Unspeakable
- Crius Paulus
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
The Basics
Title: Unspeakable
Author: Kevin O’Brien
Year Published: 2013
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Page #: 544
ISBN: 9780786031597
Summary
Collin Cox, an aging child star known for his roles in horror films, just wants to be a normal kid. A shocking crime forces him to move in with his grandparents. Here, he meets new friends who—while messing around with hypnotism—unlock what appears to be a second personality. Collin grows afraid of this apparent alter ego, as he seems to be erratic and dangerous, and starts looking for someone who can help him.
Olivia Barker is a hypnotherapist trying to piece her life together after a dramatic divorce. She comes to the city hoping to help people and herself, while also keeping herself safe after a traumatic event with a previous client. Instead, she finds Collin Cox at her door—a troubled teen that seems to have death on his heels. Together, they must unravel the mysteries of Collin’s alter ego and the town’s past, and they must be quick. Olivia could be next.
The Review
My greatest admission about this book is that it was far better than I expected it to be. I listened to it for free on audible and assumed its free status would equate to a cheap story. Expecting a formulaic murder mystery/slasher, I discovered the book had clever plotting and characterization. Its main shortcoming, in my opinion, was its problematic use of mental illness stereotypes/villainization. The book also didn’t have a terribly diverse cast. Overall, Unspeakable earned 4 out of 5 stars from me.
The Good
The further into Unspeakable I got, the more impressed I was with its plotting. O’Brien’s plotting was meticulous. He established so many relevant details throughout the book for the final revelations at the end. Details I didn’t even consider being a part of the climax were suddenly lined up, and the revelation was deeply satisfying and fascinating. O’Brien’s control over the little details was incredibly masterful. I genuinely think this book would be a great study for any creative writer trying to better understand how to use small details and exposition to progress a novel’s plot.
The characters in Unspeakable were well characterized. We get to know Olivia well and see the context of her life and how she got where she did. This lets us as readers empathize with her and also cheer her on. Colin Cox’s position in life is also well captured, and the complexities of his life are well demonstrated. Side/supporting characters were also given description and time on the page that truly brought them to life. Everyone felt real and that helped maintain my suspension of doubt as a reader.
The Bad *Contains Spoilers
I did notice that the character cast wasn’t terribly diverse. It was primarily made up of white cis men, with Olivia being only one of two central female characters who survives the whole book. Characters who were described as people of color were all either victimized or villainized, which isn’t particularly great representation.
That said, my main criticism of this book is its use and representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Just for a little background, DID is what was previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD). MPD was widely used up until 1994, when Dissociative Identity Disorder took its place as a more accurate representation of what the disorder is. DID is a complex dissociative disorder characterized by “a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness into a single multidimensional self.” In layman’s terms, a person who has DID has no integrated or “whole” sense of identity, rather they have “alters” who take on certain traits, purposes, interests, etc. DID comes with other symptoms, like altered memory, dissociation, derealization, depersonalization, etc.
Historically, DID has been very misunderstood and often utilized in fiction in problematic ways. The main way this happens is through the use of stereotypes, misconceptions, and myths of DID. There are many; to read a full list of myths, I recommend didresearch.org (where I got the quotes below). Anyway, these myths are the ones I want to focus on for this review in particular:
“Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is only about having multiple personalities.”
“Alters are just ego states / moods with names attached / imaginary friends.”
“Individuals with DID are never aware that they have alters.”
“Individuals with DID are never aware of what their alters do and cannot communicate with their alters.”
“Those with DID are dangerous killers!”
Now if you have read this book, you may be saying “but by the end we know what really happened, so the problem is fixed!” I recognize that the ending of the book may “correct” its poor representation of DID but it doesn’t erase what it does and says.
Ignoring the controversy of hypnotherapy—the circumstances of how Collin’s alter “Wade” appears is bizarre. While yes, it is common for people who have DID to have a history of childhood trauma, O’Brien really only nails that. He fails to give Collin any other symptoms of DID, makes Collin completely unaware of Wade until he is magically awoken, unable to communicate with Wade (people who have DID often are able to communicate internally with alters/with things like journaling), Wade is treated like Collin’s “Alter Ego,” and Wade is literally a caught and killed serial killer. In the end, DID is simply a cheap plot tool used to liven up the plot and create a potentially unreliable character. Collin’s character is ultimately just another example of DID villainization and fearmongering. The ways O’Brien misrepresents the disorder only adds fuel to the fire of popular media misrepresentation and characterization of people who have DID.
All together, this book did surprise me with its plotting and characterization. I admit the suspense and tension were well-maintained, and I always wanted to know what would happen next. That said, its problematic use and representation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) did irk me.
As always, thank you for reading!
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