Rating: ★★★★☆
Genres: Historical Fiction
Fruit of the Drunken Tree tells the story of two girls, Chula and Petrona, during the late 80s and then 90s in Colombia, when drug lord Pablo Escobar was active and fear was in the hearts of Colombians. Petrona, a girl who lives in the Invasión, a poverty-stricken neighborhood, starts working for the Santiago family as a maid. Little by little, she gets entangled in the violent, bloody plans of the guerrilhas. The two children of the Santiagos, Chula and Cassandra, are protected from the violence by the money of their family.
This was a gorgeous story, with fear, innocence and hope permeating the pages. I loved the personal way that this shows the reality of so many families in such fearful times. This is such a powerful story, even more so because it’s based on the author’s personal history. I recommend picking this up as a physical book instead of audiobook, because you can enjoy the writing better that way.
