Fruit of the Drunken Tree in Words Between Worlds

Oct 22, 2018 Megan C. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-of-2018

READ THIS ONE. I loved it so much more than I can adequately express. This book resonated with me so deeply that I truly can't come up with the correct words to describe it. Fruit of the Drunken Tree is going on my 2018 top ten reads, no question. ...more

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Feb 19, 2018 Diana marked it as to-read

This was a great book! I'm an advocate for diverse literature but I do understand I do not read many books about the Hispanic / Latin American community. This is the second book I read that is written by a Colombian author. I loved the strong female characters in this book enjoyed the writing. I wish there was a bit more explanation about the historical events. Having little knowledge of Colombia and its history, it was a bit difficult to understand the turmoil. I did have to Google to gain bett ...more

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Jul 30, 2018 Katie Peach rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

Fruit of the Drunken Tree is a beautifully written novel set in Colombia during the time of Pablo Escobar. The story is told primarily by a young girl named Chula who lives in Bogota. The story also focuses on Petrona, a teenage girl who works for Chula's family. Chula and Petrona become friends and Petrona's presence ends up having a huge impact on Chula and her family.

I didn't know much about Colombia prior to reading this novel and I feel like I learned a lot about the country and I now want ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 Simone rated it liked it

Shelves: poc-authors, literary-fiction, 2018

WARNING: There are some spoilers in this review.

For the most part, I really liked this book. I loved the story and how it juxtaposes Chula and Petrona's family and life. Chula comes from a more affluent family and Petrona comes from a more poverty-stricken one. The only similarity these two families have is the fact they're both in Colombia.

Whenever it seemed like Chula was in trouble or a guerilla group indirectly attacks her family, it seemed like Petrona's life was just a little bit worse. Fo WARNING: There are some spoilers in this review.

For the most part, I really liked this book. I loved the story and how it juxtaposes Chula and Petrona's family and life. Chula comes from a more affluent family and Petrona comes from a more poverty-stricken one. The only similarity these two families have is the fact they're both in Colombia.

Whenever it seemed like Chula was in trouble or a guerilla group indirectly attacks her family, it seemed like Petrona's life was just a little bit worse. For example, Chula is nearly kidnapped and was able to escape before being ransomed and relocated. However, Petrona's fate was completely different. The same goes for Chula's family members and Petrona's family. Chula was able to go to a nice school while Petrona had to stop school and take care of her family. I thought it was interesting to see that despite the little affluence Chula's family has, she's still able to remain relatively safe. She was even able to safely escape to the US after her father is kidnapped.

I liked how their stories intertwined, but I found myself wanting to know more about Petrona's life than Chula's. It's not that Chula's life was bad, but I found Petrona's story to be more interesting. I wanted to know more about her brothers and Gorrion, her feelings on having to work while her mother stayed home. I also wanted to know more about Aurora and the relationship she had with Petrona.

What I was most surprised by was the kidnappings. I thought it was a little over-the-top to have both the father and Petrona kidnapped, but after reading the Author's Note, I think I understand why that was necessary. I knew very little about Colombia and even about Pablo Escobar, so I thought that the story lent really well to explaining this without going into deep detail.

The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the writing style. Perhaps it's because the story is written in Chula's point of view, but the language felt stunted and a little dry. It also felt like the voice used in a lot of magical realism, so I was expecting there to be some magical realism components throughout. Sadly, there were none. ...more

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Sep 22, 2018 readwithjamie rated it really liked it

These are the the stories that need to be read and heard. As a Spanish teacher & Latin American history enthusiast, I’m really glad I read this story of growing up in Pablo Escobar’s Colombia (also based upon the author’s own childhood). However, it truthfully was a bit slow at times to pick up and jump back into. It didn’t hold my attention like I desperately wanted it to. I much preferred the audio narration by the author herself, listening to the beautiful bilingualism & mamá Alma being broug ...more

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Jul 30, 2018 Toni rated it really liked it

Sandra Cisneros said it best: “When women of color write history, we see the world as we have never seen it before."

This book sent me on a wave of emotions: sadness, hopefulness, terror, to name a few. The story intrigued me quickly, however it did drag in the middle. I found myself speed reading to get back to Petrona's chapters (told in alternating perspectives of a young, wealthy girl and their also young, poor maid Petrona). I understand why the author chose to use the young girls perspectiv ...more

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Aug 29, 2018 Erica rated it really liked it

One of my favorite books this year. I loved the historical elements of this story. I fell in love with Chula - she was naive yet courageous. Her perspective and her story were just wonderful.
On a personal level, this book reminded me of when I was a young girl and would travel to Mexico to visit family. The writing was great and it transported me back in time.

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Aug 20, 2018 Breanne Gibson rated it really liked it

Thank you for the free review copy, Doubleday Books. What a page turner! The complicated relationships and interesting characters wouldn't let me put down this book. This is an eye-opening story about the Escobar and the Colombian drug cartel in the 90s. ...more

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