A review by sssnoo
Palm Trees in the Snow by Luz Gabás
4.0
I waivered between 3 and 4 stars for this book. I have to say it took me forever to read it - literally months, and that is very unusual for me. It was slow and some of the colonial perspective made my skin crawl. That said there are few books that so vividly portray Equatorial Guinea and the cocoa plantations that give us our chocolate. Learning that history in the context os a well written novel is pleasurable. Some of the language in the book is memorable in its beauty. I read it in English so in Spanish I expect it is remarkable. The romance aspects were not very compelling to me except for Basila's. She was the one woman that stode out far ahead of the others in personal integrety and strength.
I appreciated the author's end notes. The book is thoroughly researched. I believe some of the aspects that I didn't like very much were because, well, they were times in history portrayed fairly acurately and they are depressing times I wish history could do over. The characters flaws, while irritating are also probably pretty representative of how relationships are seen across the spectrum. I recommend the read.
I appreciated the author's end notes. The book is thoroughly researched. I believe some of the aspects that I didn't like very much were because, well, they were times in history portrayed fairly acurately and they are depressing times I wish history could do over. The characters flaws, while irritating are also probably pretty representative of how relationships are seen across the spectrum. I recommend the read.