Afterlife by Julia Alvarez ****

 Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

Antonia struggles to find herself after her husband’s death. She stages an intervention to save her eldest sister. She aids undocumented Mario, a worker at her neighbor’s farm, in rescuing his fiancée from the coyotes. She is always asking, Who is the most important? A meditation on life after death.

Antonia was an English Literature professor and related her struggles to classic literature, particularly Tolstoy’s three questions: What is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? In her quest to find herself after her husband, Sam, dies, she returns to the second question and reminds herself that she is the most important person. She grapples with the forces around her not to get lost in the lives of others.

Antonia is the second of four sisters. Her oldest sister, Izzy, is erratic. Izzy plans an artists’ sanctuary, rescues llamas, and disappears. The two younger sisters want Antonia to join their intervention to place Izzy into Liberty House for evaluation and treatment. Antonia is not convinced that this is the right direction, but the sisters and their sisterhood pressure her into participation.

Mario is an undocumented worker at Antonia’s neighbor’s farm. First, he wants her to help rescue Estela from the coyotes in Colorado. He addresses her as doñita. Antonia is from the Dominican Republic, but since she speaks Spanish, everyone in Vermont lumps her together with all Latinas. She doesn’t want to get involved, but eventually she brings Estela to Vermont. When Estela is discovered to be pregnant, Antonia is drawn deeper into her life.

Before her husband’s death, Antonia’s life was anchored by Sam. They had established roles. For example, Sam was the good cop and Antonia was the bad cop. Now in the afterlife, Antonia is lost. A meditation on life after death.

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