Fruit of the drunken tree
Monthly Drop-in book club -- thursday, march 26, 2026
Join our book club!
Each month we read a book by an international author. Our hour-long Zoom chats are lively, thought-provoking, and reminiscent of our college days. You are welcome to join at any time!
Our next meeting is on Thursday, March 26th at 7:00pm
Our March book is:
Fruit of the Drunken Tree, by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
Below is a quick summary of the book frorm Goodreads.
In the vein of Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a mesmerizing debut set against the backdrop of the devastating violence of 1990's Colombia about a sheltered young girl and a teenage maid who strike an unlikely friendship that threatens to undo them both.
The Santiago family lives in a gated community in Bogotá, safe from the political upheaval terrorizing the country. Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to this protective bubble, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation.
When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city's guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona's mysterious ways. But Petrona's unusual behavior belies more than shyness. She is a young woman crumbling under the burden of providing for her family as the rip tide of first love pulls her in the opposite direction. As both girls' families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy that will force them both to choose between sacrifice and betrayal.
Inspired by the author's own life, and told through the alternating perspectives of the willful Chula and the achingly hopeful Petrona, Fruit of the Drunken Tree contrasts two very different, but inextricable coming-of-age stories. In lush prose, Rojas Contreras sheds light on the impossible choices women are often forced to make in the face of violence and the unexpected connections that can blossom out of desperation.
**If you have any trouble with the Zoom log in, please email lkaci@post.harvard.edu so that someone can address the issue right away.**
Harvard Club of Southern Connecticut is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Monthly Book Club
Time: Feb 26, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Every month on the Last Thu, 35 occurrence(s)
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Here is a list of books the club has read so far:
Madonna in a Fur Coat, by Sabahattin Ali (Turkish writer)
A Wild Sheep Chase, by Haruki Murakami (Japanese writer)
Foreigner, by Nachid Rachlin (Iranian writer)
The Concert, by Ismail Kadare (Albanian writer)
This is Happiness, by Niall Williams (Irish writer)
Sweetness, by Torgny Lindgren (Swedish writer)
Spill, Simmer, Falter, Wither, by Sara Baume (Irish writer)
Wickett’s Remedy, by Myla Goldberg (American writer)
Immortality, by Milan Kundera (Czech writer)
An Artist of the Floating World, by Kazuo Ishiguro (Japanese-British writer)
Cambridge, by Caryl Phillips (St. Kitts & Nevis/British writer)
Here Comes, There Goes, You Know Who, by William Saroyan (Armenian-American writer)
Cannery Row, by John Steinbeck (American writer)
The Life of God (As Told by Himself), by Franco Ferrucci (Italian-American writer)
A Good Man is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor (American writer)
Free, by Lea Ypi (Albanian writer)
A Short Tale of Shame, by Angel Igov (Bulgarian writer)
Nada, by Carmen Laforet (Spanish writer)
Double Negative, by Ivan Vladislavic (South African writer)
Blind Faith, by Sagarika Ghose (Indian writer)
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry (Indian writer)
So Long a Letter, by Mariama Ba (Senegalese writer)
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie (Chinese writer)
Raising Sparks, by Ariel Kahn (Israeli-American writer)
Giants in the Earth, by O. E. Rølvaag (Norwegian writer)
Kairos, by Jenny Erpenbeck (German writer)
Vi, by Kim Thúy (Vietnamese-Canadian writer)
On the Edge of Reason, by Miroslav Krleža (Croatian writer)
The Bad Girl, by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peruvian writer)
In the Country of Others, by Leila Slimani (French-Moroccan writer)
Queen Esther, by John Irving (American writer)