Palm Trees in the Snow

At once an epic family drama and a sweeping love story that spans both an ocean and a generation, Palm Trees in the Snow is an emotionally gripping and historically vivid tale of the secrets that can destroy a family—and the bonds that endure.

When Clarence of Rabaltué discovers a series of old letters from her father’s past, she begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about her once-noble family. Her father and his brother worked in the colony of Fernando Po, but these letters tell a different story than the tales of life in Africa that made it to the dinner table. Clarence has no idea what really went on during their time at the cocoa plantations—or why no one in her family has ever returned to the island in all the years since. But the letters suggest that a great love story is buried beneath the years of silence.

Setting out from her home in Spain’s snowy mountains, Clarence makes the same journey across the sea that her uncle and father traveled before her. There, she unlocks the painful secrets her family has hidden in the rich African soil. But what she discovers may also be the key to awakening her own listless heart.

Luz Gabás was born in 1968 in the city of Monzón, Spain. After spending a year in San Luis Obispo in California, she studied in Zaragoza, Spain, where she graduated with a degree in English literature. She later became a professor at the university. For years she has combined her academic work with translation projects, writing articles and literary and linguistic research and participating in cultural, theatrical, and cinematic projects. She moved to the beautiful town of Anciles in 2007 and lives next to the Benasque villa, where she now spends most of her time writing. Her debut novel, Palm Trees in the Snow, was a bestseller upon publication in Spain and was adapted into a major motion picture.