“Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon” by Jorge Amado (Brazil)

Favourite Quote

Life was good, one had only to live it. To warm oneself in the sun, then take a cold bath; to eat guavas and mangoes, to chew peppercorn, to walk through the streets, to sing songs, to sleep with a young man. And to dream of another.

Synopsis

Ilheus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonca discovers his wife in bed with a lover, he shoots and kills them both. Political contests, too, can be settled by gunshot… No one imagines that a bedraggled migrant worker who turns up in town – least of all Gabriela herself – will be the agent of change. Nacib Saad has just lost the cook at his popular cafe and in desperation hires Gabriela. To his surprise she turns out to be a great beauty as well as a wonderful cook and an enchanting boon to his business… Read more

Nicola’s Creative Reading Group reading list

Year 3 – “Americas (North, Central and South)” (Oct 2008 – Jun 2009)

“Larry’s Party” by Carol Shields (Canada)
“American Desert” by Percival Everett (U.S.)
“Swift as Desire” by Laura Esquivel (Mexico)
“The Weight of All Things” by Sandra Benitez (El Salvador)
“In Evil Hour” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombia)
“Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon” by Jorge Amado (Brazil)
“The Time of the Hero” by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
“Inés of My Soul” by Isabel Allende (Chile)
“The Invention of Morel” by Adolfo Bioy Casares (Argentina)