That’s where the book really amped up for me- in the way it exposes even the slightest effects of a colonialist mindset that seeps into every layer.

When discussing the effects of colonialism, The Unbroken speaks of entrenched evil that speaks in whispers as much as it shouts. The Sands are seen as no more than war dogs in service of the mighty empire, but Touraine dreams of rising in the military ranks to one day build them a place as citizens of Balladaire. To be used as no more than disposable steel against the enemies of the empire who took her, she has been stripped of identity and agency, given a new name and made lieutenant.Ī military leader only in jest, Touraine commands the Sands, people just like her, seized from their homes all conquered as colonies for Balladaire.

Touraine was savagely kidnapped from her home in Qazāli at a very young age, forced into Balladaire’s military. Clark builds a world of flawed protagonists, bloody betrayal, and the intimate and brutal effects of colonialism. Bringing to mind the French colonial presence in North Africa, C.L. The Unbroken is a glorious march on anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, a striking blow of narrative magic that leaves you breathless.

The unbroken cl clark summary