Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Object is Duncombe's devastating, deeply brave memoir that details the sexual abuse she survived as a child—and how those dark days colored the rest of her life, both professionally and personally. She transports readers through her healing journey, an arduous and painful path, and shares breathtaking insights on her loss, trauma, and resilience.
Prose: Duncombe's prose is lovely, even when describing horrifying situations. She makes the mundane sound wondrous and renders the extraordinary in lyrical, stunning imagery.
Originality: Object is singular, from Duncombe's unconventional upbringing as a globe-trotting child of the U.S. Embassy to her abuse at the hands of an embassy higher-up to the State Department's cover-up. Her decades-long struggle to come to terms with what she endured—and the indifference of a system that should have been protecting her—is skillfully developed, as she describes the consequences of repression alongside the terrifying exhilaration when justice, of a sort, is finally served.
Character/Execution: Duncombe's voice is strong and clear throughout, bouncing from her perspective as a child and as an adult, giving readers both an intimate and more expansive viewpoint. Duncombe crafts realistic, tense situations—such as her family's horror upon being told of the abuse, to her amusing best friend, Rose, and her husband's stubborn loathing of all things American. As she struggles to make sense of the abuse and works to reclaim her autonomy, Duncombe portrays the therapists and teachers she relied on for support in warm, convincing tones.
Date Submitted: October 28, 2024