How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents is by far my favourite novel so far, and somehow I think I won't be the only one in saying that. As the story is narrated backwards, the first half of the novel shows us the life of a Dominican family in the New York after fleeing the Trujillo revolution. I actually enjoyed the first stories the most out of the entire novel, as I feel they gave us the best opportunity to get to know and connect with the characters on a deeper level. Since the stories are narrated in a backward chronological order, the first I believe are the most impactful.
In the first story, "Antojos" we see Julia Alvarez's alter ego, Yolanda return to her birthplace on "the Island" and revisit her heritage. Although when I read this story for the first time, I really didn't know what direction the book was going in. I do feel like it gives us a great intro to the writing style of Julia Alvarez, as she certainly portrays a strong personal connection towards it. It shows us how her Spanish has deteriorated over her years spent in the United States, and really shows how she "lost her accent". This story is an example of the personal connection one feels towards their country of birth no matter how their live after that was shaped, or where it was lived. Although Yolanda was raised in the United States, and truly became a somewhat typical American girl, she still feels a strong connection to the Dominican Republic and her roots which are still on the Island.
The other story which I enjoyed the most was the Rudy Elmherst story. It was super juicy and fun to read, in comparison with some of the others. I found all of the stories in the book enjoyable, but this one had something different. I think Alvarez put it in to show the integration of the girls into American society and how they adjusted to life in boarding school and the challenges, peer pressures and temptations that face any teenage girl. Their time spent there seems to be where they did a majority of their "growing up" and thus distancing themselves from their Hispanic roots. It was their chance to rebel from their parents, they could break the rules safely thanks to the freedom they didn't have at home. Overall an amusing and entertaining story to read.
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Hey Kaan,
Is Yolando really Julia Alvarez's alter ego? Did you read this in your wikipedia research? That's really interesting!
Thanks for your comment on my blog. I agree with your observations on the book's reverse chronological order...it definitely makes you look at the characters differently as they assume personalities dependant upon their childhood experiences which the reader finds out about after the fact.
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