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whatjasread's review
3.0
3/5
I won't pretend that I was ever completely in the loop with anything Pablo Escobar ever did. I knew his name, but never what he was famous for other than some kind of drug-related problem (aren't they always?). When I read the synopsis for this, I was immediately intrigued. A memoir written by the wife of one of the most notorious criminals of the last half-century - I had to know more. I wanted to understand the mind of a person who can stand by and watch their loved ones dive deeper into a criminal life and do nothing to preserve the safety of their children and families. So, of course, I requested this book. Thank you so much to Ebury Press for sending this my way!
Mrs Escobar was, to say the least, an interesting read. There are a lot of questions raised regarding why Henao, the titled Mrs Escobar, stayed with her husband, whether she was involved, and whether she lied about inheriting money and assets following Pablo's death. The memoir works to unravel the mysteries behind these questions and to provide answers that seem to satisfy our disbelief. Henao does so with the grace and strength of a mother willing to do anything to protect her children, and a wife for her husband.
I personally thought Henao did a great job of expressing the emotions she felt in her tumultuous relationship with Escobar. She writes about the minimal time she actually spent with him during their marriage, about the times she had to go into hiding with her children. She explains the rift between her family and his, especially due to the large age gap between the two lovers. She writes about their marriage and about their desire for one another as teenagers. It really did seem to lay everything bare. It was clear throughout the book that Henao has an immense love for her family.
My main issue with this book wasn't necessarily to do with the content. I actually really enjoyed this read. However, the chronology and repetition were too much at times. I was constantly jumping to different times in her life. At one moment she was living with Escobar in the house with blue walls, the next he was dead, and the next she was 15 in her home town meeting him for the first time. Often because of these time jumps, a lot of events and names were repeated which made the memoir feel unnecessarily long. I think there were parts which could have been left out or rearranged to allow the memoir to flow a lot easier than it did.
Nonetheless, Mrs Escobar was a solid memoir that truly moved me at times. I felt sympathetic for Henao, even though I did question how she could claim to be so protective of her kids, yet stayed with Pablo for the remainder of his life. It's a mind-boggling case, but to share both the ups and downs of her relationship is a big step, even 25 years after Escobar's death.
I won't pretend that I was ever completely in the loop with anything Pablo Escobar ever did. I knew his name, but never what he was famous for other than some kind of drug-related problem (aren't they always?). When I read the synopsis for this, I was immediately intrigued. A memoir written by the wife of one of the most notorious criminals of the last half-century - I had to know more. I wanted to understand the mind of a person who can stand by and watch their loved ones dive deeper into a criminal life and do nothing to preserve the safety of their children and families. So, of course, I requested this book. Thank you so much to Ebury Press for sending this my way!
Mrs Escobar was, to say the least, an interesting read. There are a lot of questions raised regarding why Henao, the titled Mrs Escobar, stayed with her husband, whether she was involved, and whether she lied about inheriting money and assets following Pablo's death. The memoir works to unravel the mysteries behind these questions and to provide answers that seem to satisfy our disbelief. Henao does so with the grace and strength of a mother willing to do anything to protect her children, and a wife for her husband.
I personally thought Henao did a great job of expressing the emotions she felt in her tumultuous relationship with Escobar. She writes about the minimal time she actually spent with him during their marriage, about the times she had to go into hiding with her children. She explains the rift between her family and his, especially due to the large age gap between the two lovers. She writes about their marriage and about their desire for one another as teenagers. It really did seem to lay everything bare. It was clear throughout the book that Henao has an immense love for her family.
My main issue with this book wasn't necessarily to do with the content. I actually really enjoyed this read. However, the chronology and repetition were too much at times. I was constantly jumping to different times in her life. At one moment she was living with Escobar in the house with blue walls, the next he was dead, and the next she was 15 in her home town meeting him for the first time. Often because of these time jumps, a lot of events and names were repeated which made the memoir feel unnecessarily long. I think there were parts which could have been left out or rearranged to allow the memoir to flow a lot easier than it did.
Nonetheless, Mrs Escobar was a solid memoir that truly moved me at times. I felt sympathetic for Henao, even though I did question how she could claim to be so protective of her kids, yet stayed with Pablo for the remainder of his life. It's a mind-boggling case, but to share both the ups and downs of her relationship is a big step, even 25 years after Escobar's death.
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