Beautiful prose addressing the unpredictability of life. The main character, Antonia Vega, retires from teaching to have her beloved husband pass away the same day. Her unpredictable sister disappears and a pregnant undocumented immigrant ends up on her door step all while she is trying to process through her grief. The story compels you to keep going, to see if Antonia finds her joy again. ( )

This is a beautifully rendered story in which tragedies are reframed into something tolerable and eventually beautiful. Human kindness transforms even the worst situations. The protagonist is a recently retired literature professor who thinks of literary references throughout the story which adds to its richness. ( )

Couldn’t finish it. Self indulgent and whinging. Not for me ( )

Protagonist Antonia Vega, originally from the Dominican Republic, is a retired professor of literature living in Vermont. She has recently experienced multiple losses, including the sudden death of her husband. Her three sisters arrange for a birthday gathering, but one of them, suffering from mental health issues, disappears. She is also asked to intervene in a case of an undocumented migrant worker.

As the above summary indicates, there is a lot going on in this book. I enjoyed the first half, where Antonia tries the best she can to deal with grief. However, once the sister disappears, it turns into a mystery and (almost) a detective story with several twists. This entire mystery section did not feel integral to the story, especially in light of the way it resolves. Then Antonia gets involved in assisting the migrant worker, and I felt it lost momentum. It is a case of trying to do too much in one short novel, at least for me. I had previously read In the Time of the Butterflies, which I much preferred and recommend.
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Julia Alvarez took what, to me, sounds like the worst nightmare I can imagine and built something beautiful from it.

Antonia Vega retired from her job as a professor of writing and went to wait for her husband, a doctor, to arrive at their favourite restaurant to celebrate. But her husband, Sam, never shows up. He had a fatal heart attack on the way to the restaurant. A year later Antonia is somewhat adrift trying to figure out what her life should be like now. Her three sisters telephone her regularly (well two of them do, the oldest sibling isn't so organized) to check up on her. Her next door neighbour also checks in on her. In fact, it is him who is the impetus for a major change in her life. He has a dairy farm and he hires undocumented workers to help because otherwise he cannot make it financially. He offers to send one of his workers over to clean the gutters on Antonia's house and when he comes the young man asks Antonia to help him call his girlfriend. Antonia was born in the Dominican Republic and speaks Spanish so it is easier for him to communicate with her. It turns out his girlfriend has crossed into the US with the help of coyotes who are now demanding more money to send her to Vermont. Antonia is not asked for money but she ends up buying a bus ticket to bring the girl from Colorado to Vermont. She then goes away to spend her birthday with her sister in Chicago and the other two sisters decide to join the celebration. Except the oldest sister never shows up and all the sisters have to drop everything to try to find her. When Antonia does get home she finds the girlfriend in her garage because the man who was supposed to be marrying her refuses when she is obviously pregnant and it can't be his child. These dual crises have Antonia trying to figure out what Sam would do and, as long-married couples tend to do, she knows what Sam's reactions would be.

I hope I never have to face living after my husband's death. He's a year younger than I am and his parents lived long healthy lives so hopefully he outlasts me. If it did happen I hope my personal circumstances wouldn't be as fraught as Antonia's but I also hope I would be able to have guidance from my husband to face difficulties. Even if that guidance is only discerning what he would say and do. ( )