The Taste of Many Mountains

September 1, 2014

Four graduate students travel to Guatemala to study the effects of fair trade vs. free trade on coffee growers and poverty. Their task is to follow a bag of coffee beans from the impoverished grower in Guatemala to the rich java drinker in the United States. Angela, one of the students, also sees this as an opportunity to learn about the culture of her native country, as she was adopted from Guatemala as a baby by an American couple. Much of the book involves minor characters telling stories or discussing economic and historical issues, which interrupts the narrative instead of enhancing it. VERDICT This debut novel that centers on coffee and its role in economic policy conflicts treats readers to a lot of economic theory, complete with professional jargon. While there are some compelling episodes involving the students' work and Central American culture, this rather dry work from University of San Francisco economics professor Wydick does not have wide appeal.--Margaret Bentley, Shiawassee Dist. Lib., Owosso, MI

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