The unbelievable true story of a young girl who is abandoned in the Colombian jungle and finds asylum in the most unlikely of places—with a troop of capuchin monkeys In 1954, in a remote mountain village in South America, a little girl was abducted. She was four years old. Marina Chapman was stolen from her housing estate and then abandoned deep in the Colombian jungle. That she survived is a … she survived is a miracle. Two days later, half-drugged, terrified, and starving, she came upon a troop of capuchin monkeys. Acting entirely on instinct, she tried to do what they did: she ate what they ate and copied their actions, and little by little, learned to fend for herself.
So begins the story of her five years among the monkeys, during which time she gradually became feral; she lost the ability to speak, lost all inhibition, lost any real sense of being human, replacing the structure of human society with the social mores of her new simian family. But society was eventually to reclaim her. At age ten, she was discovered by a pair of hunters who took her to the lawless Colombian city of Cucuta where, in exchange for a parrot, they sold her to a brothel. When she learned that she was to be groomed for prostitution, she made her plans to escape. But her adventure wasn’t over yet . . .
In the vein of Slumdog Millionaire and City of God, this rousing story of a lost child who overcomes the dangers of the wild and the brutality of the streets to finally reclaim her life will astonish readers everywhere.
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So interesting, can’t wait for the sequel!
What a story! This is written from a child’s point of view with the help of a seasoned writer. It’s a beautifully told story. What happened to this girl is horribly sad, criminal, unthinkable and I can’t think of enough adjectives to thoroughly describe this story. Most four year olds would not have been able to survive like Marina did. I’m …
Marina Chapman tells her story. As a little girl stolen from her housing community and then abandoned in the Columbian jungle. Starving, days later she came upon a group of monkeys and copied what they did to survive. She stayed with them form five years, loosing the ability to speak and behave human. This is an amazing story of how she found …
Highly informative and interesting to read
Not your typical Jungle Book adventure. Amazing and inspiring that she could grow up in such a challenging atmosphere and become the wonderful woman she is.
This is an incredible story. It seems too incredible to be true, yet when I researched it there’s so much that corroborates that it is true. Either way the author has an amazing intimate knowledge of the behaviors of the monkies she purportedly lived with. I can’t imagine anyone having that knowledge without it being true.
I wanted to know what happened next, I didn’t want this book to end!
Unbelievable true story that I couldn’t put down
Other than a flat and unsatisfying ending, the book kept my interest and I was drawn to this little girl. It all seemed oddly possible but highly improbable. If there is more to this account, I would really like to read it!
Pretty fascinating. Moreover, for once a female experiences and reacts to ultimate challenges.
This story was fascinating. I was aghast at how she ended up in the company of the monkeys and how they accepted her into the fold. If the experiences up to the point of living with the monkeys wasn’t story enough, what happened next was even more incredible. How her story ended, in spite of her experiences, was nothing short of astonishing.
This girl’s life was a total nightmare, but her ability to endure is pretty impressive. I also particularly like when true stories include photographs of the real people and places, which this did. I enjoyed reading it.
What an amazing true story. Truth is often stranger than fiction. This complicated story was simply written, making it very easy to listen to. I loved it and thought the author was quite a character. I can’t even imagine being in her place. She was a true survivor.
Fantastic glimpse into North Korea and the perils of trying to leave.
Good read, I truly enjoyed it.
Fascinating story. It was a quick read. I have recommended this book to several friends.
I learned how another culture can treat poor people very badly and it’s normal. She was a survivor.
Very interesting tale of an abandoned child who survives in the jungle.
unbelievable how a little girl survived through such incredible situations for years and was able to raise her own family and be happy.
Well written but not sure of how believable it was