Customer Reviews

Cautiva (Captive): Testimonio de un secuestro (Spanish Edition)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I found this book highly worth reading. Some reviewers on this site are offended because it doesn't contain the political viewpoints they are looking for; in fact, it doesn't present much of a political position at all. Instead, Clara Rojas gives us the story of her six agonizing years in captivity and her efforts to cope with having lost all control of her life for such a long period. The book is an easy read. The prose isn't as polished as it could be; it could have used more editing for typos and at times I had the impression that details were left out because the author couldn't immediately recall them and neither she nor her editor ever took the time to follow up. But providing a detailed historical record is not what was important to Rojas in this writing. She focuses largely on her son Emmanuel, who was conceived and born in captivity and separated from her at the age of eight months. To protect the boy's privacy, she gives no information about his father's identity or the circumstances of their physical union. While not the kind of tell-all approach we are used to in the early 21st century, this is quite understandable, and I was riveted by the harrowing story of the child's birth in the jungle. Her captors improvised and badly botched a cesarian section, leaving both mother and child with injuries that required later surgical correction. Rojas was bedridden in severe pain for a month after Emmanuel's birth and for another month, once freed, after an operation to repair damage to her digestive tract. In the author's descriptions of her captors and her companions in captivity I didn't always find the most sympathetic players where I might have expected. There isn't a lot of gossip in the book, but the story did make me wonder about fellow captives who seem to have displayed astonishing selfishness. Of course, this is only one person's story. I recommend it without reservation.

Frankly, I don't understand why so many people seem to be disappointed or annoyed with this book.
I found its narrative to be simple, unpretentious, authentic and thereby moving.
In its tone it is perhaps similar to a journal. Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.
Personally, I am more interested in reading about human experiences, from a personal point of view - not political manifestos.

Well done, Clara.



Francamente, no entiendo porque tanta gente parece tan desilusionada por este libro.
Yo lo encuentro sencillo, sin pretensiones, autentico y por lo tanto conmovedor.
Si, su tono es semejante al tono de un diario, escrito en circunstacias extraordinarias. Que hay de malo en eso?
A mi me interesa leer experiencias personales, no manifiestos sobre politica.

Bien hecho, Clara.

This book has more of a personal surviving account without mixing so much with politics.
It is more of a "coping mechanism" account of Clara Rojas while being on the jungle.
Clara Rojas is extremately forgiving and her account does not provide the details of the FARC's that some people seek.
Yet is worthy and it is a great book to read paired with the book "Out of Captivity" written by the three Americans.

Llevo un poco mas de la mitad del libro y me ha parecido muy entretenido, su relato es claro, detallado y lo mejor es que tiene un glosario con los enlaces activados, al cual se puede acceder al significado y explicacion de algunas palabras, personajes, etc. dandole un click, muy bien en este sentido del manejo del libro en version KINDLE, muy facil de usar. Igualmente Clara Rojas muestra su gran evolucion espiritual, su conexion con Dios que me parece maravillosa, pero no es tan exagerado tampoco como para confundirlo con un libro religioso, como dice una de las opiniones. Me parece muy buen libro, en el que aprendemos muchos de la tolerancia, yo lei "Out of Captivity" y me ha parecido muy bueno tambien. El relato de su hijo Emmanuel es muy conmovedor. En resumen, es un interesante libro, muy detallado.

Like this book, easy and quickly read, good account of her life in the jungle in guerillo camps, would recommend it!

Uninteresting ego trip with the obvious purpose of cashing in on an unfortunate experience. The writer comes off as petty, self-centered and banal. She apparently did not learn anything from what could have been a life-changing experience.
The writing itself is mediocre.

Me costó leer este libro, sino fuera porque seguía esperando que se contara la verdara historia lo hubiese abandonado en el primer capitulo. NO se gasten el dinero, aquí no apendreran nada...nunca Clara cuenta la dinamica entre los guerrilleros, entro los cautivos y entre todos. Monotono y aburrido!

Tremenda historia de una mujer tenaz. Pude leer este libro gracias a la tecnología de una máquina digital de la Biblioteca para Ciegos y Personas con Impedimentos de la Biblioteca del Congreso de los Estados Unidos en San Juan, Puerto Rico. Exhorto a otros escritores a enviar sus libros a la biblioteca para poder seguir disfrutando de la literatura en medio alterno al papel o sea en audio ya que no puedo leer en papel.

Este libro se limita a contar de forma monotoma las actividades que ella recuerda practicar mientras en cautiverio. Realmente falta mucha instroscpeccion y despues de haber leido el libro de ingrid quede con la expectativa de poder aprender mas de la dinamica sicologica que ocurria entre los cautivos y guerrilleros. El capitulo que describe la situacion con su hijo, es un poco mas cautivador pues realmente se ve que esta escrito de forma en que ella desnuda sus sentimientos y corazon al mundo. El resto del libro se limita a ocultar las identidades de las personas involucardos en el conflicto, lo cual hace la historia incompleta. Es como si Clara decidiera ser diplomatica acerca de la situacion y no divulgar lo que realemtne ella siente, y al final porque tanto rezago. Lo de la fe que ella demuestra es una forma mas que los seres humanos se apegan a la vida, y me parecio interesante ver como ella la utlizo para sobrevivir.

The narrative is quite monotonous and not insigtful at all. It is difficult to discern the psychological dynamics that evolved while captive. It resembles a person's diary with out a the instropective element that would caractherize a diary. The author seems to speak from the heart only when it comes to her son's birth and ordeal. After reading Ingrid Betancourt's book, I can say,that her book is better written becuase it engages the reader in a profound way. As many prisioners do, Clara also used her faith in God to become resilient and tolerate the kidnapping. I read the book to cross-reference the situations described with Ingrid's book & the American's book and to take a look at the same situation from a different perspective.

I expected so much more! She talks about her captivity as if she was talking about going to a mall on a Sunday. There are no "feelings", it's so hard to relate to what she felt because she expresses her thoughts from a great distance. The book is too fast, with no depth. She does not talk at all about the FARC internal organization nor the other captives. She only talks about how they moved from one place to another, how and when she listened to the radio or showered. Let's just say that I could not relate to her anguish.