Black Sugar - Softcover

Miguel Bonnefoy; Emily Boyce (Translator)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1910477524 ISBN 13: 9781910477526

Publisher: Gallic Books, 2018

Synopsis

A prize-winning author's magical realist fable about greed and corruption in Venezuela, Black Sugar gives a fascinating view of the country's social and economic development throughout the twentieth century through the story of a family of sugarcane growers. It tells of buried treasure and the legendary privateer Henry Morgan.

‘Black Sugar is a beautiful generational saga akin to One Hundred Years of Solitude or The House of the Spirits ... Bonnefoy never loses his own voice and continues to write with strokes of brilliant colours and sounds.’ The Book Bag

With a pitch-perfect translation by Emily Boyce, this is a beautifully crafted tale of how small loves can grow into the big ones, often quite unexpectedly. - The Irish Times

About this title

Review:

'Black Sugar is a beautiful generational saga akin to One Hundred Years of Solitude or The House of the Spirits ... Bonnefoy never loses his own voice and continues to write with strokes of brilliant colours and sounds.' (The Book Bag)

'Rich in sensuous imagery and wonderful descriptions.' (Trip Fiction)

'Gallic Books have a lovely knack for publishing quirky and engaging novels, often compact and always accessible. Miguel Bonnefoy continues that tradition with his intriguing second novel, Black Sugar (...) With a pitch-perfect translation by Emily Boyce, this is a beautifully crafted tale of how small loves can grow into the big ones, often quite unexpectedly.' (The Irish Times)

'Black Sugar comes out at a time when Venezuela is in the news for violence and turmoil. But Bonnefoy’s prose bursts with pride for the region and its people (...) It’s an important book to read right now.' (Necessary Fiction)

'Entirely satisfying (...) Black Sugar holds its own in the Latin American magical-realism tradition.’ (Foreword Reviews)

'Black Sugar stands out as one of the beautiful surprises of this autumn ... Here, everything is lived to the full, love passion and desire for power, fidelity and ambition.' (L'Express)

'Bonnefoy’s French and South American heritage infuse the novel, it combines the best of the European tradition and magical realism. It’s a mix of folklore and exotic storytelling. Rich in description, lyrical, elegant and fantastical.' (Nudge Magazine)

‘Its lyricism and vivid descriptions of a tropical landscape make it worth stopping by for.’ (The Big Issue)

From the Author:

I wrote it to pay homage to my country, Venezuela. I liked the idea of talking about pirates, gold hunters, strong women, shipwrecks, tropical fiestas and rum distilleries in a story where a family of rum makers live on the deep traditions of the sugar cane culture. I also wanted the book to be a metaphor of Venezuelan oil, and the characters to be the 20th century inhabitants who failed to realise that the true treasure lays in the fruits of harvesting sugar cane and not a few metres underground in a chest sealed with golden nails.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallic Books
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1910477524
• ISBN 13: 9781910477526
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 112