✨ This novel follows the life of Manzana, a queer young Colombian who’s rejected by his family, and notably by his father who sends him with the Colombian military in order to “make him a man”. During his time in the military, he will survive through some terrible abuse, while also remembering the past ones that led him there.

✨ In the form of a novel, this book has its roots in real events, which makes it even harder to read. It is not a book you can read with a light hearth, it will break your heart and make you wonder how much can a person be resilient before the break point.

✨ Besides the glance into the conflict between the Colombian military and paramilitary groups in the country (this is not an history book), I found the parts of the novel told by the point of view of Manzana unique.
On the other side, I found the parts told by the other main narrator, a journalist, less relevant: they could have been so, for example, by cutting some unnecessary sex scenes with a woman who served no particular other role in the story besides having sex with the journalist (EYEROLL 🤷‍♀️)

✨ Overall, I would suggest this reading (warning though about some pretty violent triggers about sexual violence), even if I would not put it into my top 10 of 2021 (yes I’m starting to think about it!)