Two sides, one filled with guilt, loneliness and sorrow. The other filled with confusion, anger, and no remorse. One question: “Who is the TRUE victim in the plot?”
The Tattooed Soldier by Héctor Tobar is an outstanding book that portrays the hardships immigrants face in a new country while keeping the reader on edge with the plot. The story follows Antonio, a Guatemalan civilian on the run after witnessing the aftermath of his family’s murder trying to rebuild his life, and Guillermo, a Guatemalan soldier who was on the other end of the murder now living in Los Angeles.
These two immigrants from Guatemala each face their own obstacles and hardships in their everyday life. Antonio is facing homelessness in a country that belittles him and struggling with the language barrier while still grieving the loss of his family and experiencing survivor’s guilt. When he crosses paths with the man who killed his family in a park playing chess the only thing he could do in the moment is run from the past that haunts him. Guillermo, an ex- Guatemalan sergeant that was forced into the military finds himself working as a bodyguard in a sketchy mailing service in Los Angeles, dealing with the trauma he faced from being kidnapped and forced into the military. He also struggles to leave his soldier days behind when a protest against the Guatemalan government in Los Angeles catches his attention bringing forth memories from his past that come to life in the shape of Antonio without realizing the damage his past actions caused. With a heavy history behind them, you get to see both sides of the story, the trauma each character has faced and the traumas they will go through and the actions they will take to face their past.
A great read for those who resonate with the characters’ troubles as immigrants or for those looking to learn more about what it’s like as an immigrant during a time when they were not welcomed no matter where they stand with the government. While also keeping you on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happens with these two characters connected by their past that resurfaces. A well-written book that will leave you in tears while also feeling nostalgic and questioning “Who is the victim?” afterwards.
Get the book Check out The Tattooed Soldier by Héctor Tobar at BMCC’s Library or the New York Public Library.
About the author Mj is a lover of psychological thrillers, young adult fiction, and poetry and a psychology major at BMCC.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
