Where There Was Fire
by John Manuel Arias
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Pub Date 22 Feb 2024 | Archive Date 22 Feb 2024
Pan Macmillan | Picador
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Description
Where There Was Fire brims with ancestral spirits, omens and the forces of nature. John Manuel Arias’s extraordinary debut novel weaves a brilliant tapestry of love – lost and found again – and, ultimately, redemption.
Costa Rica, 1968. When a lethal fire erupts at the American Fruit Company’s most lucrative banana plantation, burning all evidence of a massive cover-up, the future of Teresa Cepeda Valverde’s family is changed for ever.
Now, twenty-seven years later, Teresa and her daughter Lyra are still picking up the pieces. Lyra wants nothing to do with Teresa, but is desperate to find out what happened to her family that fateful night. Teresa, haunted by a missing husband and the bitter ghost of her mother, is unable to reconcile the past. What unfolds is a story of a mother and daughter trying to forgive what they do not yet understand, and the mystery at the heart of one family’s rupture, steeped in machismo, jealousy and greed.
Advance Praise
'A lush and ambitious debut . . . An exciting new voice with a prowess for lyricism' ― Publishers Weekly
'Every page is a masterclass in how to wrap a reader inside of a book. Simply put, this book will make you want to re-read it just to spend more time with the writing' ― Debutiful
'A haunting, operatic saga of family, history and place. Where There Was Fire beautifully braids love, lust, magic and the destructive power of man to wondrous and, at times, heartbreaking effect. Arias has created an utterly original, unforgettable tale of family that will sear a place in the reader's soul' ― Xochitl Gonzalez, bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming
An arresting tale of love, regret, and redemption. John Manuel Arias offers a searing look into the legacy of American agribusiness in Costa Rica and masterfully tells the story of a family fighting to put itself back together in the wake of unimaginable loss. As poetic as it is powerful, Where There Was Fire burns with rage and grief, and most of all, hope' ― Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781035041374 |
| PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
| PAGES | 288 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Sylwia P, Reviewer
(...)absurd that a family could so easily be torn asunder. Member by member, horror by horror. And it befell on family like Teresa's, so seemingly full of love. That was what truly devastated everyone involved and anyone else who learned it as a legend. If it could happen to them, what else was possible?
Costa Rica 1968, when American Fruit Company banana plantation is ablaze, life of many irreversibly change. Teresa's world crumbles, and the consequences of that night will affects future generations of her family.
I loved it! I was hooked from the first chapter and stayed up late at night to finish this story. It was compelling, rich and moving. I was fully invested in this family saga and slowly unrevealing story of how greed of big corporate company destroyed life of ordinary people. I really enjoyed the writing style. It reminded me of G.Garcia Marquez. Its an amazing debut novel.
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General Fiction (Adult), Literary Fiction, Women's Fiction
