Publisher's Synopsis
Hell in Paradise is an honest, beautifully written and perceptive memoir of life during Lebanese Civil War as seen through the eyes of a young boy. At the age of ten, Jean Claude's life is turned upside down when his father decides to move the family from Colombia to Lebanon in the early 1980's, imagining transporting them back to the paradise he lived in during his own childhood. Upon arrival, Jean Claude quickly realizes that the paradise that his father described is no longer; it is now submerged amongst rubble and ruins. In spite of witnessing and living through the horrors of the war, Jean Claude learns he can still form close bonds with his new extended family and friends, and still experience the usual joys and tribulations of early adolescence. Events throughout the memoir are expressed true to how a child and young teenager would understand and prioritize them, without downplaying their importance or artificially injecting drama into what obviously was a traumatic experience. The author also provides some interpretation and political-historical context reflecting on his childhood events as an adult, and shares his point of view on the complex and complicated conflicts in and around Lebanon over the years.Hell in Paradise is ultimately a story about discovering that in times of war, hope and resilience are as much a part of life as death and destruction.
