Life in a remote Venezuelan village is transformed by successive travellers seeking Henry Morgan's legendary buried treasure.

Life in a remote Venezuelan village is transformed by successive travellers seeking Henry Morgan's legendary buried treasure. A prize-winning author's magical realist fable about greed and corruption in Venezuela, Black Sugar gives a fascinating view of the country's social and economic development throughout the twentieth century through the story of a family of sugarcane growers. It tells of buried treasure and the legendary privateer Henry Morgan.

‘Bonnefoy’s French and South American heritage infuse the novel, it combines the best of the European tradition and magical realism. It’s a mix of folklore and exotic storytelling. Rich in description, lyrical, elegant and fantastical’ Nudge

‘Black Sugar is a beautiful generational saga akin to One Hundred Years of Solitude or The House of the Spirits … Bonnefoy never loses his own voice and continues to write with strokes of brilliant colours and sounds’ The Book Bag

‘Black Sugar stands out as one of the beautiful surprises of this autumn … Here, everything is lived to the full, love passion and desire for power, fidelity and ambition.’ L’Express 

'Rich in sensuous imagery and wonderful descriptions' Trip Fiction

'Gallic Books have a lovely knack for publishing quirky and engaging novels, often compact and always accessible. Miguel Bonnefoy continues that tradition with his intriguing second novel, Black Sugar (...) With a pitch-perfect translation by Emily Boyce, this is a beautifully crafted tale of how small loves can grow into the big ones, often quite unexpectedly' The Irish Times

'Black Sugar comes out at a time when Venezuela is in the news for violence and turmoil. But Bonnefoy’s prose bursts with pride for the region and its people (...) It’s an important book to read right now' Necessary Fiction

'Entirely satisfying (…) Black Sugar holds its own in the Latin American magical-realism tradition’ Foreword Reviews

‘Its lyricism and vivid descriptions of a tropical landscape make it worth stopping by for.’ The Big Issue 

Praise for Miguel Bonnefoy

'An unforgettable new voice' Le Soir

‘A wonderful debut’ Libération

‘Simply magical’ Elle

‘A masterfully composed poetic and picaresque fable’ Le Figaro