Article: THREE DOMINICAN SISTERS - A TALE FROM THE HEART.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: MARGARIA FICHTNER

Many bittersweet lessons are tucked among the pages of this mesmerizing second novel from Dominican-born Julia Alvarez: lessons about the courage and vitality of the female spirit; lessons about the webs and tangles that bind families; lessons about piety and activism, loyalty and fear, faith and love. But the most painful lesson, the one that still scrapes the soul long after the book is tucked back on the shelf, is this: There can be no worse prison than the past, no harsher judge than memory.

Much as Alvarez's admired first novel, ``How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents,'' bore the unmistakable stamp of memoir, this ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!