Fruit of the Drunken Tree
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Seven-year-old Chula lives a carefree life in her gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside her walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar reigns, capturing the attention of the nation.
When her 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. Petrona 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’s families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy.
Fruit of the Drunken Tree is a powerful testament to the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
Contreras’s novel is a no-holds barred account of a Columbia that most will never see, told through the eyes of a whimsical young girl navigating the tragedy of life with a hint of humor. Her storytelling ability is powerful, concise and sometimes strange.
Chicago Public Library, USA