My review of Unspeakable by Tessa Stockton

About the book:

“I spent four months, one week and two days in a clandestine prison referred to as The Water Cave. Every day I stared hell in the face, and each day I wanted to die. I don’t want to share too much too quickly. To understand fully, you must join hands with me; fasten your heart to mine, and course through my book. Stumble over the incomprehensible human rights journey with me. I’ve pondered it to the brink of questionable sanity…and it’s the only way to explain. I suppose I should consider myself lucky I survived at all—for many did not—yet, perplexingly so, that’s not the premise of this narrative.

He altered my life, marked me forever.

But it’s not how you might imagine.

This is a story involving Horacio Botello, my torturer known as Puma.”

My review:

This was a compelling read with a suspenseful theme and tone to the story. The writing style is excellent and really pulls you in. I've heard about the dangers in other countries from various factions and political dissidents, but wow, this story had an impact on my view of things. At first I thought the plot was going in one direction, then it took off in another. The torture endured by the heroine was brutal, sort of like what happened with the communist party in its early days. For people who have weak stomachs, it might be too much detail, though I tend to be a chicken and I didn't get too freaked out by it.

So the story was dark, but not too dark. The redemptive themes in this novel helped shine light into that darkness. I think one of the things I liked most about this book was the use of Scripture and how even in the darkest times the author showed how God's Word can minister to people suffering and give hope where there would otherwise be none.

The author brought out issues many people ask in situations like the heroine experienced. Why does God allow it? I thought the author did a great job with this topic and she offered no pat answers. She also did a great job showing the trauma and PTSD experienced by the heroine as a result of the torture. But in the end, the story offered hope. Praying for your enemies is not an easy thing to do, but it can reap amazing rewards, which only God can bring about. This book is making my favorite fiction list for 2013!

The Unspeakable was published by Wings ePress and released in January 2013.