For the Dominican Republic, I read In the Time of the Butterflies: A Novel by Julia Alvarez. This book came with a ton of recommendations, but I hesitated picking it because Alvarez was born in New York City. If I picked Alvarez for the Dominican Republic, wasn’t I undermining the purpose of my own freaking quest?

But then I read more about Alvarez’s life. Yes, she was born in New York City in 1950, but her family moved back to the Dominican Republic when she was three months old and Julia grew up there until her family fled back to the United States in 1960 due to her father’s involvement in the underground resistance against Rafael Trujillo’s dictatorship. Alvarez might have technically been born in the United States, but her life definitely fits the spirit of my quest.

In the Time of the Butterflies tells the story of the four Mirabel sisters. Three of these sisters, who were among the leaders of the resistance to the dictatorship, were found dead on November 25, 1960 in a wrecked jeep at the bottom of a cliff. The story beautifully moves between their four voices, the sisters each taking their turn to tell parts of the story, which was the perfect narrative choice. I fell in love with each of the sisters and even though I knew from page one that three of them would die, I still felt a profound loss when they were assassinated.

I recently created a video of my ten favorite books from my quest (so far!) and as I write this review, I’m struggling to remember why In the Time of the Butterflies did not make the list. It’s so extraordinary! Its omission is just a testament to how incredible the world’s literature is.