Tragedy . . . heartache . . . how much more can Tyler Montgomery and John Webster take? This missions trip, the “healing” one, has only added fresh layers of pain. Construction of an orphanage in Haiti’s northwest . . . yes. But a doomed rescue operation, human traffickers, human anomalies, extreme personal danger . . . risk of death? They hadn’t signed up for those. Turning their backs on the … crisis, however, is unthinkable, it’s just not who they are.
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Kidnapping is hard enough, but when it occurs in a foreign country, and the risk of violence and disease is über prevalent, what can two men with an already tragic past do to help the victim? But it gets worse… this isn’t just 1 seven-year-old girl in Haiti, but an entire trade of human trafficking they need to conquer. In Mark Bierman’s novel Vanished, the first I’ve read by him, he explores the psychological and physical aspects of what happens to a group of people involved and impacted by this horror. It’s gritty, not very pretty (in a good way, I mean), and shocking.
Not my typical read, I found myself engaged in a tale filled with memorable characters and a frightening plot. Our protagonists are tricked/tested by someone, and it almost causes a far worse problem, but finally, they are on the trail of the people running this gang of human thieves. The poor child(ren) and mothers who’ve lost their babies to this horrific tragedy couldn’t possibly suffer anymore, but the suspense ride Bierman brings us on shows that recovery will not be an easy path in Haiti. Men are tested, and past losses make acceptance of more death even harder.
The world is filled with nasty individuals. Some countries are truly in need of humanitarian help. And when people’s lives are meaningless (or meaningful if they can be sold, to be honest) to the kidnappers, how can anyone stand by and permit this to happen? How much of this is reality? Probably most, based on Bierman’s research and blog posts. He’s captured the essence of the paralyzing fears in the families of the victim, but he’s also shown readers a world they might never experience themselves.
Definitely a good read. Not something I would’ve picked up without seeing so many positive reviews. And I look forward to seeing what else this writer can bring to the table in the future.
An edge of your seat page-turner!
Tyler Montgomery and his father-in-law, John Webster go on a bonding mission to Haiti after the death of Tyler’s wife. Both men are suffering and hope helping in the building of an orphanage will bring them some peace. But, not long after they arrive, a young girl disappears from the mission and, after learning the law will do little to find her, undertake the search themselves.
The child- only seven years old- has most likely been taken by child traffickers, which angers and disgusts the men. As the search continues, Montgomery and Webster learn how prevalent trafficking is in third world countries. Often, parents themselves send their children away in order to give them a better life; instead they face slavery and sexual exploitation.
Faced with language barriers, mistrust, and violence at every corner, it will take these men strength and dedication to save little Chantele. At times I found Tyler to be overly impulsive- especially in a strange country- and it got them into some nasty situations, but he did it with a kind heart.
This is not an easy read, but I believe it’s an important one. If we don’t face the tragedies in this world, there is no hope of fixing them.
A spine-tingling tale that reads as if it could have been fictionalized from a true account — perhaps because so much human trafficking does go on in this world. What resonated with me mostly about this story is the extent people will go to to either 1) protect a child or 2) harm a child. What had started as a humanitarian effort turns into a nightmare that continues to worsen. Even at the end of the story, things are not looking good, although a ray of light does shine on the efforts the main characters undertook.
The story itself deserves 5 stars, but I found I could never get fully immersed into what was happening. Excessive passive voice kept distancing me from the intensity of the scenes.
Mark Bierman‘s novel Vanished opens in a Haitian prison with a game of cards turned violent, followed by an earthquake. The chapter ends with the escape of a prisoner who will play a pivotal role in the novel.
Enter young widower Tyler and his father-in-law John, two Americans newly arrived to help build an orphanage for the beleaguered island. No sooner do they get settled at the American-sponsored Rescue Mission than the young daughter of one of the Haitian staff is kidnapped.
When Chantale goes missing, the Rescue Mission organizes a search of the surrounding neighborhood. The search comes up dry, and the leaders of the Mission take it no further, resigning themselves to Chantale’s all-too-common fate. Attempts to enlist the aid of social work agencies are also unsuccessful. Tyler and John decide to find Chantale themselves.
At the same time, they are well aware of the enormity of what they’re facing. If the problem of child slavery is so great that you can’t save all the children, should you even try to save just one? What about all the other children? John in particular struggles with this question as the violence escalates later in the book.
The narration employs alternating points of view, including the kidnappers’, to advance the plot and build tension.( The third person narrator’s use of passive voice–when a sentence begins with the object of the verb, and the subject is not stated–made the action a little hard to follow in places.)
I was struck by the lengths to which Tyler and John would go to save Chantale, a little girl they didn’t even know. Equally striking were the lengths to which the kidnappers would go to prevent them from doing so. As a skinny, terrified little seven-year-old, she has negligible value as a manual laborer–yet the fight to save her is violent, bloody, and protracted.
In the Afterward, Bierman explains that he wrote the book to raise awareness of human trafficking. He chose Haiti as a representative location because his family had been on missions there. Even as I was reading it, the book raised the question in my mind of what form of writing is most effective to call attention to a serious social problem: fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, investigative journalism?
The intent with choosing fiction is to give a particular social problem a human face in the form of living, breathing people the reader can care about. On the other hand, particularly when a writer is very passionate about his cause, there is a risk of authorial intrusion into the story. I am gratified to report that Bierman does not sacrifice the characters or the plot to serve his cause, as worthy as it is. Vanished is a compelling read from beginning to end; at no time did I leave the story.