Neha and Shruti head to Colombia, delving into the world of Pablo Escobar and drug cartels as they discuss the second book of the season, Fruit of the Drunken Tree. We talk about the historical context in which this story is set while unpacking how the characters are affected by their sacrifices and the spaces they occupy. They also get into a discussion about the origins of the term ‘magical realism,’ and the questionable colonialist mindset that fuels the term’s use in today’s age.

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Links:

Essay: What We Talk About When We Talk About Magical Realism

Shelf Discovery:

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Shruti - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett; and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

Neha - Stay with Me by Ayobami Adebayo

*Content warning: sexual assault. Skip through 33:15-36:00 to skip this section

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