This book was hard to read. It wasn't James Joyce or William Faulkner difficult; it was just the subject matter. Ingrid Betancourt recounts her six years in which she was held captive by the FARC guerillas in Columbia. The memoir begins with an escape attempt and then backtracks to when she was actually taken. As you would expect, it's no trip to Club Med. It's absolutely incredible the stories that she recounts marching across the jungle; the animals and insects that threaten her; the stories of the other hostages and the feuds that go on between them; the lack of medical care when she was seriously sick. I found myself thinking, geez another failed attempt at an escape? Isn't she going to get out already? Then I reminded myself that this wasn't some made up event and that this woman actually lived this for six years. After the first 100 pages everything is in chronological and titled by month and years and as I was reading I found myself remembering where I was during that time while she was marching through the jungle. The book ends abruptly with her rescue by the Columbian army and I was a bit disappointed. I was interested to know about her recovery after as well. Was she in the hospital? What did the doctors say about her condition? Overall a worthwhile read.
I'm glad I finished it before my LA County Library Card takes it back tomorrow.
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