Review: Great story of redemption and forgiveness
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 29, 2012
Victim of Shame is a tragic story about a man named Ryan Campbell. Ryan has done something that has ruined the life of another - his wife Sarah. Something horrible happened in his life and that one accident changed him for the worst. He writes about women's rights, but it is a way to relieve his overwhelming guilt. He is trying to redeem himself for what he has done, but it seems someone might do that for him.I enjoyed this read a lot. I don't like this more than Once though. While it does have a few similarities, I found that world to be a bit more believable. Our main character Ryan drove me nuts. He was good at first, but he was a downright jerk most of this book. His attitude sometimes was just awful and for no particular reason. Take his job hunting for example. He "resigned" from his job and needed a new one soon or else he would be homeless. When he does get the call, his reaction was just so insipid and sort of clipped with his answers. He didn't care that he not only got a job, but a new apartment. But just the day before he was anxious about the new job and always running to the phone when it rang. Where did the attitude come from? Why isn't he happy that his life is getting better? Just doesn't make any sense.Kim was Ryan's fiancee who treated him like crap after his accident. This was something I also thought was so weird. They were going to get married in a couple of days and his accident instantly switches her b**** mode on. Her and her new fiancee force Ryan out of work and leave him behind. How can someone go so soulless in less than a week? Then again, I think Zia did that on purpose to show how easy it is to go over the edge. But one character I did love was Maria. She was so full of wisdom and spirit. She instantly put a smile on my face. I really liked Sarah as well. I wish we got more of her specifically before the incident.The story was very emotional and heavy. Ryan suffers from the accident he had. He is now impotent and can't have children. His fiancee pretty much kicks him aside and insults him and his manhood. Ryan no can't trust women. In fact, he hates them. His hate grows and grows unless he is talking to Maria. His hate gets him to do something truly despicable. He humiliates Sarah and she might be beyond repair. Ryan is trying desperately to get rid of his guilt and to change his views.Now I do have complaints about this book. As I said before, the attitudes were just awful. Another thing was that the book does get a tad bit preachy specifically about religions. There were times when religion was thrown and it didn't seem to fit. For instance, Maria approaches Ryan at his new job about covering a story about a girl who has been mutilated. Ryan asked her why she is helping when the girl is Christian and she is Muslim. How is that a relevant question? Maria isn't a heartless woman. Why would did he have to ask that? Then there was how Ryan was talking about how boisterous Sarah was before they were together, But he never took the time out to get to know her before everything happened. He was very rude towards her, so that didn't make sense. Then there was what had happened after the accident. Ryan never asks about the other people that were in the accident as well. Are they okay? Who were they? I have no idea and I would have liked to have known that.Overall, I did enjoy this book a lot. It was very human, but it had its moments where it straddled the line of being angry and being downright soulless. Ryan was a hard character to like and a hard character to hate. But as I said, he was very human. I was very invested in this story. The journey was amazing. It was full of sadness, anger, guilt, redemption, and forgiveness. This is a read that will stick with me especially the end. The book was beautifully written and I loved the scene at the end between Ryan and Sarah. I am very happy I read this. I definitely recommend it.