Denis Kennedy

Deniable Memories by Vanessa Pearse - Review A disclosure - the author is a friend of mine. This colours but doesn’t influence what follows. Deniable Memories draws you in - perhaps a little slowly – in the first quarter but, once there, you want to stay for the remainder of Martha’s emotional and brave story. I think there are two things most of us want in a book – interesting people (both the good and the not-so-attractive) and an interesting context. In Martha’s story, you get both. You want to know what becomes of the characters Martha encounters and, even in a fictional context, the story and tragedy of Sudan is a sad reality worth understanding. In addition, throw in Martha’s quest for some form of self-affirmation, after years of receiving the opposite from some who should have cared for her, and you get an honest and heartfelt mix. Importantly, that mix at no time leaves you unnecessarily uncomfortable – Martha’s journey is recounted in a balanced and real way with no reliance on gratuitous exaggeration. I believe Deniable Memories is semi-autobiographical. Martha is Vanessa as I know her, from her sensitive response to much of what she experienced in Sudan to the straight-talking, no-nonsense calling out of what she saw as wrong in both the structure and administration of overseas aid to the country. The result is a very well-written story of a not-so-ordinary girl which bounds along and keeps you wanting to know what happened next – to Martha, to those she met along the way, and to Sudan. One quibble – a book such as this (where the story is set against a factual background) would benefit, before Chapter 1, from the inclusion of a map and a short few paragraphs profiling Sudan. And similarly, at the end, a summary of how things played out for the country in the turbulent years following Martha’s time there. Like Martha’s, Sudan’s story is also interesting. For now, a few minutes on Wikipedia fills the gap. Deniable Memories is a real pleasure – one I suspect you’ll want to keep on your shelf and share with your friends. And, if, like me, this is not the kind of book you would normally be drawn to, I’d encourage you to take the chance. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.