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3rd out of 10 books
—
8 voters
Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter
Winner of Canada Reads 2012: True Stories!
A gripping, darkly comic first-hand account of a young underground revolutionary during the Pinochet dictatorship in 1980s Chile.
On September 11, 1973, a violent coup removed Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist president of Chile, from office. Thousands were arrested, tortured and killed under General Augusto Pin...more
A gripping, darkly comic first-hand account of a young underground revolutionary during the Pinochet dictatorship in 1980s Chile.
On September 11, 1973, a violent coup removed Salvador Allende, the democratically elected socialist president of Chile, from office. Thousands were arrested, tortured and killed under General Augusto Pin...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
April 18th 2011
by Douglas & McIntyre
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The blurb says it all. I don't have anything much to add. Chile, Argentina and Peru. Mad times, mad people, an intensity of belief that expressed itself in action that I think the author, daughter of two revolutionaries, didn't 'catch' and never truly understood.
It was a consistently good read but mostly because the people were so incredibly interesting and lived what they believed. The rather neurasthenic presence of the narrator, the daughter, picks up somewhat when she too becomes a revolutio...more
It was a consistently good read but mostly because the people were so incredibly interesting and lived what they believed. The rather neurasthenic presence of the narrator, the daughter, picks up somewhat when she too becomes a revolutio...more
Not until close to the end of Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter does Carmen Aguirre seem to finally and tellingly encapsulate the profound trauma that the life forced on her by her Chilean revolutionary parents had wrought on her bodily, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. To that point, Something Fierce had intermittently captured my interest with its understandably uneven account of a girl growing to young womanhood living the double and triple life of a political...more
SOMETHING FIERCE: MEMOIRS OF A REVOLUTIONARY DAUGHTER
by Carmen Aguirre
Review by Kathleen Schmitt
Darkly comic? That's the description of the book given by, I think, the publisher. Yes, there are some funny parts. Life without humor is sort of like life without breathing, and the more extreme the conditions, the more likely some humor will erupt. But humor is not the main point of Something Fierce. This is a book of passionate anger against violent crimes and the will to give everything to stop th...more
by Carmen Aguirre
Review by Kathleen Schmitt
Darkly comic? That's the description of the book given by, I think, the publisher. Yes, there are some funny parts. Life without humor is sort of like life without breathing, and the more extreme the conditions, the more likely some humor will erupt. But humor is not the main point of Something Fierce. This is a book of passionate anger against violent crimes and the will to give everything to stop th...more
At last night’s book club, we had a lively discussion about Carmen Aguirre’s memoir, Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter. While most of us were fascinated by the book and welcomed the opportunity to learn more about Chile, we had different opinions regarding the parenting of Carmen and her sister, Ale.
When Carmen was five years old, her family left Chile and began a new life in Vancouver. Six years later, her mother (Mami) decided to return and join the revolutionary movement a...more
When Carmen was five years old, her family left Chile and began a new life in Vancouver. Six years later, her mother (Mami) decided to return and join the revolutionary movement a...more
Fascinating true story of a young girl coming of age with parents heavily involved in the South American underground for as long as she could remember. Taught to lie and hold fast life and death secrets practically since she could talk, Carmen becomes expert in the ways of espionage at a very early age.
She follows into the revolutionary trade after her parents throughout her young adulthood until the resistance was finally disbanded through the frustrated futility of affecting any real change.
Th...more
She follows into the revolutionary trade after her parents throughout her young adulthood until the resistance was finally disbanded through the frustrated futility of affecting any real change.
Th...more
"Something Fierce" is the memoir that won the CBC Canada Reads Contest for 2012. It is a well-written and involving account of the growing up of a Chilean daughter, transferred to Vancouver after Allende's overthrow, who came to adulthood through years of working, first with her mother, then by herself, for the defeat of the illicit Pinochet regime that replaced democratic government in Chile.
This is a remarkable book on several levels. First, it recounts what it was like growing up in such unus...more
This is a remarkable book on several levels. First, it recounts what it was like growing up in such unus...more
When Carmen Aguirre was six years old, her family became political refugees and fled to Vancouver, Canada. The family was fleeing from Chile where General Augusto Pinochet had just ousted the democratically elected socialist president, Salvador Allende, in a violent coup. It was September 11, 1973 and thousands were being rounded up, tortured and killed. Five years later, the Chilean resistance called for all exiled activists to return and continue their activism. Carmen's mother wanted to keep...more
As a whole I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a glimpse into a world I am embarrassed to say I wasn't really aware of. While I had a vague sense of what happened in Chile and South America during the time the book was written, I was not, at all aware of the underground resistance and its ties to Vancouver. It was interesting reading this book after reading The Prisoner of Tehran because they had similar premises. They were both first person account of a female narrator and her experiences du...more
This is a brave, intense account of a period of time in the life of a very young revolutionary. Carmen’s parents are members of the resistance in Chile and flee to Canada when Pinochet comes to power in 1973. Five years later, Carmen and her sister are pulled out of their comfortable, middle-class life in Vancouver to return to S. America with their mother and stepfather. They start off in Bolivia, where the whole family is involved in various ways with the resistance movement. There are scenes...more
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A few years ago in Santiago I was caught in the middle of a political rally, and before I knew it I was swept up in the movement of the young crowd, and wearing a button (luckily of a left-wing candidate, as I learned later). The excitement was infectious and it was amazing to see young people care about politics. Reading this book made me understand a little more about why people in Chile love their country so much. Everyone knows about the Pinochet years and the disappearances, but few underst...more
I have huge admiration for author Carmen Aguirre, who came forward to tell her story about growing up as a revolutionary in South America. I felt that she was groomed to be a revolutionary because her mother was, and she grew up in that fold and milieu.
I learned A LOT by reading this book, especially about what was happening in South America. It was also amazing to learn what was happening in the underground world. I went to Chile in 1993, which was only a few years after Pinochet's government f...more
I learned A LOT by reading this book, especially about what was happening in South America. It was also amazing to learn what was happening in the underground world. I went to Chile in 1993, which was only a few years after Pinochet's government f...more
I read very little non-fiction and am often disappointed when I do. Something Fierce, however, is well worth reading. Growing up as I have in middle class comfort in "socialist" Canada, I have been ignorant too long of the plight of so many of the people who live in South American countries. The struggle to achieve decent education and health care for all, regardless of class and colour, is ongoing in many of those countries, and in particular, the author's homeland of Chile.
Many years ago, I sa...more
Many years ago, I sa...more
I'm not actually reading this - I'm listening to the podcasts of an abridged version read by the author that is airing on CBC.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/2...
I don't know if I'll end up seeking out the full length book someday or not but I'm enjoying listening to the episodes.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/2...
I don't know if I'll end up seeking out the full length book someday or not but I'm enjoying listening to the episodes.
This is an involving and intense memoir about a young Chilean, displaced to Vancouver with her sister and parents,her return to South America with her mother and step-father and her years engaged in the South America ungerground.
I'm embarrasaed by how little I really knew about what was happening in Central and South America in the 70's and 80's and how few people I knew from there. The extenbt of my personal ignorance shocks me now.
A couple of things stood out for me. How young children are cap...more
I'm embarrasaed by how little I really knew about what was happening in Central and South America in the 70's and 80's and how few people I knew from there. The extenbt of my personal ignorance shocks me now.
A couple of things stood out for me. How young children are cap...more
This book was unlike any other I've read, largely b/c I had no previous knowledge of politics in South America, or underground revolutionary members and movements. So on the one hand, it was eye-opening to read about a young girl growing up with revolutionary parents, moving between Canada and Bolivia and Argentina after being exiled from Chile. On the other hand, it was difficult to follow the actual politics and political leaders and resistance leaders, all of which are in Spanish and other la...more
I really enjoyed this book. I found the story engaging and interesting, though sometimes confusing (there are a lot of people and places). I thought it was well written: very funny in parts, yet heartbreaking in others. The South American history was fascinating – this is not a region I am very knowledgeable on, though I have a strong understanding of the World Bank and IMF structural adjustment programs and the problems they have caused in Africa. I wish the author explained more about what the...more
Didn't enjoy as much as Prisoner of Tehran (which was also a Canada Reads 2012 contender) but this book was a similar theme: true story of a young woman fighting dictatorship. I had no background in the South American revolutionary movement. It made for a fascinating read and an education in revolutionary lingo: revolutionary, sympathizer, helper, bourgeoisie, comrade. The author currently works in Vancouver, the city to which she and her family sought refuge when they left Pinochet's Chile in t...more
As the 2012 winner of 'Canada Reads', I expected to like this one a bit more than I did. It was interesting to learn more about South American history and culture (I now have La Paz on my list of places to visit), but I found it hard to connect with 'Carmencita' for some reason. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but things and events seemed only to happen around her or to those close to her. Perhaps that's where the disconnect stems from: my expectations. I expected a book about revolu...more
Perhaps a two-star rating is a little harsh for this book but it's impossible to give half stars and so I went with the 'it was okay' rating rather than I liked it. I think my expectations were too high for this book knowing that it was the 2012 Canada Reads (True Stories) winner. I enjoyed reading Carmen's account of her day to day life and the implications of being a resistance fighter's daughter but found I didn't have an attachment to 'the cause' or to Chile. The names of the various dictato...more
Carmen Aguirre has obviously lived a fascinating life, but despite that this book was not particularly engaging. Having spent most of her life having to keep secrets and pretend to be someone she wasn't, it must have been very cathartic to get it all out. Unfortunately it also makes the book feel a bit more like a blurt than a tale.
There are just too many people and places (dozens of both) to get a clear picture of or feel for any of them. Even Ale, her sister, remains a bit of an enigma. I can...more
There are just too many people and places (dozens of both) to get a clear picture of or feel for any of them. Even Ale, her sister, remains a bit of an enigma. I can...more
Review originally posted on www.christinavasilevski.com
About the book: Carmen Aguirre was born in Chile, and lived there with her family until Pinochet's coup in 1973. After the coup, they fled to Vancouver and supported Chile's resistance movement from afar. A few years after entering Canada, however, Aguirre's parents split and her mother started a relationship with a Canadian political activist.
Ultimately, Aguirre, her sister, and her stepfather left Vancouver (and Aguirre's father) behind an...more
About the book: Carmen Aguirre was born in Chile, and lived there with her family until Pinochet's coup in 1973. After the coup, they fled to Vancouver and supported Chile's resistance movement from afar. A few years after entering Canada, however, Aguirre's parents split and her mother started a relationship with a Canadian political activist.
Ultimately, Aguirre, her sister, and her stepfather left Vancouver (and Aguirre's father) behind an...more
This was a Canadian book prize winner, but I don't think it deserved that rating. It was enlightning to read about a child growing up in a Chilean/Canadian family of revolutionists. She spent her whole life, living a secret identity. She suffered through countless moves and secret trips - which lead to a very difficult personality. I enjoyed reading about a contemporary person who leads a revolutionary upbringing and life, and learned about the difficulties of Latin American people as they endur...more
I went into this book knowing nothing about the different revolutions happening in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina, so my learning curve was quite steep. Perhaps if I had more background knowledge, I would've been able to connect to the author's story (and her feelings) better.
Definitely an interesting read about a daughter growing up in the underground, keeping secrets well beyond her years and trying to live a normal teenage life. Although it does come across that she has a profound respect for...more
Definitely an interesting read about a daughter growing up in the underground, keeping secrets well beyond her years and trying to live a normal teenage life. Although it does come across that she has a profound respect for...more
Feb 10, 2012
Matt Awesome
marked it as to-read
So I was just listening to this year's Canada Reads debate where 5 Canadian personalities (famous people) pick a book which they think should be considered the best. This year was the first year that Canada Reads had ever tackled Non-fiction before and this book ended up being the winner. Throughout the CR program, the celebrities defending their book, discussed what made the book most important because of it's style or how it reflected the values of Canadian culture which made Something Fierce...more
This was a very thought-provoking book. The author, a Chilean, is the daughter of resistance fighters. They fled to Vancouver for a time, and when they decided to return to South America to work in the resistance, they chose to take their two daughters with them, rather than leaving them with relatives in Canada. The author's childhood and adolescence were traumatic but also transformational, and she expresses her gratitude to her mother for raising her in this way. It does, however, defy our us...more
This is a 3.5 for me. The subject is fascinating, the context raw and tragic. This book is a strange melange of historiography, biography, and political memoir. Given that the subject is a young girl whose family are members of the Chilean resistance, it takes an even weirder turn as it includes in the mix the anxiety, terror, and tragedy of a child growing up in a deeply dysfunctional and unstable environment. This book is sad but it is also a powerful testament to human courage and altruism. T...more
Think The Glass Castle, but political. Fierce, indeed–Aguirre delivers a no-holds-barred portrait of what it is to give everything to what you believe in. I was torn though between thinking her courageous for choosing the revolutionary life despite everything she went through as a child, and wondering if she'd been brainwashed. I did identify with her mother's struggle–desiring to have a family while still remaining political and engaged. And I learned so much more about South American late-20th...more
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Carmen Aguirre's memoir is an easy read about life as a revolutionary from the perspective of a young person. It is not exactly a history treatise on Latin America but it touches on the events of the late 70s and through the 80s. In fact, her story starts when she was merely six years old. The reader is immediately introduced to Carmen and her sister, Ale who are leaving Vancouver with their mother to join a Chilean underground resistance. Her parents were academics who fled Chile to Canada as p...more
Whew, this was something fierce indeed–I read it in 3 hours flat. Carmen Aguirre’s Something Fierce was voted the winner of Canada Reads, outlasting The Game, The Tiger, On A Cold Road, and Prisoner of Tehran. Naturally, everyone wants to read it now, myself included. Here are my conclusions on the winning book…
I began this book almost immediately after finishing Anne of Green Gables. That was interesting. I went from wide-eyed innocence to almost having sex at age 11. That’s one thing about the...more
I began this book almost immediately after finishing Anne of Green Gables. That was interesting. I went from wide-eyed innocence to almost having sex at age 11. That’s one thing about the...more
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| CBC Books: Something Fierce by Carmen Aguirre discussion | 2 | 31 | Nov 26, 2011 05:34pm |
updated Sep 28, 2012 01:31pm
Sep 28, 2012 01:31pm