th Anniversary Edition A magnificent treasure for all cultures and all time. St. Petersburg Times It is November 25 1960 and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Lenidas Trujillos dictatorship. It doesnt have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposasthe Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel the voices of all four sistersMinerva Patria Mara Teresa and the survivor Dedspeak across the decades to tell their own stories from secret crushes to gunrunning and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillos rule. Through the art and magic of Julia Alvarezs imagination the martyred Butterflies live again in this novel of courage and love and the human costs of political oppression. Julia Alvarezs new novel Afterlife is available now. show more