The Cemetery of Untold Stories is a marvelous work of fiction by Julia Alvarez, inspired by her life. Alma is a writer who publishes under the pseudonym of Sharazade. She teaches creative writing and lives in Vermont, which mirrors Alvarez's work and residence. In the magical realism portion, her untold stories have voices that certain people can hear, like Filomena, the caretaker of the cemetery set up for the untold stories in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It's an interesting journey that Julia takes us on, rooted in truth but adjusted to fit the story she wants to tell. The narrator does a marvelous job bringing the tale to life.

I did enjoy this audiobook, but not as much as I was anticipating. It was a bit confusing at times. I still think it is worth a listen.

Thank you to the publisher, author and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this audiobook.

I *LOVED* the premise of this book but there were several moments that were confusing and could have used more clarity. I think if Julia had focused on only a couple of the story lines instead of all them, it would have been a more cohesive story. Also, for me personally, this is one that works better in printed form than an audio.

This is a book I will think about for a long time. I loved how the characters were explored across generations and from multiple perspectives. The magical aspect of the graves was beautifully woven into the story. I also appreciated the use of Spanish throughout the novel, which transported me to a rural area of the Dominican Republic. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys magical realism.

This audiobook sounded absolutely amazing from the description to the cover chosen. I was very excited to listen to the audiobook version and dive deep into the mysteries and darker themes the author promised.

Unfortunately, it reads a bit flat. This could just be an issue with the audio version, however. Alma Cuervo does an amazing job with setting a spooky, cautionary tone to the book. And, to some degree, Cuervo builds up the emotion in the narration. However. overall everything reads one-note and it's hard to determine whose perspective we're listening to and what part of the timeline we're in. The jumping back and forth is a bit hard to follow when the narration doesn't change with it. It also is unclear which pieces are flashback and which are present time as things just run together.

Another issue with the audiobook is that it is split into four very long chapters. While the chapters begin and end as if each chapter is a sectioned out part of the book, it doesn't help the reader stay oriented as to who is telling the story or whether the story is present-day or a flashback.

Overall, the audiobook missed the mark a bit for me, but I would be interested in rereading the physical book to see if it makes a difference in understanding the intententions of the author.

Thank you to Net Galley, Julia Alvarez, and RB Media for providing me with an advanced copy to review.

This book tells the story of three (or four?) families intertwined by Alma's wishes to create a cemetery for the stories she couldn't finish writing. As an academic, this feels a bit like a cemetery for the papers you didn't publish.

While this book has that element of family drama that I love, I found it very hard to follow the thread that connected the families. There was too many flashbacks from different perspectives.

I would like to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

This book's plot is so unique and creative! I can see how it's popular and beloved by many readers.

I appreciate the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Cemetery of Untild Stories, written by Julia Alvarez and narrated by Alma Cuervo, is a fictional book featuring the main character, Alma Cruz. Alma is a writer who believes that everyone has a story, and when she inherits a plot of land in the Dominican Republic, she decides to use it as a way to help others tell their stories. This brings her into contact with Filomena who becomes her groundskeeper, and who helps her hear the stories of many, including Bienvenida and Manuel.

I really enjoyed the themes in this book, the connections to sisterhood and family, the importance of sharing your story, and recognizing the growth that the main characters had through the book. I also really appreciated the way the characters worked together to build the cemetery, and make it the best it could be. Thank you to NetGalley, and to the author, publisher, and narrator of this book for an ALC in exchange for an honest review

The premise, title and cover are 10/10! I was really interested because of them all combined and I did enjoy it. I loved the way the book talked about being an author as living your life with those stories occupying your mind and with everything around you "telling you stories" it was just beautiful. I really enjoyed the narration. It was also my first time reading a book set in the DR, which was really enjoyable just learning more about it. A main issue I had was being constantly lost between characters and perspectives and I'm not sure if this is not an issue for those who read the physical book but it was really hard to keep track of characters and figuring out what's happening as I listened to the audiobook which really affected my experience with the book and I thought it was just a me problem but I saw other people mentioning this too.

I received the advanced audiobook recording of the publication via NetGalley.

Julia Alvarez was one of my favorite authors in high school. I don't know why I stopped reading her books, it's definitely an oversight.

This is a story (stories) within a story, almost three books in one. I really enjoyed the storytelling structure of the book and the connections between characters.

The book deals with the Dominican Republic's violent past as well as the diaspora in the United States. The writing is beautiful. Alma Cuervo does an excellent job with the narration.

This audiobook was a beautifully done testament to storytelling and it really touched me. I can’t wait to read more by Julia Alvarez!

“Seems like everyone who lives has endured some sadness, sometimes it’s buried so deep inside them, even they don’t know it’s there. And if you could hear other people’s stories, what then? Would you understand them better? Would you forgive them?”

The Cemetery of Untold Stories is filled with gloriously rich prose. It was not a collection of short stories, as I had first believed, but rather about a quite literal collection of monuments a writer commissions from an artist to memorialize the stories she was unable to tell. The monuments begin to share their stories on their own. The result weaves narratives of a writer, a father, a First Lady, and a housekeeper. I had some difficulty keeping these straight as I read and understanding why this was relevant at times, but I overall liked this book by the end despite the unusual structure.
Note about the narrator: The audiobook narrator Alma Cuervo, was very pleasant to listen to.
Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced copy to review!

I struggled to get into this story. The writing is slow, but the actual narration is extremely slow too. The combination was just too languid. DNF.

This ended up being very different from what I expected. The idea of it is so interesting but it felt disconnected. I felt that there were so many characters and at times I had a hard time keeping their storylines straight. This was especially true for the characters whose stories are in the cemetery. The characters are compelling even if they are very unlikable. The beginning of the novel felt slow to me and it took a long time for me to become interested. The best part about this book is Alvarez's writing. There is a strong sense of place that connects the characters that was well done.

This was such a unique beautiful story. What if the stories we read or write were actually sentient? What if they wish for their stories to be told or untold? What if we could interact or listen to their stories?

For Alma, being a writer has always been her life goal. As she gets older, her relationship with her stories becomes more complicated as she is unable to write the stories she longs to tell. She moves to the Dominican Republic where she creates a cemetery of all the manuscripts and drafts for her stories and soon the people in the community feel the presence of those characters. This story is multiple POV from several of the characters, including one of the main characters of Alma's writings. The stories are interwoven, tragic, and very complex. I absolutely LOVED it and really appreciated the historical elements and the "what ifs". I thought the writing was lyrical and stunning with really good descriptions. I loved the magical realism in it as well.

This will be a reread for me for sure.

A special thanks to #NetGalley #JuliaAlvarez #RBMedia

Content warnings: closed door, sexual assault, murder trauma, etc.

Thanks to Netgalley and RB Media for the audiobook arc. All thoughts and feelings expressed are my own.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories is a hard one for me to review. I went into this book thinking that it was going to be a collection of short stories that followed a shared plot line. However, that wasn't what this was at all. Julia Alvarez used descriptive language and wrote this beautifully, but in the end it fell flat and was left feeling disappointed.

I loved this well-written, beautifully narrated story of intertwining histories. Alvarez writes her characters with so much depth, even the characters we don't spend much time with feel like they are written in 3D. I really enjoyed the concept of putting our own unresolved stories to rest and the magic realism in the book really worked for me.

Alvarez’s writing is both lyrical and profound, seamlessly blending the magical realism of the characters’ defiance with the stark realities of their historical contexts. The novel becomes a powerful reflection on the nature of truth, the complexities of family histories, and the importance of whose voices are heard.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories is a testament to the everlasting vitality of stories and a reminder that our narratives are never truly complete. Alvarez masterfully illustrates that even in the silence of the graveyard, the stories of our lives continue to echo and evolve.

Julia Alvarez’s The Cemetery of Untold Stories is a masterful exploration of narrative power, cultural identity, and the enduring life of untold stories. It is a must-read for anyone who cherishes the profound impact of literature and the timelessness of storytelling.

I got an advanced reader copy of the audiobook from netgalley. I really enjoyed this story. I found it to be very creative and I haven't really read anything like it before. I think the whole concept of listening to people's stories to understand the world is an important one. I love when stories are woven together like this and I really like the concept of this story.

The Cemetery of Untold Stories was a really interesting and exciting story. Alvarez is a terrific writer and I kept wanting to pick this up.