Book description
When Rains Became Floods is the gripping autobiography of Lurgio Gavilan Sanchez, who as a child soldier fought for both the Peruvian guerrilla insurgency Shining Path and the Peruvian military. After escaping the conflict, he became a Franciscan priest and is now an anthropologist. Gavilan Sanchez's words mark otherwise forgotten…
Why read it?
1 author picked When Rains Became Floods as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The Shining Path war was the bloodiest episode in modern-Peruvian history, claiming the lives of nearly 70,000 people. While there are a number of excellent books on the Shining Path, I have never read an account of the war as captivating as this—and I doubt I ever will. Gavilán, an Indigenous peasant from the Andean region at the heart of the conflict, recounts his harrowing journey from child soldier in the guerrilla ranks to teenaged soldier in the Peruvian military. Along the way, the author invites readers to share the innermost struggles of a young man driven to survive against…
From Miguel's list on The best books to read before your trip to Peru.
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