the author did an incredible job at portraying chula’s age throughout the book. you really only know what she knew, which felt frustrating at times as a reader but really carried what rojas contreras wanted to do. the compression of space and time during traumatic moments reinforced how the human mind can just go blank. 

petrona and chula show two very different experiences in 80s and 90s colombia & i felt like i learned a lot from this book, but didn’t feel huge emotional connections to any of the characters

I cannot imagine living through the hardships and terrifying reality described here. Thank you for sharing your story.

I found this book to be a refreshing new perspective on the oft told, dramatized story of Pablo Escobar. Layering these stories against the backdrop of his reign in Colombia was aching, heartbreaking, inspiring. I profoundly appreciated what I learned about what was suffered and lost by the Colombian people, and the events that spur the immigrant experience. This book is beautifully poetic and complex. 4.5 stars.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras is this month's pick for @theempirestatebookclub. This is a historical fiction read set in Pablo Escobar era Colombia. It was a slow burn read that leads to a heart-breaking gut punch that leaves you thinking about the characters long after you close the pages. 

"So much of my life was waiting." This quote personifies the tone and pacing of this one. You see the story unravel through the eyes of 7 year old Chula, a  rich girl trying to make sense of the world through observation of everything and everyone around her. She waits to see if Pablo Escobar will infiltrate her community because at home her parents instill fear in his larger than life reputation. She hides and waits observing all that she can about Petrona, the 15 year old girl hired by her mother to work at her house. As a reader you wait alongside her until it all comes boiling to the surface. As you wait, you learn: who are the victims in "drug wars", how classism and poverty affect the choices people are forced to make, whose lives are expendable and how women and children bear thr brunt of the consequences of civil unrest. 

The themes in this one are what I will remember the most. The women are the backbone in the story and you see them bear the brunt of the burden when it comes to childbearing and financial responsibilities when men are absent either by choice or violence. You see women as agents of upholding or dismantling classism and patriarchy. You also see how women are abused and face violence because of political unrest. 

The innocence of children is a huge part of the story. Parental influence and the perpetuation of a culture of fear create huge anxieties and trauma for children living during civil unrest. Parents often withhold truths to "protect" children and keep them alive but many times leaves them susceptible to dangerous situations. 

Classism plays a huge role in the events of this novel. Poverty & lack of resources force people to make impossible choices. The rich can't see past their own problems until something happens in their backyard. Survival comes at a cost. This one forces you to take a look at what that looks like.

Read this one if you enjoy: visual storytelling styles, Latinx historical fiction, feminist stories, slow burn riveting stories, folkloric fiction and multiple point of views. The focus on women and children in this one really gave it a unique point of view. The historical aspects piqued my interest so much, I found myself researching more information. I look forward to reading Rojas Contreras memoir because I can see how much of her own family's story is contained in this one. I am eager to read more from her because the writing was really beautiful, authentic and really gave a glimpse into Colombian worldview.

I saw a lot of parallels while reading Fruit of the Drunken Tree. Ingrid Rojas Contreras did a magnificent job of capturing a young girl's coming of age in a Colombia that is divided amongst government, guerrillas, paramilitary and Pablo Escobar. What follows is a wonderful and heartbreaking story of an unlikely bond between young Chula and Petrona.
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Contreras deftly paints each scene (based in part on her childhood), with clarity and emotion. She does not spare us as she introduces us to the hardship that Petrona endures as she has to take up the mantle of breadwinner and supporter for her sick mother and siblings. 
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The stark realities of what one can be pushed to in moments of utter desperation; the horrors that befalls women, girls and the vulnerable when corruption festers; how far the evils of unrest can spread, encompassing even those who seem to exist beyond the epicentre of it's reach.
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It is a story of family, country, survival, new beginnings and most of all the strength of hope.
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Read this book. You won't regret it.
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