Download PDF Colombiano Audible Audio Edition Rusty Young Brian J Ramos Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
Download As PDF : Colombiano Audible Audio Edition Rusty Young Brian J Ramos Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
Blending fact and fiction, Colombiano is a powerful and heart-rending story of revenge and war, set in Colombia.Â
In Colombia you have to pick a side. Or one will be picked for you....Â
All Pedro Gutiérrez cares about is fishing, playing pool and his girlfriend Camila's promise to sleep with him on his 16th 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. Â
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. Â
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?Â
From innocent teenage love to barbaric torture...from cruel despots to cocaine traficantes...from seedy drug markets to brutal battlefields...Colombiano is a blockbuster revenge thriller and an electrifying coming-of-age story.
Download PDF Colombiano Audible Audio Edition Rusty Young Brian J Ramos Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books
"Great story, well written. Hard to put down."
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Colombiano Audible Audio Edition Rusty Young Brian J Ramos Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books Reviews :
Colombiano Audible Audio Edition Rusty Young Brian J Ramos Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd Books Reviews
- I migrated from Colombia to Australia over 20 years ago, and in that time I have been asked too many times what Colombia's story and problems were like. In this book, Rusty managed to create a compelling story of my country's story and its problems through the eyes of a young kid who joins one of the outlaw groups - the paramilitaries. I tip my hat off to Rusty for creating a rich and vivid picture of Colombia's recent history and providing a window into the challenges Colombia has faced.
- Brilliant fictional read. I could really empathise and walk along side the characters.
- Interesting but a bit repetitive.
- Great story, well written. Hard to put down.
- Context interesting. Too much detail. Skim read enjoyably.
- I have a special interest in the war on drugs and Latin America related stories, so when I saw Colombiano I immediately knew I had to read it. Colombia has a special place in my heart as it gave me three wonderful months of memories during my time living in Cartagena as well as it being the place where I first met my hubby. Colombia has a complicated history though and Rusty Young does a fantastic job portraying the struggles and give insight in what it was like for innocent inhabitants and autodefensas members alike. Colombiano is a mix of facts and fiction as the author spent years working secretly for the US government in Colombia and was able to hear a lot of testimonies of child soldiers during that time. If you want to learn more about the struggles between the guerrilla, army and autodefensas and its consequences for both country and inhabitants, this book is an excellent way to do so in an entertaining way. I know it's a huge book with over 800 pages, but it's worth every single minute of your time. Like I said before, facts and fiction are mixed in Pedro's quest for justice for the death of his father. Both sides have been incorporated into the story in such a way that feels natural and Colombiano is informative without it slowing down the pace of the story. The driving force behind Colombiano are Pedro, Palillo and the other main characters. Together they help understand what it is like living in a small village in the middle of the fight between the guerrilla and the army, and also show why someone would join the autodefensas and how that organization works. This story is about violence, drugs, power struggles and revenge, but also a coming of age story about young people growing up in such a difficult situation. Colombiano is hands down one of the best books I've read so far this year and definitely worth your time if the topic interests you. Between the writing style, characters, descriptions and plot you will have no idea this story is that long as you will find yourself turning those pages with gusto.
- I expected a documentary style book outlining the research and feedback Rusty Young had gathered from all the interviews and investigations he had in the region and with the real-life Child Soldiers. Not the case!
Colombiano is a novel styled book which is based on a fictional character, Pedro (probably an amalgamation of several people in an attempt to protect identities), who experiences the events that drove him to enrol as a child soldier and fight in a conflict that was brutal, remorseless, perilous and full of hate.
Law and order do not exist in the traditional sense in Colombia. During their troubled past, there have been a number of factions. Firstly the Colombian Army and police forces providing limited law and order in a divided country – not to mention their exposure to corruption and criminality. The second group was the FARC Guerrilla, who were peasant farmers who took up arms, aiming to fight poverty and social inequality by toppling the government and installing communist rule. To fund their revolution, they ‘taxed’ businesses and kidnapped the rich, appropriating their lands for redistribution to the poor. The third group were the Paramilitaries who were wealthy land and business owners, tired of the government’s failure to protect them, who formed their own private militias and ‘death squads’.
“No matter how hard you try, you can’t remain neutral. Eventually, you have to pick a side. And if you don’t, one will be picked for you. As it was for me.â€
When Pedro was 15 years old he had to witness his father being executed by the Guerrilla for allowing the army to drink their water on the farm. There may have been other reasons and often it was to send a message. The execution is cold and clinical but disturbingly they are not allowed to bury the body in the consecrated ground and have a priest pray for his soul. While Pedro’s parents had always pleaded with him to remain neutral, now his father’s death must be avenged.
Rusty Young creates excellent characters, particular, Pedro, and a society that is circumspect and threated by cruelty from forces on all sides. He portrays an environment where the futility of staying removed from the violence is common, where events can strike and change a life in a matter of moments, and where hate and revenge are the staple diet of young men and women. Who can say what we would do if we watched a family member murdered and the law enforcement unwilling or unable to address the crime? Unfortunately, bloodshed begets bloodshed and when all sides can cite atrocities the spiral into horror and hostility is the norm.
The length of the book is nearly 700 pages and I started it with the decision in my mind that if this dragged I would stop and not commit any more time to a book I wasn’t loving. I read the 689 pages and also read other material around the subject. One major blessing in reading a book this length is that the chapters are short and there is that feeling that you are progressing and probably reading more in a session that you may otherwise have planned. I felt the writing was excellent and the pace of the book was brilliantly maintained while becoming totally enthralled with the story.
I would highly recommend this book and I would like to thank Havelock & Baker Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC version in return for an honest review.
