One is tempted to equate the events of such a novel with the actual facts. Though it is well known that Minerva slapped the dictator after an alleged indiscreet comment at the Discovery Day Dance, for instance, one cannot assume that Alvarez's depiction of Minerva's encounter with him transpired precisely as described. Even more to the point, the reader cannot presume that Alvarez captures the true personalities of the individual sisters. Ultimately, the characters are Alvarez's mental constructs, information shaped by her imagination. She states in the postscript to the novel:
So what you will find here are the Mirabals of my creation, made up but, I hope, true to the spirit of the real Mirabals…. I wanted to immerse my readers in an epoch in the life of the Dominican Republic that I believe can only finally be understood by fiction, only finally be redeemed by the imagination. A novel is not, after all, a historical document, but a way to travel through the human heart.
Biography - Julia Alvarez
Julia Alvarez was born March 27, 1950, in New York City to Dominican parents.
