Picked up this one via audio as part of StoryGraph’s 2024 Read the World challenge, hoping for a moving personal account of life in Venezuela as the country descended into economic collapse. Some chapters of it did deliver, particularly towards the end, but unfortunately I found chunks of this memoir too dry. The author gives a very thorough account of Venezuela’s recent history, which is fine, interesting and informative, but not what I was looking for. I hoped for a more natural merge of the personal and political, of how their lives were affected by the economic collapse, but it felt more like the political and personal were being reported on separately. 

But I am grateful to have read it, I did learn a lot about living in a country where suddenly currency is worth very little, basic necessities can rarely be found and require hours of queueing. It’s also unfathomable how you’d organise care for a disabled parent when you’re not in the same country, and that parent refuses to part from their only known home.

One to pick up for more insight into Venezuela’s recent political climate! Just not quite what I was looking for at this time.