Name: Fruit of the Drunken Tree
ISBN: 9781432860325

Ingrid Rojas Contreras

"Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá. But threats of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the walls, where drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities When their mother hires a live-in maid from the city's guerilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona, whose unusual behavior belies more than shyness."--Back cover.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree

“One of the most dazzling and devastating novels I’ve read in a long time...Readers of Fruit of the Drunken Tree will surely be transformed.” --San Francisco Chronicle “Simultaneously propulsive and poetic, reminiscent of Isabel Allende...Listen to this new author’s voice — she has something powerful to say.” --Entertainment Weekly A mesmerizing debut set in Colombia at the height Pablo Escobar's violent reign about a sheltered young girl and a teenage maid who strike an unlikely friendship that threatens to undo them both Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation. When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city's guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona's mysterious ways. But Petrona's unusual behavior belies more than shyness. She is a young woman crumbling under the burden of providing for her family as the rip tide of first love pulls her in the opposite direction. As both girls' families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy that will force them both to choose between sacrifice and betrayal. Inspired by the author's own life, and told through the alternating perspectives of the willful Chula and the achingly hopeful Petrona, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two very different, but inextricably linked coming-of-age stories. In lush prose, Rojas Contreras has written a powerful testament to the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence and the unexpected connections that can blossom out of desperation.

A Novel

Clare

I really couldn't get into this book. The writing was okay, but the story wasn't compelling. It moved SO slowly that I had a hard time wanting to read more because it felt like it was going nowhere. I only got 150 pages in and I've finally decided to just stop as I don't think it's going to captivate me at this point. I'm disappointed because the premise seemed exciting, but it really just fell flat.

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

Ingrid Rojas Contreras weaves an emotional story - partially based on her childhood - about resilience and friendship when faced with turmoil. Chula, a little mestiza girl growing up under the protection of her wealthy/rich neighborhood, befriends her family's new maid, Petrona, a poor white girl from the slums who wants to protect her family from the violent guerrillas who actively recruit boys with promises of wealth. Rojas Contreras descriptively captures -without overdoing it - the yearning to trust in an untrustworthy country, where loyalties are flimsy but constantly tested. Chula and Petrona each go through their own struggles, which ultimately tie them both to their consequences that not only affect them but their family's as well.

There's not much I can say without giving away spoilers, but this is definitely a novel by a Hispanic-Latina you should read if you're interested in Hispanic literature.

momo-reads

It was ok, maybe would have liked it more if it had not been sold as "in the vein of Isabelle Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez".

Elad Schulman

I have mixed feelings about this one, but I am happy that i read it

Ana Couto

Thank you to Doubleday for the free copy via Met Galley in exchange for an honest review. Fruit of the Drunken Tree was such a great read. Set in Columbia during the 1990’s when the drug lord Pablo Escobar was still at large, and told through alternating perspectives of two young girls (Chula, who is from a wealthier, privileged background, and Petrona, the maid to Chula and her family). This book often had me on the edge of my seat, and it was horrifying to read about such violence that is based on what was really happening in Columbia at the time. I also think it was a really smart idea to tell this story through the perspective of girls who come from different backgrounds; although most citizens of Columbia suffered in one way or another, those born into a lower class had few opportunities (if any) to create a better life for themselves elsewhere. This novel may be a work of historical fiction, but it sheds a light on the corruption and inequality that Columbia truly experienced. It’s a very important and educational book, and I definitely recommend it.

Janet Doré

...when I elevated my feet at night and my head found its pillow I wondered: of what country was I during those hours when my feet were in the air?

If you're a fan of Isabel Allende, you will LOVE Fruit of the Drunken Tree, the first novel by Ingrid Rojas Contreras. Ingrid is an amazing storyteller with an incredible gift. It's getting harder and harder to make my all-time favorites list and this one clinched a spot.

This fictionalized version of the author's own life gives us a peek at Colombia in the turbulent and violence-ridden 1990's, when Pablo Escobar was fighting to hold onto his narco throne and numerous paramilitary groups were fighting for their own versions of justice.

As a middle class family, the Santiagos — which included the young narrator (Chula), her older sister Cassandra, and her two parents — were a target of guerrillas who believed that kidnapping and collecting ransoms were legitimate ways to right Colombia's economic wrongs. And, like many of Colombia's citizens, they were caught in the crossfire of the narco war. 

Like Isabel, Ingrid's writing is magical, lyrical and goes straight to your heart. The characters are real, deep, flawed, and likeable despite their occasional questionable actions. 

If you're traveling to Colombia, this book is a must read. You will close the back cover with a greater understanding of what it is to be poor in this country, the love and hate for Pablo Escobar, and its troubled history and rich culture, and feel a connection to the people that live in the ramshackle homes on the hills.

Francine Corry

Samantha Plakun

Darcy Lambert

Lisa

"One of the most dazzling and devastating novels I've read in a long time...Readers of Fruit of the Drunken Tree will surely be transformed." --San Francisco Chronicle "Simultaneously propulsive and poetic, reminiscent of Isabel Allende...Listen to this new author's voice -- she has something powerful to say." --Entertainment Weekly A mesmerizing debut set in Colombia at the height Pablo Escobar's violent reign about a sheltered young girl and a teenage maid who strike an unlikely friendship that threatens to undo them both Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation. When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city's guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona's mysterious ways. But Petrona's unusual behavior belies more than shyness. She is a young woman crumbling under the burden of providing for her family as the rip tide of first love pulls her in the opposite direction. As both girls' families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy that will force them both to choose between sacrifice and betrayal. Inspired by the author's own life, and told through the alternating perspectives of the willful Chula and the achingly hopeful Petrona, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two very different, but inextricably linked coming-of-age stories. In lush prose, Rojas Contreras has written a powerful testament to the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence and the unexpected connections that can blossom out of desperation.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree

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