was not completely convinced.

Thank you to the publisher and RB media for granting me access to the audiobook in exchange for a review.
The Cemetery of Untold Stories is an original, intriguing book that follows an author’s mission to put to rest all her drafts that never came to be stories. When going back to her home country of the Dominican Republic, her characters take on minds of their own and tell their stories to anyone willing to listen.
Meanwhile, two storylines are being told and merged together to form one succinct view of stories and family—hold them tight and pass them on.
I liked the book, but sometimes it was hard to follow with all the different viewpoints and the ending was very anticlimactic.

THE CEMETERY OF UNTOLD STORIES is the latest from Julia Alvarez (In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents). Alvarez focuses on four sisters, particularly Alma, the second eldest and a writer. She decides to retire and to bury her untold stories in some land she inherits in the Dominican Republic. A sculpture friend works with her to install statues and a local caretaker, named Filomena, is hired. With a touch of magical realism surprising stories are shared. They build on themes of family, secrets, and prejudice and seem to link the local caretaker, Alma’s father, and the ex-wife of dictator Rafael Trujillo, named Bienvenida. THE CEMETERY OF UNTOLD STORIES received starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus (“a rich and moving saga of Dominican history emerges, embodied in the lives of irresistible characters”).

The audiobook (from Recorded Books) lasts almost nine hours and is narrated by Alma Cuervo who also contributed to readings of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, plus Alvarez's Afterlife and multiple titles written by Isabel Allende and Robert Jackson Bennett. She does an excellent job.

I really like this author’s writing style. I enjoyed In the Time of the Butterflies. I also enjoyed this book, though maybe a bit less. Like In the Time of the Butterflies, the story is not told from just one point of view. Also, like In the Time of the Butterflies, one theme of this story is sisterhood. I like the sisters’ relationship between one another. I appreciated how each sister had her own unique personality. I wish I got to read more about Alma and her sisters.

There are a lot of different stories being told within this one book. Some stories I thought were more interesting than others. Sometimes, it could get confusing and difficult being able to follow all the different stories. In the end, the author attempts to weave together the stories a bit. I thought Bienvenida’s story was so interesting. I’m not sure how accurate it is (I’m not a historian). The former dictator, Trujillo, is not a focus of this book like he is in In the Time of the Butterflies. However, his character does make significant appearances in this book.

Though it took me awhile to get through, I liked this book. I think it’s pretty solid.

Thank you to NetGalley, RB Media & Julia Alvarez for an audio galley of Cemetery of Untold Stories in exchange for an honest review.

There were multiple things that drew me to request this book – the beautiful cover, the attention-grabbing title and the general premise of the book.

Unfortunately, I was let down by everything in between the covers.

First, I will give props to the author. I do believe that the author is very talented and that the writing in this book was done well. I enjoyed the richness of culture by her use of a mixture of English & Spanish.

This just wasn’t the book for me. None of the “untold stories” were particularly great to me. In addition to that, the switch between POVs was oftentimes confusing because it would go from one POV to the next without any kind of signal that it had done so.

I can see where many readers will enjoy this book. It just wasn’t for me.

This is closer to a 3.5 for me. The beginning was so strong for me and I loved the idea behind the story of the cemetery, but as the story went on some things got a little disjointed and it was hard for me to follow who was who and how some characters were connected. I absolutely loved the lush writing style, which created a strong atmosphere. I think if I were to reread this, I would enjoy it more and it would clear some things up for me.

This book brought about such a mixture of feelings for me. I laughed and I cried, felt anger, loss, sorrow and hope.

I listened to the audiobook version and I fell in love with the accent and language that the narrator was speaking with. One drawback of the audio version is that with the frequency of jumping between characters and with there being so many, all with multiple names or precursors in Spanish, it was very hard to know whose story I was listening to and keep track of who was who and what had happened.

I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and there were so many different ones to choose from. Sisters, parents, spouses, lovers, neighbours, children. The book touched on so much, loss, grief, abandonment, cheating, murder, spurned lovers, control, political dictatorships, dementia, just to name a few. But among those, hope, love, family, legacy, and the importance of stories.

One of my favourite quotations went something like, 'When an elderly person dies a library is extinct'. So beautifully put and it really puts in focus the knowledge and tales that we accumulate over our lifetimes.

I didn't really ever understand what was happening in the cemetery. Was it paranormal? Was it like that only for a privileged few? Or could anyone who paused long enough to listen hear the voices on the breeze? The ending was a little rushed after the beginning and most of the book was so slow moving but it worked if you were in a mood to absorb all the feelings.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author and publisher for a temporary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The audiobook was a joy to listen to. The writing was lyrical and magical listening to the narrator tell the story. This story was rich in culture telling the story of Alma’s time in Dominican Republic. While the writing was captivating, the story was a bit slow for me. I do feel this is one to be read because of the story and following Alma’s journey. It’s just a slow burn.

Cemetery of Untold Stories follows the efforts of Alma, a retired author who has returned to the Dominican Republic, as she establishes a cemetery for her unfinished manuscripts. She meets new people (Philomena was my favorite) and we get experience their stories. BUT wait there’s more! The cemetery brings her stories to life as the markers (made by her artist friend) begin whispering, some not so whispery, their tales. We learn about heartbreak and joy, and fill in different lines of story as we go.

This is a book I knew would be perfect savored slowly with una cafecita. I ended up receiving the ebook and audiobook so I mixed and matched to my mood.

The audiobook added to the lyrical storytelling and fleshes out the contributions of the Spanish language used through out as well. The ebook felt like visiting a classic story, with the patterning of storytelling melting with the shifting narrative. This is multi-POV and multi-timeline as it shifts from living people to living characters. It felt a little overwhelming shifting back and forth, but the author gives the characters such distinctions you learn them like an old friend. The audio book narrator also lends her character building voices to assist with this literal distinction too.