June's Book of the Month is Fruit of the Drunken Tree
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras is our featured title for June. Copies are available in the “New” room on the upper level of the library.
About the Book
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.
Labels: book of the month club, ReaDiNG RooM News, reading suggestions
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