Lady Colombia by Stacy Christopher Zaghloul
Laidy is a young woman living outside Bogotá, Colombia. She applies herself in school, works a part-time job, and helps to look after her aging father. Her exertions begin to take an emotional toll. An estrangement with her sister is particularly painful, leading her to investigate unanswered questions about her past. To resolve these doubts, she must traverse the world of narco-traffickers, a task she is loath to do. Along the way, she travels to parts of Colombia she has never seen and learns that her family history is much more complicated than she ever imagined.
A genre-bending novel which incorporates elements of the women's literature, Latina, coming-of-age, mystery, contemporary romance, historical fiction, family life and multicultural genres, Lady Colombia is a moving tale that guides readers through the splendid cultural weave of the land, whilst delivering on the promise of the unputdownable. This stunning debut work will resonate with readers for years to come.
Author Bio:
I am a proud graduate of Texas A&M University (whoop!) and SMU's Dedman School of Law. I am a happily inactive member of the District of Columbia's bar association. A native Houstonian, I have also lived in Dallas, Beijing, and Bogota.
I taught special education students and English language learners in Texas, and spent some years in the administration of special education services. I also had the privilege to advocate for students with disabilities in the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. I recently published my first novel, Lady Colombia, for Amazon. I am currently writing my third book, loosely based on the life of my Palestinian Venezuelan mother-in-law.
When I am not writing, I am reading, gardening, listening to music, painting, and attempting to cook. I have been blessed with two lovely daughters, the eldest of whom is attending university in Florida, the younger completing secondary school in Texas. I live in Oklahoma with my husband Jose and my dog Jet.
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Review
I loved this book plain and simple and I want to know more about Laidy’s life in general!!! This book was so many things - Laidy’s coming of age, a love story, a look back at the history and presence of cartels in the country, an understated tale of family and the strength of love. It was just flaming brilliant.
It is books like this one that allow you to develop your knowledge. I know practically nothing about Colombia apart from it’s in South America and all about Pablo Escobar. So I’m now going to talk about the Baader Meinhof complex, which is a concept or thing you have just found out about and then you see it everywhere. The book I read after this one was Anna Nicholas The Devil’s Horn which is set in Majorca. Completely different you would think - nope we have mentions of Colombia, FARC and Escobar! Then my hubby starts a conversation with I think we should watch Narcos on Netflix! So random!
Anyway, back to this amazing book! I just adored Laidy’s story. The descriptive writing was just sublime, I felt as if I could picture every scene in my mind. I was emotionally wrecked by a couple of parts of the book. But, although this novel deals with some terrible historic themes from Colombia overall this book felt uplifting and joyful and I think that is a testament to Stacey’s writing and the beautiful characters she has created.
I can’t really say too much about the story but we find Laidy at the start of a book looking after the family home, attending school and working a part time job in a small town. Her sister is estranged from the family as she became involved with the narcos. Laidy decides she wants to find out more about her mother who abandoned her as a baby and this sets off a chain reaction which reverberates until the final page.
You really should read this book. It has set me off on a journey of discovery as now I want to find out more about Colombia in general and especially about its history. Just go read it people!
