Find out the latest indie author news. For FREE.

ADVERTISEMENT

OBJECT: A Memoir
What happens when an American diplomat is exposed as a sexual abuser of young girls? In her searing memoir, Kristin Louise Duncombe takes us back to her childhood in West Africa, where her life is a tapestry of lazy family days by the pool and secret abuse at the hands of an esteemed member of the close-knit US Embassy community. When the assailant is outed by one brave girl and more preteens come forward, the scandal is hushed up by the State Department, the parents’ fight for justice goes nowhere and the abuser is simply transferred back to Washington. But the consequences for the girls he assaulted will last a lifetime. Duncombe tells her globe-trotting story in dual timelines – her struggle as a traumatized teen to navigate her sexuality against a backdrop of abuse, and her life as an older-but-none-the-wiser adult seeking self-worth in unfulfilling relationships. When she finally finds the courage to leave her complicated marriage, it is by facing the demons that have haunted her since childhood. Object is a coming-of-age story twice told: once when a little girl grows up too fast, and a second time, in middle age, when the woman she has become finally heals. This important book is a fierce indictment of the silencing of girls and women in the United States and abroad.
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 9 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 9 out of 10
Overall: 9.00 out of 10

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

ADVERTISEMENT

Loading...