This story is told through the eyes
of Chula, a seven-year-old girl growing up in Bogota, Colombia. Her youth and
the gated community where she lives partly shield her from the political unrest
of the time. However, when her mother hires Petrona, a young maid from an
impoverished area of town, her life expands and intertwines with Petrona’s.
Petrona and Chula take turns narrating their worlds, which begin a steady
spiral into uncertainty, fueled by violence and the gangs and poverty that
reign in Petrona’s home and neighborhood.
The combination of a young narrator
plus a female-dominated cast of characters gives the reader a sympathetic,
intimate look into how innocent people live in times of upheaval. At many
points the book read like a subtle thriller — throughout the entire story the
author conveyed a sense of foreboding that floated above the heads of the
younger characters; a paper-thin line that separated them from disaster. I
listened to the audio version of this book (which was well done) and it
enhanced the realness of each character.
Fruit
of the Drunken Tree is notable because it tells about a time and
place that many Americans (myself included) know little about. The novel is
semi-autobiographical, which lends another layer of realism and credibility.
This is the best kind of historical fiction — the reader is invited to
empathize deeply with the characters while receiving a personal and detailed
account of history that no textbook can provide.
[
official Fruit
of the Drunken Tree and Ingrid Rojas
Contreras web site ]
Have you read or listened to this one? What
did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!
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