HAVE you ever read a book in which the characters are so real, with every page so spellbinding, mesmeric and hypnotising?
Where your thoughts drift from being enthralled to anger and you want to see certain characters described in the book to get justice — except they are all fiction? This is what this book, A Tigress in the Chapel, authored by Jimmy Chasafara, does.
The novel published by Author House of the United Kingdom (UK) is Chasafara’s debut book.
It a powerful story of two young girls Gigi and Zara from their late high school days at a charity minded school in the United Kingdom (UK) who are systematically abused by their Chaplin, his wife and matron.
As the novel unfolds, it takes the reader through a journey of manipulation and blackmailing, where the two girls face every kind of sexual abuse. This is through powerful men and women in the church, police, army, media, health and politics.
Their heroic way to speak out against the abuses and put an end to the practice is told through gripping narratives.
Part of the experiences in the novel may have been told before, but never with such breeziness, passion and power.
This novel goes far beyond the obvious sexual abuse and human trafficking theme, to take on issues of mental health, racism, migration and religious wheeler-dealing, which are skilfully handled by the writer.
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The scenes of the story are wholly absorbing. This novel has complete control of Chasafara’s story and his style.
The UK-based teacher and mental health specialist, reminds people that there is a stream of child victims around the globe trapped in sex slavery and trafficking, and that their life is more endangered than people ever thought.
While the novel alerts the reader of institutions and public spaces to report these abuses, it points out that these institutions and public spaces ought to be thoroughly examined as they seem to be dominated by the abusers.
It has been widely documented worldwide that victims of slavery and trafficking have been subjected to many serious human rights violations.
Victims often cannot access justice given their limited awareness and multiple structural limitations, including within authorities responsible for supporting or pursuing such claims.
This seems to be the call in the novel that sexual abuse, sex trafficking and the spill out of mental health problems should be pursued and the perpetrators arrested to curb the scourge.
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