A story of identity and immigration is in the next book by million-selling novelist Julia Alvarez

The best-selling author said she felt compelled to write “Afterlife” which will be published next April. The novel centres on a literature professor whose grief for her late husband and encounter with an undocumented migrant raise questions about her background as an immigrant. Alvarez is known for the bestsellers “How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents” and “In the Time of the Butterflies.” She has also published poems, essays and children’s books.