Book Review: An Uncomfortable but Important Snap Shot of Human Trafficking

The Last Thing to Burn

By Will Dean

I felt uneasy and claustrophobic reading this but couldn’t get away from it either; I was as captive as a reader, as the main character is in her ‘open prison’. ‘Jane’ is held captive by her husband, the ignorant and cruel Leonard, in the secluded English countryside. This glimpse of human trafficking is a stifling read in a way that helps you identify with the stifling life Jane has.

Jane’s real name is Thanh, from Vietnam, and she and her sister, Kim-Ly, had been brought from their home country under false pretenses into horrific circumstances of drudgery. Thanh is sold to Leonard as a slave. He renames her Jane after his mother and dead wife and keeps her under constant surveillance with occasional violence and constant coercive control. He burns her personal possessions one by one and chips away at her sense of self, something that she fights against in her constant reminders to herself about her family and her identity. She plans escape but her many attempts are foiled by her husband, the drug addiction he has manipulated her into, and the ankle injury he has inflicted upon her. Things are further complicated when a friendly and inquisitive neighbour turns up and Jane gets pregnant. Will she ever now be able to get away?

As the tension builds, we are invested in Jane’s escape in a way that won’t let us sleep. While the book is far from perfect – you have to forgive the overly ornate language at times and the repetitive phrasing, as well as the use of this tough subject matter as ‘entertainment’ – the billing as a story that gives us ‘Misery meets Room’ (Marian Keyes) tells you all you need to know about what you should expect. It’s not an entertaining but is an important read.