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The Parrot's Perch
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Brazil...Electric. Exciting. Hot. Brazil is famous for its world class beaches, beautiful women, Samba and soccer, but even its gently swaying palms and sultry nouveau beat can't cover up the sound of screaming.
Soon to be a major motion picture The Parrot's perch scores high marks as it weaves together a chilling tale based on actual events in a triple play of greed, decep ...more
Soon to be a major motion picture The Parrot's perch scores high marks as it weaves together a chilling tale based on actual events in a triple play of greed, decep ...more
Hardcover, First, 374 pages
Published
July 28th 2011
by Xlibris
(first published June 28th 2011)
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As a former schoolmate of Karen’s and a classmate of her husband, Rick Sage, this story brings back many uncomfortable memories of growing up in Brazil during the 1964 Revolution. A period that saw an authoritarian military dictatorship that ruled Brazil from April 1, 1964 to March 15, 1985. The legacy of these corrupt generals, ineffective and corrupt justice system where bribery takes precedence over dignity and human rights, and dirty police who rape and torture with no oversight still persis
...more

A memoir that's almost too graphic and horrible to be believable. Keilt and her husband, an American, were held against their will, tortured, raped, physically and mentally abused for over a month by a sadistic and evil Brazilian government. Nearly left for dead they were finally allowed to leave after a large ransom was paid. Never fully understanding why they were abducted, Keilt is told not to ask questions, put it behind her and get on with her life.
So many secrets existed within Keilt's fam ...more
So many secrets existed within Keilt's fam ...more

The Parrot's Perch by Karen Keilt is a memoir of the testimony she gave before The Brazilian national Truth Commission (whorrich was constituted to find the truth of the atrocities committed in the time of military rule.
The account is chilling, graphic in detail as Karen narrates the sequences that turned her fairy tale life that any girl dreams of. The tortures , the beatings and rapes perpetrated by the corrupt police on Karen and her newly wed husband who were arrested on a false charge and n ...more
The account is chilling, graphic in detail as Karen narrates the sequences that turned her fairy tale life that any girl dreams of. The tortures , the beatings and rapes perpetrated by the corrupt police on Karen and her newly wed husband who were arrested on a false charge and n ...more

Wow, this book really rocked my world. I had no idea what went on in Sao Paulo, Brazil and probably is still going on today. The depth of depravity experienced by the author is shocking as well as frightening, but the truly amazing thing is how well she survived 40+ days of torture, degredation and torment to become the woman and author she is today. I highly recommend reading this well written memoir by Karen Keilt for those who have any interest in traveling or moving to Brazil, or just enjoy
...more

I had no idea
Thank you Karen for all that it took for you to bring your experiences to all of us readers. Your story is of course very hard to read in parts. As well it should be. Your story speaks to me in so many different ways, including: cherish my USA democracy, not tolerate corruption or lies from our elected officials, demand transparency, be strong, be open, be honest. Thank you for all you revealed so that we might learn. Your book is wonderfully written
Thank you Karen for all that it took for you to bring your experiences to all of us readers. Your story is of course very hard to read in parts. As well it should be. Your story speaks to me in so many different ways, including: cherish my USA democracy, not tolerate corruption or lies from our elected officials, demand transparency, be strong, be open, be honest. Thank you for all you revealed so that we might learn. Your book is wonderfully written

Parrots perch
I can say that I started this book about 10 pm and was still reading it at 1:45 am. Not sure when it was lights out. One of those books that you just can’t put down. I felt I was right there with the author and experiencing some of her moments, good and horrific. I felt she wrote wi5h honesty and deep feelings
I can say that I started this book about 10 pm and was still reading it at 1:45 am. Not sure when it was lights out. One of those books that you just can’t put down. I felt I was right there with the author and experiencing some of her moments, good and horrific. I felt she wrote wi5h honesty and deep feelings

Truly an amazing and well-written book. Thank you Karen for sharing you life with all its ups and downs. You have led a very often disturbing and painful life and have come through with love and compassion for others. Forgiving yourself was a big step and hard to do sometimes. What an amazing woman!

I'm not sure if I ever wrote a review before. The Parrot"s Perch is a heart wrenching true story of Karen and her first husband's imprisonment.
Karen is such a strong woman and sometimes I think she didn't believe it.
Quite the story! I cannot understand why that happened. It shouldn't have.
Well written memoir. ...more
Karen is such a strong woman and sometimes I think she didn't believe it.
Quite the story! I cannot understand why that happened. It shouldn't have.
Well written memoir. ...more

I ended up having to kind of skim this book. It is brutal. It didn't draw me in enough to merit the gory/sadistic details. I get that this is someone's genuine life story, and I appreciate that, but it's really hard to read. And I'm not an HSP or anything. It's just rough.
...more

Sep 05, 2020
Chrisann Justice
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
memoirs-autobiographies
This was worth reading but was very disturbing.

Personal recount of one woman's experience in Brazil, a tale of government and family betrayal. There is a lot of descriptive torture, so it's not for the weak.
...more

Parrot's Perch is a novel based on a true life experience in a Brazilian jail. Catlin, an equestrienne training for the 2016 Olympics, has a black sheep brother who gets entangled in the drug trade while going to Harvard. He thinks he can move back to Brazil and get away from it because he comes from a wealthy and privileged family. Two dirty cops follow him to Brazil and begin surveillance on him, as well as his family. Catlin unwittingly becomes involved.
This story will haunt you long after y ...more
This story will haunt you long after y ...more

I couldn't put it down.
...more

The Parrot's Perch by Karen Keilt is the tale of a wealthy American family living in the high society of Brazil who falls victim of political plotting and ultimate torture at the hands of corrupt officials seeking revenge and monetary gain.
The story opens with Freddy Lauria who attends an Ivy League school in America, gets involved in drug dealing, then brings trouble back to his hometown of Sao Paolo. His sister,Catlin Lauria, an award winning equestrienne training for the upcoming Olympics, be ...more
The story opens with Freddy Lauria who attends an Ivy League school in America, gets involved in drug dealing, then brings trouble back to his hometown of Sao Paolo. His sister,Catlin Lauria, an award winning equestrienne training for the upcoming Olympics, be ...more

I met and heard Karen tonight at a book review in Scottsdale, AZ. She is an amazing lady, articulate, great communication skills and did a wonderful job sharing a painful
part of her life with us. You can tell that she is very well informed about what is goinging on in Brazil and wanting to do all she can to make changes happen to save and protect so many. She is delightful and very comfortable with herself and being infront of an audience. She opened my eyes to corruption and abuse that is goin ...more
part of her life with us. You can tell that she is very well informed about what is goinging on in Brazil and wanting to do all she can to make changes happen to save and protect so many. She is delightful and very comfortable with herself and being infront of an audience. She opened my eyes to corruption and abuse that is goin ...more

This book does have a very different world. The summary tells the reader nicely what to expect. The point of view varies, it seems like it's more from the author's point of view than the characters. The characters all have at least one, if not more, quirk that will make them stand out in the readers' memory. The events are fast-paced, colorful, and almost surreal. The book moves quickly from one scene to the next in an almost helter-skelter way.
The characters are not always likable, but they ar ...more
The characters are not always likable, but they ar ...more

An incredible read. The last hundred pages I just wanted to devour them reading to get to the end of the ordeal. One can tell that the author had a hard time in this ordeal and in Her writing it transpires her deepest emotions with regards to what she went thru.
Her brother, man did I want to "bash" him up...and I certainly hope as it is implied in the end that it becomes so.
As far as the ending, Truly appreciated the release as represented by the release of the Parrot...as much as a release emot ...more
Her brother, man did I want to "bash" him up...and I certainly hope as it is implied in the end that it becomes so.
As far as the ending, Truly appreciated the release as represented by the release of the Parrot...as much as a release emot ...more

This is a perfectly orchestrated memoir that I couldn't stop reading. The very difficult subject matter of horrendous torture in a Brazilian prison is made palatable because of the say this skilled author handles the painful subject. The reader, like the author, keeps searching for the "why" of such cruelty meted out to other humans. Though at times it didn't seem believable that a UN investigator would need to know so much about Karen Keilt's life, I found the entire sixty years the book covers
...more

given the really high rating on good reads, I found the quality of writing to be incredibly poor and the story dragged on, only finished it so I could find out what happens in the end-The subject matter at the end regarding corruption of the legal system in Brazil and corrupt cops/prison officials was the most interesting part of the story yet only a small part of the book was devoted to it. The rest read as a trashy novel!

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