Share the love

First Impression: Love it or hate it, this Marmite flavor of a book will make you feel a range of emotions.

The Tattered Veil book cover

Before I go on, I want to thank Bekka Hunsperger for the gift of The Tattered Veil in return for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the experience of reading a story that she partly lived and survived.

My soul hurts. It hurts for little Sofia, grown Sofia and Bekka Hunsperger, who in part lives in these Sofias.

A difficult prologue speaks of the loss of a parent, the gaining of a new parent and the vivid rape at the hands of a new relative twice in the night, whilst a younger sister ‘slept’ on. It ends with the incitement that more rapes at the hands of more family members are to shatter this thirteen-year old’s life. The lump at the back of the throat is real, witnessing this child be silenced with accusations of jealousy and disruption.

Trigger warning: A flashback takes us back to a nine-year-old Sofia’s memory of her mother’s wake and the learning of her passing. Although at the time the meaning and its consequences were misunderstood. What follows is a sharp, shocking pull into reality as Sofia releases this vision and draws us into her abusive, loveless marriage and a harrowing rape scene at the hands of her husband that has her blindfolded and bound by duct tape to the bed and objects on the floor. The descriptive scene paints a vivid picture that cannot be unseen.

Through her desire to escape a man whom she had only married to escape the homelessness thrust upon her by her father, Sofia embarks on a series of affairs, whilst her husband indulges in his own overt extramarital liaisons. Whether good or bad, she floats from one relationship to another never taking the time to take stock, embrace singledom and work out what she wanted and desired. Unfortunately, two children by two fathers are dragged into the drama of sex, drugs, and violence.

As someone that has not had to contend with such a lifestyle that has stripped one of their entire essences, it is difficult to understand the string of obviously bad choices that were habitually made by the protagonist. Even harder is trying to comprehend the lack of substantial help that was not forthcoming from ‘friends’ and ‘family’ that were in a position to do so. Like a red flag to a bull, Sofia charges at every piece of waving cloth making this book an absolute page turning as you will her to finally see sense and cross her leg for more than five minutes. In reality, however, this is the story of someone that has been broken and systematically conditioned since the age of nine and knows not what to do when the finer offers of life are there in front of her.

Trigger warning: High drama ensues with circumstances that lead to stillbirth. It’s hard to fathom how someone can continue to be erroneous in all that they do. It is this willingness for Sofia to wake up and smell the coffee that makes the book an absolute page turner.

Throughout the book, there remained a curiosity about the back story. Despite there being a series of sexual abuses throughout Sofia’s childhood, these are not mentioned beyond the prologue. Consequently, although between the lines, they might provide clarity as to why Sofia is the way she is, it would have been good to have that clarity. Further, the death of her mother and the relationship with her dad were far more built up than needed to be. The relationships bore no impact on the resulting story. As such, the prologue could have been skipped altogether.

The themes of this book make it unsuitable for a young audience, nor is it particularly appealing to survivors of any kind of abuse. On the one hand, there are readers that will enjoy the violence and the conditioned submissiveness of the protagonist. On the other, there will be readers that will be appallingly sickened by it. For this reason, the book is one for the fence. It’s a case of Marmite; you’ll either love it or hate it. What it will do though, regardless of who you are, is make you feel. This is not a book you read, walk away from, and forget in a hurry.

Quick Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/ R Rated

Have your say: What are your first impressions of this title? Share your thoughts with the Papergirl Community in the comments below.

Disclaimer: Clicking on links may direct you to Papergirl branded products, or Papergirl endorsed items for which there is an affiliation. It will not affect your purchases or prices in any way, but it may mean that Papergirl earns a small commission from any successful sales.

Wondering what to review next, consider: