Latest "One Book" Selection Announced

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Aug 25, 2004 6:25PM

School's just around the corner, and that means book reports. For everybody. Yes, even you.

Today, Mayor Daley announced the latest selection in the city's "One Book, One Chicago" reading initiative. The latest selection is In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez.

According to Amazon.com, Butterflies is a

tale of courage and sisterhood set in the Dominican Republic during the rise of the Trujillo dictatorship.

A skillful blend of fact and fiction, In the Time of the Butterflies is inspired by the true story of the three Mirabal sisters who, in 1960, were murdered for their part in an underground plot to overthrow the government. Alvarez breathes life into these historical figures--known as "las mariposas," or "the butterflies," in the underground--as she imagines their teenage years, their gradual involvement with the revolution, and their terror as their dissentience is uncovered.

Hmm... Daley choosing a book about people assassinated for their role in a plot to overthrow a dictator? This choice can be read so many ways...