Dominican beaches are only the beginning… Chances are, you’ve already grabbed the sunscreen. So here’s a little knowledge to pack alongside. Guns! Money! Intrigue! Baseball! There’s always been a lot more to the Dominican Republic than you may think. Use this short reading list, compiled by Cabarete Language Institute, to paint a fuller picture of the balmy island state.

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle, the story of Oscar Wao – a sweet and friendly Dominican-American nerd, is mostly loved by all. But let’s keep it real; this book is out there. With references ranging from the Dominican concept of Fuku (a curse) to Dr. Who, there are few people on this planet who will get every inside joke, pun and literary trick in this book.

Even if you only get half of what this story is about and the various references, it is worth the read. Not only do you get to step into the world of a dorky Dominican growing up in New Jersey in the 1980’s, but the book also travels back in time telling the story of Oscar’s mom and grandfather in the Trujillo era – a defining time in contemporary Dominican history.

2. Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa

If you are looking for a colorful yet dark read about Rafael Trujillo – the brutal yet iconic dictator that ruled the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in May 1961, read Vargas’s account of El Jefe’s life and murder.

This is fictionalized history at its best with three stories woven throughout the novel, including the gripping account of how the assassination of Trujillo by former loyalists was planned and eventually carried out. The interwoven story of sex and power will not only bring out the raging feminist in you, but might even shed some light on how contemporary Dominican men tend to treat women.

3. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez

Set during the last days of the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, three young sisters, members of a conservative, pious Catholic family, who had become committed to the revolutionary overthrow of the regime, were ambushed and assassinated as they drove back from visiting their jailed husbands.

Thus martyred, the Mirabal sisters have become mythical figures in their country, where they are known as Las Mariposas (the butterflies), from their underground code names. Alvarez, a Dominican-American, has fictionalized their story in a narrative that starts slowly but builds to a gripping intensity. Each of the girls–Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa (Mate) Mirabal–speaks in her own voice, beginning from their childhood in the 1940s; their surviving sister, Dedé, frames the narrative with her own tale of suffering and dedication to their memory.

4. The Last Voyage of Columbus by Martin Dugard

Here you can read the swashbuckling adventures of Columbus as told by Martin Dugard. One guy who definitely did a lot of killing was Columbus. Killed all the Tainos that were literally chilling out in Quisqueya before those Spanish-Italian-Portuguese sailed across the ocean to satisfy their gold lust. Honestly, we recommend reading about the real hero of the colonial times: Bartolomé de las Casas, perhaps the first human rights activist ever.

Bartolomé de Las Casas was the first and fiercest critic of Spanish colonialism in the New World. An early traveler to the Americas who sailed on one of Columbus’s voyages, Las Casas was so horrified by the wholesale massacre he witnessed that he dedicated his life to protecting the indigenous community. He wrote A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies in 1542, a shocking catalog of mass slaughter, torture, and slavery, which showed that the evangelizing vision of Columbus had descended into genocide.

5. Caribbean: A Novel by James A. Michener

An epic novel covering the history of the Caribbean islands, full of historical and cultural context from the indigenous times to the modern era.

6. The Dominican Republic: A National History by Frank Moya Pons

Not exactly light reading but the authoritative academic history of the Dominican Republic from pre-history to the modern democratic era.

7. Why the Cocks Fight: Dominicans, Haitians, and the Struggle for Hispaniola by Michele Wucker

A brilliant, insightful book exploring the complex historical relationship and cultural dynamics between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Honorable Mentions for Books on Haiti:

  • Farewell, Fred Voodoo: A Letter from Haiti by Amy Wilentz: Chronicles post-earthquake Haiti and the NGOs trying to sort out the chronic misery.
  • Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder: Details the life and heroic health efforts of Dr. Paul Farmer in Haiti.
  • Travesty in Haiti by Timothy T. Schwartz: A true account of Christian missions, orphanages, fraud, and drug trafficking.

These books will no doubt wet your appetite for traveling to the Dominican Republic. When you decide to come to the DR, make sure you visit Cabarete and come by Cabarete Language Institute for a free Spanish class. Mention code BOOKDR to get your free class.