Ingrid Rojas Contreras: Fruit of the Drunken Tree, Doubleday (Penguin Random House) USA, 9780385542722, hardback, available,  (No German translation yet)

Ingrid Rojas Contreras has written an extraordinary, colorful and atmospheric debut novel, a coming of age story of three girls from very different backgrounds growing up in Bogota, Columbia. 

But it is so much more, it is a heart wrenching story of growing up facing daily dangers in Columbia’s guerilla war with Pablo Escobar virtually ruling the country in the 1990 ties. It is an immigrant story, a story of impossible choices and a story of betrayal, friendship and family love.  “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” reminds me so much of two masterful Latin female writers, Julia Alvarez and Sandra Cisneros, whose work I greatly admire and whose novels describe similar circumstances as that of the Santiago family.  Although the publisher compares the novel to Isabel Allende or Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s work, I disagree. Their work is more influenced by magical realism whereas “Fruit of the Drunken Tree” draws more from real life experiences by the author.

The voices of willful 7 year old Chula and her opinionated older sister Cassandra alternate with that of their 15 year old maid, Petrona. Their lives are brutally different. Cassandra and Chula are privileged, growing up in a wealthier part of Bogota with security protection, a beautiful, stay at home, gutsy mother and a mostly absent father whose job as a well-paid manager of an oil company provides for their daily comforts. Petronas world in contrast is hopeless and bleak.  Her income is the only one, feeding a family of 8, her older brothers having left and refusing to work for the wealthy choosing a life of crime, her asthmatic mother unable to work. Home is a hut on the “hills”, one of Bogota’s slums. Her father disappeared years ago, her little brother Ramon did not survive his 12^th birthday working for the guerillas. The growing danger of surviving car bombs, kidnappings and assassinations in Columbia casts shadows over both families and escalates when Petrona falls in love with Gorrion, a guerilla gang member.  As Petrona is sucked into Gorrions life and his gang member’s demands on her, she is faced with an impossible decision.  

I highly recommend this book, could not put it down. I saw it listed as “Best books of the years” several times; the author is definitely someone to watch out for in the future!

 

Chris Mooney: The Snowgirls, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House UK,  9781405932530, paperback, pub date November 15,2018

(He is published in German but no publication yet for this brand new novel)

I rate Chris Mooney as one of the best psychological thriller writers working today, having read a few of his Darby Mc Cormick books. “The Snowgirls” is one of his bests in my opinion; the plot is tight and leaves room for various outcomes until the very end. The author reserves the resolution until the last pages which makes it a gripping, fast paced read, I had no clue how it would end for a very long time.

Chris Mooney uses the current topic of pedophile priests in the US as his storyline. It has been a while since Claire Flynne disappeared while sledding on a neighborhood Belham hill. Investigator Darby Mc Cormick, with a Harvard PhD as a forensic psychologist, is called in as an expert by police investigator Kennedy when he is assigned to cold cases. The key suspect had been Father Richard Bryne, who was also linked to two previous disappearances of young girls. The police were never able to come up with enough evidence to pin him to a court case. The case has a personal connections for Darby as none other than her first love Mickey Flynne is the father of missing Claire. His life has been completely destroyed after his child vanished. When Darby interviews the now defrocked Father Bryne, she learns he is terminally ill having only weeks to live. He is anything from repentant, quite to the contrary he has some disturbing information for Darby and seems to glee in it. It becomes very clear that some powerful connections are willing to do anything to prevent Darby and the police from digging up the disappearance of the three snowgirls.

If you are looking for a gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns that will keep you on your couch for a rainy November weekend, this would be an excellent choice.

Joachim Meyerhoff: Ach, diese Lücke, diese entsetzliche Lücke, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Paperback,

Was für ein wunderbares Buch! Vielfach empfohlen, endlich mal wieder ein deutsches Buch gekauft und mit dem allergrößten Vergnügen gelesen. Wie Joachim Meyerhoff die dreieinhalb Jahre als Untermieter in der Villa seiner betagten, exzentrischen Großeltern voller Wärme und Humor beschreibt, ist einfach herzerwärmend. Oft musste ich lauthals lachen, vor allem wenn er die Alkohol getränkten, täglichen Rituale dieses Ehepaares beschreibt, die er kaum überlebt und sich mit dem Treppenlift der Großeltern in den ersten Stock zum Schlafzimmer hieven lassen muss.  Unerwartet war er tatsächlich an der berühmten Schauspielschule in München angenommen worden und da kein bezahlbares Zimmer in Aussicht war, nahmen ihn die Großeltern kurzer Hand auf.  Die täglichen Qualen an der Schauspielschule beschreibt er genauso eindringlich wie die Vergangenheit der Familie und den dann doch bald einsetzende altersbedingte Zerfall der Großeltern, hier wechselt Humor übergangslos in die Tragik.  Ich habe dieses Buch von ganzem Herzen von der ersten bis zur letzten Seite sehr gemocht, 5 Sterne von mir!

What a wonderful book, unfortunately not available in English – why I ask myself. The title has been on the German bestseller list for several years but perhaps it is too German to reach the print run quantities required for an international publishers. Joachim Meyerhoff did not expect to be accepted at a famous acting academy in Munich. When he cannot find a decent priced room, his grandparents who own a large villa in one of Munich’s wealthier parts, ask him to come and live with them. The description of their daily alcohol fused rituals had me laughing out loud, particularly when the author himself barely makes it up to his room having to use the lift his aging grandparents had installed.  His description of miserable days at the acting school, his families past and the slow decline of his parents are very honest , touching and warm switching between humorous and tragic episodes. I loved this book from start to finish, 5 stars from me.