Afterlife Audiobook By Julia Alvarez cover art

Afterlife

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Afterlife

By: Julia Alvarez
Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
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The first adult novel in almost 15 years by the internationally best-selling author of In the Time of the Butterflies and How the García Girls Lost Their Accents.

Antonia Vega, the immigrant writer at the center of Afterlife, has had the rug pulled out from under her. She has just retired from the college where she taught English when her beloved husband, Sam, suddenly dies. And then more jolts: her bighearted but unstable sister disappears, and Antonia returns home one evening to find a pregnant, undocumented teenager on her doorstep. Antonia has always sought direction in the literature she loves - lines from her favorite authors play in her head like a soundtrack - but now she finds that the world demands more of her than words.

Afterlife is a compact, nimble, and sharply droll novel. Set in this political moment of tribalism and distrust, it asks: What do we owe those in crisis in our families, including - maybe especially - members of our human family? How do we live in a broken world without losing faith in one another or ourselves? And how do we stay true to those glorious souls we have lost?

©2020 Julia Alvarez (P)2020 Recorded Books Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Latino American Literary Fiction United States World Literature

Featured Article: 10 of the Best Hispanic Authors to Listen to Right Now


This list is in no way exhaustive, but it is a great place to discover—or rediscover—exceptional Hispanic writers, many with extensive back catalogs. It’s gratifying to hear these works in the language in which they were written, with gorgeous renditions en español. And while you’ll have plenty of their work to listen to, we also suggest you learn about the lives of each author. Their stories include struggles as immigrants, expatriates, and refugees.

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Editor's Pick

A welcome listen in times of turmoil
"The arrival of Julia Alvarez’s first work of fiction in 15 years couldn’t have happened at a better time. We are facing a global pandemic that encourages distancing ourselves from others, and we are living through one of the most divisive political climates in more than a generation. In Alvarez’s Afterlife, Antonia is a retired college professor of Dominican descent who is struggling with the sudden death of her husband, Sam. But in h quiet Vermont college town, her life is turned upside down when she finds Estela, a pregnant, undocumented teenager at her door. As Antonia weighs the needs of others and her own, memories of Sam’s goodness help guide her, along with guidance from authors such as Tolstoy and Rilke—and this is where this story shines. I fell in instant love with this story. Alvarez is a brilliant writer who draws from her own Dominican culture to offer a combined message of deep reflection on existence with timely questions about life, loss, and finding the good within yourself in order to help others. Afterlife is a refreshing and welcome listen that reminds us that there is no better time than NOW for this timely message."—Edwin D., Audible Editor

Moving Story • Beautifully Written • Excellent Narration • Heartwarming Storytelling • Thoughtful Exploration

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A beautiful, moving story read with such care and tenderness . Loved the relationships in the sisterhood and will take away the thoughts on the afterlife.

Highly recommended

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The characters were not offered formulaic answers to their complex human challenges of grieving and loneliness. But they were all encouraged to find energy and desire to love and hope and reach out again

Realistic, thoughtful, timely

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This is the first book I’ve read by Julia Alvarez and I can’t wait to read more. As books often do, this one called to me from the shelf at just the right time.

Beautiful, heartbreaking, hopeful.

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short novella. well written. meaningful story leave you pondering about life
situations, and issues surrounding us

still thinking about main character

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I love how she speaks from Dominican culture right out of life in the motherland. Even when the action doesn’t happen there she just connects you to her culture ( which is mine too). It’s like living in a Dominican home. I loved the characters, the sisterhood, what a wonderful family she created for this book. Makes me wonder if she had a ton of siblings too. It’s just so real to me. Doesn’t feel like fiction. Loved it.

Always so real for me

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