On the Same Page for 2005: In the Time of the Butterflies

I just finished reading In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. It's this year's selection for the On the Same Page community reading program.

The book is historical fiction based on the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic and its atrocities, most specifically as related to four sisters. It's written in the tone of The Diary of Anne Frank but with enough details to remind me of The Gulag Archipelago.

I identified in some ways with each of the sisters-but with Minerva, the most radical the least, and Dede, the least radical slightly less. The youngest, Maria Teresa, I felt the most like - perhaps because I too am the youngest and also because I also kept a journal or diary.

Just in case you're not familiar with the on-the-same-page concept, here's how it works: a book is selected that should stir discussion and hopefully increase understanding among people of different backgrounds; the once-a-year program and the book selection is publicized; lots of copies of the book are made available at the library; people read the book; people get together at various community events and discuss the book.