Book Review: The Puma Years
One of my favourite books set in South America
In today's post I review Laura Coleman's The Puma Years which takes place in an animal sanctuary in Bolivia.
I read Laura Coleman's The Puma Years several months ago at a time when I was itching for a new adventure. I was in Jordan, having recently quit my job and booked a last minute flight to Amman. Like the narrator of the novel I wasn't exactly sure what my next steps would be. Where would I travel to? What did I want to do next? Where would I be in five years time?
Coleman's intimate first person narrative felt so familiar. Based upon her own experiences as a lost 20 something British girl who travels to Bolivia to work at an rescue animal sanctuary, Coleman really captured my attention with her vivid descriptions and bold openess. I find most memoirs to be insincere and self-aggrandizing, however Coleman is brave, self-deprecating and wonderfully honest. Her memoir is simultaneously funny, heartbreaking and uplifting.
As she falls in love with the puma she has been tasked with caring for, the narrator (and author) transforms from an anxious, self-doubting girl to a confident, powerful young woman. In addition to her own transformation, she tells the stories of fellow volunteers at the sanctuary and the unparalleled love and compassion they have for the animals they so selflessly risk their lives for. Coleman also brings some of the animal inmates to life by depicting their unique personalities and idiosyncrasies, whilst simultaneously highlighting the wonder of the natural world and importance of protecting it.
For a debut novelist, the prose is incredibly fluid and natural. There were many points where the narrative felt so familiar as if I had read it somewhere else before. The genre blend of memoir, magic realism and bildungsroman also works incredibly effectively to highlight the power of the natural earth and how it can really change a young woman's life.
Coleman's tale of love, loss, longing and self-discovery left a lasting impression on both myself and the friends I have recommended it too. It was the best book I read last year and I would suggest it to anyone looking for a novel to uplift and inspire.
Happy reading!
Lara