The vibrant cover of Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras gives no hint of the heartbreak and violence that lies in this story of two girls forced to grow up way too soon by a conflict that they do not understand. Set in a turbulent Bogota, Colombia, this book is based on an imagining of what did not but could have happened in the author's own life. The book is slow reading, but the characters are heartbreaking.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/04/fruit-of-drunken-tree.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

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I listened to Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras for my in-person book club's April meeting, and it fostered an interesting discussion among our members.

I began reading with little knowledge of the plot, and really wish I had first read the author's note as the novel was inspired by her life. I felt the novel dragged in the first half, but as soon as I was done reading, I was thankful I experienced this story.

The setting is 1990s Bogota, Columbia and the primary characters are seven-year-old Chula Santiago and Patrona, her family's thirteen-year-old live-in maid. In this time period, Columbia was devastated by violence (rape, kidnapping, assassination, etc.) caused by drug lord Pablo Escobar and communist guerrillas. In her note, the author shares that during this time, kidnapping was so pervasive, either you or someone you know had experienced it.

This is a story of contrasts. Between the natural beauty of Bogota and the ugly political turmoil. Between the privileged life of the Santiago family and the stark poverty and violence in which Patrona's family lives. Between the life Chula imagined her family living when they fled to the United States and the reality that awaited them.

The audiobook, narrated by Marisol Ramirez and Almarie Guerra, was excellent, especially for the Spanish words and phrases.

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