Tale of a Certain Orient by Milton Hatoum

Tale of a Certain Orient

Milton Hatoum

What a strange but moving story. As I slowly found out more and more about Emilie and her life I became lost in that harsh but eerie world in the heart of the Amazon and in Emilie's struggle with life, with love and with her nearest and dearest. But don't be put off - I laughed often with this wonderful, warring and loving family.

Extract
In the intense sunlight everyone seemed to be made of bronze; the only discordant notes were the flowery pattern on Emilie's skirt and the red stain still spreading along the sheet that had become a cocoon, the head like a hat, of the most intense, most concentrated red, as if the colour had exploded there, at one of the body's extremities.
Parallels
  • The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
  • The Eye of the Storm by Patrick White
  • The Brothers by Milton Hatoum