Between the Pages I. --A Cafecito Story by Julia Alvarez

Having Read Alvarez’ novel In the Time of the Butterflies, I quickly grabbed this bilingual novella from the backseat of the family jeep. Easy enough to finish reading in less than an hour, the Spanish was right at my level—enough words that I already knew and many to still learn.

Alvarez tells a parable of a Nebraskan man in a bit of a middle-age crisis. Having grown-up on a family farm in the Midwest, he leaves behind his job for a vacation in The Dominican Republic. Bikini babes and resorts don’t satisfy his appetite for something deeper. Instead he travels to the mountains, befriends coffee farmers still using sustainable methods, and becomes their ally.

Simply and beautifully written, Alvarez transports readers to her homeland in the Dominican Republic and asks that they become supporters of Free Trade goods.

Here in Ecuador, the most common form of coffee is instant coffee, usually Nescafe. I had a cup for breakfast. It was satisfying, but certainly not what Americans who drink Colombian and South American brewed coffee from Starbucks might expect. I am under the impression that the best beans are exported…I’ll look into this.