Reviews with content warning for Violence - Fruit of the Drunken Tree

Rojas Contreras is a beautiful writer. The imagery and emotional impact of her stories are not ones you will soon forget. If you are a fan of the Kite Runner, this story is in the same vein.

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sierraburrell's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book held my attention. It was interesting hearing the girls’ different perspectives because their actions made sense once you heard their inner dialogue. I felt for them. The line between innocence and survival is paper thin.

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biblioteca_nati's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.75

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arisol's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I am always grateful to learn from what I read, especially in a case like this one where so much of the characters' perspectives highlights a lived reality separate from what is known. And yet, this was a heavy story where

the violent and explicit rape of Petrona

weighed strongly on me.

I am appreciative of the story and the author's telling, especially as it served to strengthen the experiences of young people beyond the infantilization that so often occurs. As I am not usually a fan of stories written from children's perspectives, I can emphasize that Chula's side was well done in this novel.

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dreamingandendless's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A flash from the past. I was born after the time the book describes but every Colombian my age knows of the 80s and 90s. Guerrilla and Narcos and assassinations and car bombs and kidnappings.
The book captures Colombians' relationship with violence. An eternal Civil war with changing factions that have left millions upon millions without a home. The narrator is a child which is by far the best way to try and explain to people how it was, how it feels the first time you turn on the news and something horrible happened near to you.
Written from a priveledged perspective, it is nonetheless powerful and emotionally charged. The book hits very close to home, since I too left Colombia for more hopeful horizons. The protagonist's older sister acts pretty much as I have these last year's in expatriation, trying to forget, trying to excel and overcome. The feeling of smallness you have. People don't understand where you've come from.

I am distraught. The writing is very good and I don't know if I can say anything too damning of the book. Unsure what non-colombian US/European audiences will get out of this book. Some sick sense of voyeuristic smugness?

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