Book of the Month: In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (1994) Critical Evaluation "Julia Alvarez’s shimmering second novel, “In the Time of the Butterflies,” is based on the real story of the four Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic, known there as Las Mariposas , the butterflies. That was their code name in the underground opposition to dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, and on Nov. 25, 1960, Trujillo agents murdered three of the sisters, the ones who had become national symbols of resistance. The fourth sister, Dede, survived, and Alvarez begins to tell their story in Dede’s tired, exasperated voice [...]