Henry, at the age of 25, is sentenced wrongly for a murder he didn’t commit. He plans to take revenge on the people responsible for his imprisonment, the judge, prosecutor and the police officers involved. He’s moved to a prison in French Guiana from where he escapes with a couple of his friends. They travel across the Atlantic to Trinidad and Cuaraco seeking asylum. But the immigration authorities deny their request and advise them to go to either Columbia or Venezuela. They get sighted near Columbian coastline by the coastal police and land in the prison once again. He escapes from this prison again and reaches an island in Guajira Peninsula where he meets the local native americans. They provide him shelter and he lives there for about 6 months regaining his mental and physical health. During his stay, he gets married to two native american women Laali and Joraija.
But his plan for revenge remains unexecuted. So he leaves the island and soon gets caught and imprisoned in Santa Marta and from there he’s moved to Baranquilla where he meets his former friends. He makes nurmerous attempts to escape, but fails. He’s finally taken back to French Guiana and handed over to the authorities. Here ends the first part.
The brutal French penal system during 1930s, Henry’s suffering and anguish during his period of captivation are narrated very well. You’ll get impressed by Henry’s will power to secure freedom and his courage to fight against the odds. In short, this book can be described as a struggle of a wrongly convicted innocent victim for freedom. And the French, Spanish and native american backdrop is refreshing.
I was told that the second part describes how Henry gets free from prison and settle down in Venezuela.Did not find it in local book shops. Have to search in online stores.
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