Book Review: The Vineyard by María Dueñas

About:
The Vineyard by María Dueñas is a fictional book set in the mid 18^th Century in Mexico, Cuba, and Spain. Ms. Dueñas was born in Spain and is a university professor of English and Literature, this is her third novel in English.

• 544 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1501124536

The publisher is giving away one Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book – enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

My rat­ing for The Vineyard  — 5
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Thoughts:
It took me awhile to figure it out, but once I started reading this novel I immediately realized that I read the author’s previous book Time in Between, a novel following the life of a Spanish woman’s journey from her humble beginnings as a poor seamstress, to an English spy during World War II. I enjoyed The Time in Between very much which set the bar for The Vineyard by María Dueñas in a high plain.

María Dueñas’ narrative is delicious, she takes her time building her story and acquainting the readers with her characters. I truly felt, almost, as if I was reading this book in Spanish (I wish I would be able to) because I feel that I missed a lot of the character’s expressions and geographical speech patterns which are missing from English translation.

This book is long, but it’s a satisfying read – something which I rarely say about translated books (which I love) because something is always missing. The author beautifully weaved the diverse cast, a lyrical narrative, and painted scenery to achieve a complex picture through words.

Synopsis:
Mauro Larrea has built his fortune with his own two hands, first toiling at mines and then owning them. But Larrea’s fortunes come tumbling down along with the Mexican economy and he sees his hard work being wiped away almost overnight.

In a last ditch effort to save his fortune and good name, Larrea puts it all on the line on a daring move that he believes can re-institute his fortune. In an unplanned move, he somehow finds himself owning a vineyard in Spain, fighting for both his good name, his fortune and, of course, a woman.

Buy The Vineyard  from Amazon.com*
More Books by María Dueña*

Give­away

• Give­away ends: October 26, 2017
  

• Winners must have a valid e-mail address

• US Address Only please

• Win­ners will have 24 hours to write back with their address, oth­er­wise an alter­nate win­ner will be picked

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
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