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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
I wasn't wowed by the writing style; I've read much better memoirs this year, but the topic is a very interesting one, and one I know little about. It's hard to read about a resistance that has, as yet, not succeeded, but maybe it can give us hope that there are and have been for years, people who have been fighting for a better life for all.
"...we didn't believe in charity. Charity was vertical, keeping the relationship between the haves and the have-nots intact. We believed in revolution."
"Social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history."
This is a page-turner from start to finish - the story of an incredible youth spent as part of the Chilean resistance. Terrifying and inspiring. I also learned a lot about the politics, social movements and life in South America.
"Social processes can be arrested by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history."
This is a page-turner from start to finish - the story of an incredible youth spent as part of the Chilean resistance. Terrifying and inspiring. I also learned a lot about the politics, social movements and life in South America.
The modern history of South America seems to be swirling around me these days, and this was beautiful burst in the storm. I feel like I need to learn a lot more about what's happened in certain corners of the world...and that the people who were there should be my sources.
The Afterword is just as intriguing as the story itself, and a reminder of what series like Canada Reads is supposed to be doing.
The Afterword is just as intriguing as the story itself, and a reminder of what series like Canada Reads is supposed to be doing.
This is an important book for students of Latin American history and/or political science, or anyone interested in how the resistance was waged against the dictatorships in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. It isn't comprehensive, but instead a personal account of the sometimes thrilling, sometimes boring missions carried out by one operative who grew up in a family of underground resistance fighters.
I found this book very interesting. It synthesized and expanded my knowledge of South American politics, while also telling a memorable coming-of-age story. I found the writing style a little naive in places, but the cumulative effect of Aguirre's over-the-top physical descriptions ended up charming me in the end--lending authenticity to the voice of a teenage girl searching to describe her experience.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
A lot of things are *called* revolutionary. This is literal. The very definition.
Ever since i heard her story on #TheMoth (11 min), I have wanted to read this. She's the daughter of revolutionaries (&one herself) in Chile. It's about the underground resistance after Allende during Pinochet and others.
https://themoth.org/storytellers/carmen-aguirre
US is frequently on the wrong side of history. Always supporting coups that help some horribly murderous dictator, so long as we can stop a democratically elected #socialist trying to get education &healthcare for all.
It exceeded my already high expectations. It could be the best thing i read all year, idk. Sad and inspiring and well written. So grateful she was able to write it down to share.
In her Acknowledgements:
"And my grateful thanks to all those who came before those who are fighting now and those who will continue to fight for a better future for all. I am awed, inspired and humbled by your dedication to the struggle, whether you are in the Gaza Strip, in India, in Mexico or in Bolivia, continuing to support Evo. I stand in solidarity with you."
-- Carmen Aguirre Something Fierce
#RedScare #neoliberalism #capitalism #DisasterCapitalism #ShockDoctrine
Ever since i heard her story on #TheMoth (11 min), I have wanted to read this. She's the daughter of revolutionaries (&one herself) in Chile. It's about the underground resistance after Allende during Pinochet and others.
https://themoth.org/storytellers/carmen-aguirre
US is frequently on the wrong side of history. Always supporting coups that help some horribly murderous dictator, so long as we can stop a democratically elected #socialist trying to get education &healthcare for all.
It exceeded my already high expectations. It could be the best thing i read all year, idk. Sad and inspiring and well written. So grateful she was able to write it down to share.
In her Acknowledgements:
"And my grateful thanks to all those who came before those who are fighting now and those who will continue to fight for a better future for all. I am awed, inspired and humbled by your dedication to the struggle, whether you are in the Gaza Strip, in India, in Mexico or in Bolivia, continuing to support Evo. I stand in solidarity with you."
-- Carmen Aguirre Something Fierce
#RedScare #neoliberalism #capitalism #DisasterCapitalism #ShockDoctrine
The life described in this memoir was so far from the reality most of us know that it left me constantly wondering 'how could any person live with convictions so strong?' The fact that the author survived her own childhood is incredible. But to choose this life, one filled with daily terror and panic, for herself is unimaginable. I'm glad she lived to share her tale. #canlit
adventurous
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Fascinating and well-written memoir about a unique childhood. What an intense thing to have to keep track of shifting identities and secrets and class dynamics while figuring out adolescence. And to go to high school with Pinochet's niece while your parents are undercover revolutionaries? It's bizarre to think about. I appreciated the backdrop of the various revolutionary movements in South American in the 1970s/80s - that is still a bit of a fuzzy spot in my sense of history.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture, War
Minor: Racial slurs