Friday, February 15, 2013

RE:View | The Unspeakable by Tessa Stockton

I had the pleasure of interviewing Tessa for Writer Wednesday this week, check out the post {here}, and was excited to be able to share my thoughts on her book for today's RE:View post!
 
First of all, I love reading new books - especially ones that offer a new perspective or are about things I've never read before.  Tessa Stockton's The Unspeakable is one of those books.

About the book....

When a furtive conflict is pitted between violent leftist guerrillas and a rightwing paramilitary group in Colombia, a North American woman mistakenly gets caught in the middle.

“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 is the only way. 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.”
The Unspeakable...

I wasn't sure what to expect.  The book starts off as innocently as any other - a sister goes to Columbia to meet her brother.  It's sweet.  But his reaction to her presence is the initial cue that things aren't as they seem.  One event leads to another and Sylvia Abbott is captured and placed in a prison known as The Water Cave.  What happens next takes faith, courage, and a total trust in the Lord.

I wont give anything away, but I will say that this book held me to the end.  A sign of a good read (for me at least) is one that captures my attention and doesn't let me go.  The Unspeakable was that type of book for me.  I kept turning [virtual] pages late into the night wanting to see what would happen.

It's not my typical read, mind you - there wasn't any blatant romance and it was filled with more facts than I had anticipated.  These facts almost seemed placed for the specific purpose of education which, knowing Tessas background a little, makes sense (she mentions some of this in the interview on Wednesday).  Either way, the facts were not off-putting and gave the novel a weight of validity.  Also, in my opinion, it was written in a bold, no-nonsense style.  Tessa is not afraid to have her characters ask the tough questions or be real people who make mistakes but learn to turn to God for forgiveness.

If you like suspense and intrigue, learning about new cultures, and can stand to learn the truth about difficult situations and what it really means to forgive your enemies, this book is for YOU!  It won't disappoint you in the least. 

An excerpt from the book...

The silence I met caused me to slide further inward. The dull sound of particles shifting underfoot, as the rubber soles of my tennis shoes grated against something, caught my attention. I lifted my foot. That’s when I noticed the shards of orange glass from a vase, which used to sit on the entry console table. It lay in fragments on the brown tiled floor.

My stomach did a flip. Proceeding into the main part of the house, the open kitchen and living room, I found things strewn everywhere, tipped over things, broken things.

If you'd like to purchase this book, check out these links below...

*Publisher Bookstore: http://www.wings-press.com/Bookstore/The%20Unspeakable.htm

*Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unspeakable-tessa-stockton/1114082715?ean=2940016101125

*Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Unspeakable-ebook/dp/B00B2ZLZ7O/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359658562&sr=8-2&keywords=the+unspeakable+stockton

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I received a free copy of this book for review purposes, but was under no obligation to read the book or post a review. I do so under my own motivation and the opinions I have expressed in this review are honest and entirely my own.  

2 comments:

  1. Hey, I can see, read, I'm here! Lol. My computer is no longer playing tricks on me. : )

    Emilie, what a pleasure it is to appear on your blog. Thanks so much. And thank you for the awesome review! I couldn't wish for anything better...

    Blessings to you ten-fold!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome & thanks Tessa! I really enjoyed your book and was happy to have you as a guest!! :)

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