How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
"How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez is a novel that explores the complex lives of four sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia—who navigate their identities as Dominican immigrants in the United States. The narrative is structured in three parts, spanning from the 1960s to the late 1980s, and delves into the sisters' experiences before and after their family's emigration from the Dominican Republic due to political unrest. Through a blend of personal and cultural challenges, the García girls confront issues of acculturation, familial expectations, and the struggle for self-identity.
Set against the backdrop of both the Dominican Republic and New York City, the novel highlights the tensions between their heritage and the new American culture they encounter. As the sisters mature, they face adolescence, sexual awakening, and the complexities of cultural integration, often feeling the weight of traditional values amid their evolving identities. The story emphasizes the transformative journey of the García sisters, illustrating how their lives are shaped by both their homeland and their experiences in the United States. Ultimately, the novel poignantly captures the nuances of immigration and the quest for belonging in a world of contrasting cultures.
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How the García Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
First published: 1991
The Work
Set in New York City and the Dominican Republic, Julia Alvarez’s novel traces the lives of the four García sisters—Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia—as they struggle to understand themselves and their cross-cultural identities. The novel is structured in three parts, focusing on the time spans of 1989-1972, 1970-1960, and 1960-1956. Throughout these years the García girls mature and face various cultural, familial, and individual crises. The sisters’ mother, Laura, comes from the well-known, wealthy de la Torres family, who live in the Dominican Republic. The third part of the novel narrates the Garcías’ flight from their homeland due to political problems within the country.
The Garcías emigrate to the United States, planning to stay only until the situation in their homeland improves. Once arriving in America, the sisters struggle to acclimate themselves to their new environment. The second part of the novel traces the sisters’ formative years in the United States. Included among the numerous stories told are Yolanda’s struggle to write an acceptable speech for a school event, Carla’s trial of attending a new public school where she is bombarded by racial slurs, and Sandra’s hatred of an American woman who flirts with her father during a family night out. In addition, part 2 narrates the García girls’ summer trips to the Dominican Republic—their parents’ way to keep them from becoming too Americanized. During these trips the García sisters realize that although they face great struggles as immigrants in the United States, they have much more freedom as young women in the United States than they do in the Dominican Republic.
Part 1 of the novel begins with Yolanda, who is known as the family poet, returning to the Dominican Republic as an adult. She discovers that the situation in her country has not changed. When she wants to travel to the coast alone, her relatives warn her against it. This early chapter sets Yolanda up as the primary narrator and introduces the tension between the traditions of the island and the new and different culture of America. In this first part readers learn about the girls’ young adult lives, primarily about their sexual awareness, relationships, and marriages. Virginity is a primary issue, for the sisters’ traditions and customs haunt them as they negotiate their sexual awakenings throughout their college years in the United States. In short, it is in this first part in which readers learn precisely how Americanized the García girls have become, and throughout the rest of the novel readers learn how the girls have lost their “accents” gradually, throughout the years.
Bibliography
Alvarez, Julia. “Emerging from the Chrysalis: Julia Alvarez on Her Work.” Interview by Anne Sawyer. La Prensa de Minnesota 4 (November 10, 1994): 5-6. Alvarez talks about being a Latina writer and about others who have influenced her work.
Milanes, Cecilia Rodriguez. Review of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez. Women’s Review of Books 8 (July, 1991): 39. Milanes judges the book as noteworthy despite its flaws.
Miller, Susan. “Caught Between Two Cultures.” Newsweek 119, no. 16 (April 20, 1992): 78-79. Provides a discussion of the growing number of Latino and Latina writers finding a reading public.
Rifkind, Donna. Review of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents, by Julia Alvarez. The New York Times Book Review, October 6, 1991, p. 14. Sees the book’s strengths in its description of island life.
Starcevic, Elizabeth. “Talking About Language: How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.” American Book Review 14 (August-September, 1992): 15. Focuses upon the centrality of language in the book.
Stavans, Ilan. “Daughters of Invention: How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.” Commonweal 119 (April 10, 1992): 23-25. Points to the cultural ambivalence at the novel’s center.