The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

"When celebrated writer Alma Cruz inherits a small plot of land in the Dominican Republic, she turns it into a place to bury her untold stories--literally. She creates a graveyard for manuscript drafts and revisions and the characters whose lives she tried and failed to bring to life and who still haunt her. Alma wants her characters to rest in peace, but they have other ideas, and the cemetery becomes a mysterious sanctuary for their true narratives."--

“how to exorcise a story that had never been told”
this is a book for people who need to write in order to exist

it is about immigrant experience, family hood and how the lives of our ancestors influence on our own lives, aka intergenerational transmission

the story is from different perspectives (past/present) with four main threads that converge and diverge within the story; julia alvarez bring all those threads together in a coherent and smoothly way

overall I really enjoyed this book, I would say that perhaps the audiobook is not the best way to consume this story, I recommend the physical book (even if the audio is great)

thank you netgalley for the copy

While an interesting concept of laying untold stories to rest, the multiple changes of view and switching main characters was whip-lashy. Felt sort of unoriginal with the first MC as an author. Was not expecting the 'paranormal'-esque element. The ending felt kind of rushed and abrupt. Fairly fast read though, there were parts that made me angry and parts that made me cringe but supposedly in line with the characters themselves.