A Voice for Independent Authors
― E.A. BUCCHIANERI
REVIEWING TODAY: MALICE INTENT BY ALBA CASTILLO
Malice Intent by Alba Castillo is a train wreck of a story, or a heroic account of one woman’s struggle to overcome an abuse-filled life. The book can be read two ways, depending on the personal experience and perspective of the reader. The author is intent on establishing the more heroic narrative, but she is candid, detailed, and precise enough to also establish doubt. The book has been lauded by most as a tale about surmounting horrendous odds in order to prevail. Ms. Castillo, however, has supplied enough ammunition, if desired, to shoot her own story down and reinterpret it as a cautionary tale about indulging in unbelievable and repetitive mistakes. The most conclusive statement one can make is that this emotionally wrought confessional is real and raw and relevant. Also, that it radiates emphatic immediacy. And it is very well written.
Alba Castillo’s necessarily self-centered viewpoint in Malice Intent tends to favor her own harsh assessments of her worst antagonists, and often to mitigate the selfishness behind her personal motivations, but to be entirely fair, she never refrains from letting the reader see these personal “moles and warts.” And none of this detracts from the force of reality and authenticity behind her hard and dangerous life encounters. In fact, she writes like one in shock, as hammered and confused by her own repetitive behavior as she is by her betrayers and abusers. Therein lies an immense value behind an ultimately courageous and naked revelation: Watch me suffer my wretched train wreck, but learn an important lesson by how I struggled out. For that, the book is indeed heroic.
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Joel R. Dennstedt – Top Reviewer for Readers’ Favorite
