In Colombia you have to pick a side. Or one will be picked for you . . .All Pedro Gutiérrez cares about is fishing, playing pool and his girlfriend Camila’s promise to sleep with him on his sixteenth birthday. But his life is ripped apart when Guerrilla soldiers callously execute his father in front of him, and he and his mother are banished from their farm.Swearing vengeance against the five men … farm.
Swearing vengeance against the five men responsible, Pedro, with his best friend, Palillo, joins an illegal Paramilitary group, where he is trained to fight, kill and crush any sign of weakness.
But as he descends into a world of unspeakable violence, Pedro must decide how far he is willing to go. Can he stop himself before he becomes just as ruthless as those he is hunting? Or will his dark obsession cost him all he loves?
Colombiano is a an epic novel of rural villages held to ransom, of jungle drug labs, cocaine supermarkets, witch doctors and buried millions, of innocent teenage love and meticulously-planned revenge.
Both blockbuster thriller and electrifying coming-of-age story, Rusty Young’s riveting novel is also a mediation on the redeeming power of love.
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This book by Rusty Young was quite good. Some based on true events and some was fictionalized. For me it was a big to long. I could not get past chapter 40. I had lost interest in the book because it was way to long for my liking. Now don’t get me wrong, he is a great writer. He could have broken up the book in maybe 2 maybe 3 books. Again it was way to long for me.
I got a free copy of the book and is voluntarily leaving a review
Raw and gritty are just some of the words to describe this book. Experienced through young children’s eyes, this story takes you into the heart of the Colombian war where corruption is part of everyday life. With poverty the main ingredient to fuel it even further, people simply didn’t care or just turned a blind eye to the evil in their streets. In the back grownups pulled the strings and law and order stayed hidden.
Written in the first person you experienced life through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old boy. Pedro grew up fairly normal amidst all this turmoil, shielded by loving parents, but when his father is killed he changed from a teenager to a young man, overnight. Suddenly he was the grownup that had to act when the rest of the community stayed indoors. With no help to be found he is forced to make decisions that would change him forever.
From the moment he stepped into the Autodefensa’s grounds you experienced his pain, turmoil, and hatred for the men who killed his father. That hatred fueled him to take risks no ordinary teenager should make. As a brilliant student, he had a future but as a soldier, he carried a world on his shoulders he wasn’t old enough to comprehend. Yet, he managed to do the right thing, knowing the consequences his mother would face.
This determination carried him forward until his town and region were saved from the greedy grownups.
The story is heartwarming and brutal at the same time. The brutality these young soldiers endured is unfathomable if you haven’t lived it yourself, but it is part of the story which made it true. Without it, you would not be able to really comprehend the horrors they faced. This boy-soldier became a force not to be underestimated.
The author’s writing is clear and simple, the book’s length filled with rhymic words which made it easy to read. The narrative is simplistic in its deliverance which keeps you connected while always drawing you in.
Alongside Pedro, you learned about his friends, Papito, Nono, Camilla, Alpha 1 and many more. People that shared his new life through hardships, deceit, and anguish while fighting the dark forces of cocaine and greed. Their supporting roles either positive or negative had a huge impact on his life. What really stood out for me about Pedro was his devotion to his parents, and how to fix their lives the only way he knew how. His Papa the one constant throughout his life.
This is a wonderful story I really can recommend. Devotion, patriotism, friendship, religion, and a small dose of romance made this a remarkable book. The author’s knowledge and sensitivity to this topic left you emphatic about this country and the turmoil they face.
4 bright stars for a very long(819 pages) book. The author was an undercover agent for the U.S. Government. He was assisting the Colombian Government’s anti terrorist operations. During this time he interviewed many former soldiers from FARC, the Communist guerrilla organization, and AUC, the right wing paramilitary organization.
FARC has waged war against the government for 50 years or more. Both they and AUC draft child soldiers as young as 8 years old. The civil war is vicious and cruel. Both sides use torture and profit from sale of narcotics.
The book is an autobiography of an ex AUC soldier whose name has been changed. It starts with Pedro joining the AUC after FARC murders his father in front of him. At the end of the book peace is declared by all sides. According to news stories, the peace has held up for several years, but FARC has recently complained of unfair treatment.
One quote by Pedro: “To someone who has not had a parent stolen from them, I can only attempt to explain how t feels. It’s like having part of yourself hacked off without warning.”
Thanks to Havelock & Baker Publishing for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
This novel mixes a bit of both fact and fiction, revenge, corruption, cocaine, and betrayal. This is the violent world that Pedro lives in.
When his grandfather is executed in his presence, he and his mother are banished from their home.
Swearing vengeance against the five men responsible, Pedro, with his best friend, Palillo, joins an illegal Paramilitary group, where he is trained to fight, kill and crush any sign of weakness.
This is quite a story .. it’s an extremely long read, but truly worth reading. It’s a page-turning, action packed, story of a boy’s becoming a man… a man who will have to make some hard decisions. Will he become as violent and vicious as those he is hunting? Is there a line to be crossed?
The author has done his research thoroughly in creating an epic novel with credible characters. I was captivated from the very first page to the very last.
Many thanks to the author / Havelock & Baker Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of this incredible novel. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
4.5 stars