Colombiano - Rusty Young

Colombiano by Rusty Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Colombiano, a gripping and confronting read.

Colombiano is a big book, I mean that in more than one way. First of all, it is physically massive (I actually read it on my kindle, but the dots to show the length of the book and how far you've got through it spread across the whole screen). But it also deals with some very large events. The story itself is based on the stories that Rusty Young was told when interviewing ex-child soldiers. I don't know how much of it is 'real' and how much is fiction, it all felt very real.
The book itself, despite its length, is easy to read. I mean that in the sense that the chapters are very short. The story is so engaging that it's a good thing. Short chapters meant that you can keep reading just one more, while longer chapters would have been more likely to make me wait until I actually had time to read. Told from the point of view of Pedro, who witnesses his father's murder and sets out to gain what he claims is justice, but is actually revenge, we follow him as he progresses through the ranks of the Autodefensas. The things that Pedro witnesses and overtime is more of a part of, are brutal. This is a dirty gorilla war, brutality is expected. The confronting part of this book is that as we are following Pedro on his journey, we can't help but sympathise with his situation and why he does something. More than once I found myself rooting for him only to wonder how I could even for a second buy into what was happening.
I came into this knowing next to nothing about Columbia beyond the thoughts of cocaine, coffee and South America. I don't know that I 'know' much more now, but it's certainly a country that I would like to know more about. I hope that over time its wounds can be healed and its people find peace. Especially the likes of Pedro and his friends and enemies who lost their childhood to horror and bloodshed.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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