Unbroken (by Tosin Enianke Kiyesi) | Book Review

My first and last thoughts

I jotted down my thoughts as I read this book, as I always do when I read books. I took the jottings of this book slightly more seriously, and this is kind of because I know the writer personally in a little way.

My first jotting about the book was at the beginning of the prologue. My exact words were, "I felt the intensity of the pain Shalewa felt and how much she had to fight." This was only in the prologue as I began the book. And it summed up my feelings about the book as I completed it.

My last jotting to give an overview of what I read was "My general feelings for this book are how terribly Shalewa emotionally suffered." Unknown to me, my first and last jots were in synchrony. Only as I began to write this review did I come to this realization.

About the book

This book is about Shalewa, who was born into a lower-class family and, at a young age, desired greatness and excellence for herself. This attribute of hers stuck with her from her primary, secondary, and university days, even as she entered and worked in the industry.

Of course, she had challenges along the way and already had a resolved attitude toward rising above them. One of the challenges that stood out to me, or was the major challenge of her life, was her choice of partner, Funso.

Shalewa first noticed Funso on one of those days when she attended her usual church fellowship during her university days. She admired him for his handsomeness and his reserved attitude.

She was also in awe of his dress sense, his scriptural eloquence, and his brilliance. They met at the university, and the relationship held up until they got married almost 10 years later. Of which Shalewa was the backbone of the relationship.

During their married years, the nature of Funso, which he showed in little ways before their marriage, was amplified as they were married. Funso was cold-hearted, and Shalewa was the only reason the relationship stood.

He put Shalewa through a lot of emotional torture during the majority of their marriage, and even as I read, I occasionally dropped the book not to put myself through the emotional pain Shalewa felt, because I felt it too.

As the book's title states, she came out of it, but I tell you, it was a battle for her life and sanity. The emotional and mental torture she passed through ticked the box for me as someone who should already be in a psychiatric hospital.

My emotions and thoughts as I journeyed through the book

For me, this book could single-handedly stand as my favorite book since I started taking reading seriously. I haven't read many books, so I can't give a more general or unbiased opinion. But this is my biased opinion about this book, on the basis that it is completely relatable, and I can imagine this could be some people's reality.

This book touched on uncomfortable situations and deep emotions. One where I could feel it so much, I had to take a break for a few minutes from reading. As the book went on towards the end, I asked myself, "When would this torture end?" both for me and the character Shalewa. I was bent on completing it regardless because of how much I learned, enjoyed, and felt the emotions all around.

Thank you for reading my heartfelt review of this book. I hope you see it as a book worth picking up. I would also love to hear your thoughts on my review.

Cheers 🥂

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