The Violence

Adriana E. RamĂ­rez
The Violence: My Family’s Colombian War
(Scribner, April 2026)

One of Ms. Magazine’s “Most Anticipated Feminist Books of 2026”
Chosen for Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club, May 2026
Read the starred Booklist review
Read the Kirkus review
Read the New York Times review

A powerful chronicle of Colombia’s descent into decades of civil war through the lens of an intimate, multi-generational tale of upheaval and betrayal.

When presumed president-elect Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, champion of the working class and harbinger of a new era of progressive social change, is assassinated on the eve of Colombia’s 1948 presidential election, the capital is plunged into bloodshed. So begins a singularly brutal period of Colombia’s history known simply as la violencia—a bloody civil war that spawned decades of turmoil and splintered the country into ever-shifting factions.

The Violence is an intimate history of this conflict—told not from the political center of the war but from the mountainous finca that Adriana E. Ramírez’s family tended to for generations, and through the eyes of her formidable grandmother, Esther. With startling lyricism, Ramírez illuminates the specter of violence—from guerilla warfare to the brutalities found so often in romantic relationships to the spontaneous and senseless violence steeped into everyday Colombian life during this period—and the threat that it poses to a country, and a family, that is trying to stay whole. Gracefully braiding together macrohistory, family history, and personal narrative, Adriana E. Ramírez traces these parallel stories of upheaval in a sweeping portrait of a country and family in flux.

Praise for The Violence

“A sensitive literary endeavor to honor a delicate, devastating past.” — Kirkus

“RamĂ­rez chronicles her family’s experiences of Colombia’s violent history in an eminently readable and beautifully written book drawn from conversations and rigorous research.” — Booklist, starred review

“The Violence by Adriana E. RamĂ­rez is a stunning achievement. Through the epic journey of RamĂ­rez’s Colombian family, we traverse decades of political upheaval, revolutions, and heartache. But it is RamĂ­rez’s grandmother, Esther, whose strength and resilience create an unforgettable story of survival. As we witness a country perpetually at war with itself, it is clear that the ultimate cost is personal. This book is a timely, critical work of nonfiction that illuminates so much of what we’re living through today.” —Cleyvis Natera, award-winning author of The Grand Paloma Resort and Neruda on the Park

“Adriana E. RamĂ­rez has conjured a work that is the inverse of violence. This passionate, insightful book is about continuing on, after an era of brutal random horror. RamĂ­rez’s insights on the tenacity of her grandmother, her sharp sense of humor about family dynamics, and her nuanced analysis of Colombian history left me with a renewed sense of hope amid the unremitting horrors of our own time. This lively, absorbing book is hard to put down. It’s extraordinary.” —Idra Novey, author of Take What You Need

“A breakthrough work of personal and political history, The Violence is both intimate and vast, written in shatteringly beautiful prose. Adriana E. RamĂ­rez tells the story of her Colombian family through the turbulent twentieth century, interweaving a primer on the nation’s shifting powers and allegiances. The Violence reveals the luck, circumstance and stubbornness that allows some to survive a longlasting and chaotic conflict. Poetically imagined, sometimes elegiac, The Violence reveals a time of turmoil with few heroes—save Esther Angarita, RamĂ­rez’s formidable grandmother.” —Carolyn Kellogg

“The Violence is a tour de force. Adriana Ramirez has gifted the world an epic, wise and personal book that can clue us into the afterlife of the horrors we are experiencing today. It reads as if she has invited us around the campfire to listen to the juiciest gossip except this book is not a rumor this shit actually happened. Unlike so much of what we see on the news, this book is fact-checked and rigorously researched. Moreover, It reads like a novel—it’s the best compliment I can give it. Read this book!” —Angie Cruz, author of Dominicana

“A mesmerizing and unflinching dual portrait of a family and a country navigating the relentless tides of war. Impeccably researched, The Violence is a powerful testament to the resilience of Esther, the fearless matriarch at its center, her beloved Colombia, and the battles each have fought in the name of love, homeland, power, and justice across generations. Ramirez has given us an unforgettable masterwork of striking historical precision and elegiac beauty.” —Patricia Engel, author of The Faraway World and Another Country

The Violence chosen as one of Time Magazine‘s 12 New Books You Should Read in April
Read the Boston Globe review
Read an excerpt on Literary Hub

Adriana E. Ramírez is a writer, critic, and poet based in Pittsburgh, where she writes a column and edits “InReview” for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. She is the winner of the 2015 PEN/Fusion Emerging Writer’s Prize, a former critic-at-large for the Los Angeles Times’s Book Section, and the cofounder of Aster(ix) Journal. Her writing has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Boston Globe, People, ESPN’s The Undefeated (now Andscape), LitHub, Guernica, Nerve, and elsewhere. She once lost terribly on Jeopardy!.