"Orchids of Venezuela," by Karen Sturges-Vera. ISBN 1-58939-829-7 (softcover). $13.95. 178 pages.
On November 27, 1992, Tamara Mata is jolted awake to the news that rebel forces are attacking the president of Venezuela and bombing the airport in the second coup attempt of the year. Recoiling from the turmoil facing her country, she seeks reassurance and stability in her past. In her thoughts, she retraces her life, from her childhood in Merida to her youth in Caracas, her university years in Dallas, Texas, and her return to Caracas as an adult. Tamara relives the emotions that filled her when she became a wife and later a mother. Over the years, she has witnessed both dictatorship and democracy in Venezuela and she has experienced both disillusionment and hope. Her memories reveal her changing relationships with her family, her friends, her society, and ultimately with herself. These reflections highlight two different ways to view an orchid: as a seemingly delicate yet resilient flower, and as a beautiful yet parasitic plant.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Karen Sturges-Vera has a BA from Middlebury College and an MA in International Relations from George Washington University, where her main focus of study was the economic development of Latin America. She has traveled extensively in Venezuela and Europe and has lived in the United States and France. Currently she lives in Vienna, Austria, with her husband and two children.
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