Where There Was Fire
22 February 2024Imprint: Picador
Synopsis
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...
Details
22 February 2024288 pages
9781035041374Imprint: Picador
Reviews
A lush and ambitious debut . . . An exciting new voice with a prowess for lyricismPublishers 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 soulXochitl 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, hopeJenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky
