Global Domination Challenge

I am so excited to announce that I will be participating in the

Global Domination Challenge hosted by Insatiable Booksluts.

 

No, this is not cheating, but I may be able to satisfy my Around the World Challenge with my Global Domination Challenge, and vice versa. So basically, it makes total sense to participate in both. Right?

I will be a Day Tripper:
New to foreign literature? Short on reading time and need to be economical? Start with this challenge. Read the following for a total of six books:

• 1 book from Latin or South America - Gabriela, Cloves and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado (Brazil)
• 1 non-English book from Europe
• 1 book from Africa
• 1 book from Asia
• 1 non-United States English book
• 1 book from the Middle East

I will be blogging about the books I read for this challenge throughout the year, and encourage you to sign up at Insatiable Booksluts so you can be a part of this, too.

The first book I have chosen to read is Gabriela, Cloves and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado. This was a book my father wanted to read during his trip to Brazil. I had never heard of it before, but the story actually sounds really engaging:

Ilhéus in 1925 is a booming town with a record cacao crop and aspirations for progress, but the traditional ways prevail. When Colonel Mendonça 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 café 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. But what would people say if Nacib were to marry her?

Lusty, satirical and full of intrigue, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon is a vastly entertaining panorama of small town Brazilian life.