Confessions

I loved every page and can't wait to talk it up.....what a twisted and terrific revenge tale....marvelous!

This was definitely an interesting book, one that held my attention from the beginning and didn’t let go until the last page.
I would describe it as a psychological mystery written in forms of “confessions”. We get to see the same even from different view-points, which makes an event that may have appeared simple at first seem much more complex and less black and white. I would have liked the characters to have been a bit more fleshed out, especially the teachers, but overall, the author does a good job of keeping us interested in what is going on in each of her characters’ lives. The writing is simple. It gets out of the way, allowing us to get a better sense of the protagonists. If you enjoy reading psychological mysteries that leave you thinking, then this one is a good choice for you.

Confessions by Kanae Minato. Published by Mullholland Posted on March 21, 2014 by cayocosta72

Yuko has always loved her job as a middle school teacher. Now that her fiance is out of the picture, her job and her 4 year old daughter are her reasons for living. One day there is a horrific accident at the middle school’s pool. Yuko’s daughter Manami is dead. Yuko is filled with fury, sure that her students are to blame for her daughter’s death. She plans to leave teaching forever, but before she goes, she will plant the seeds of doubt and suspicion in her students’ minds, making them wonder if they really know their friends….and if vengeance is theirs to mete out.

A stark and frightening novel. Be prepared, there are no happy endings here

CONFESSIONS has one job to do, and it does it well. There is no flash to the story. It is as straight-forward a narrative as one can get. Each of the narrators tells his or her story with no fuss, little embellishment, and a sincerity that is chilling in its emotion or lack thereof. Moriguchi sets the tone as she dispassionately tells the tale of her daughter’s murder and her revenge. The rest of the stories follow the same pattern, revealing more about the key figures involved in the drama and ratcheting up the tension as Moriguchi’s revenge takes effect.

Where the story starts and where it finishes are a complete surprise. Readers get inklings that the story is going to take such a dark turn, but even the savviest reader will miss just how disturbing it is going to get. The truly amazing thing is that the revenge plot and its aftermath are not unreasonable. In fact, the whole plot has logic about it that does somewhat excuse the narrators' behaviors. There is still plenty of behavior with which readers should and will find fault, but the idea of restitution, and the methodical way in which she justifies it, is a powerful one that places a reader’s sympathy on characters who may or may not entirely deserve it.

CONFESSIONS is one of those twisty novels which drives home the point that it is impossible to know exactly what someone else is thinking, feeling, and experiencing. The various confessions are scandalous in what they reveal about all of the characters, especially as readers are already experiencing bias given what others have previously shared. The story is also a particularly telling statement about modern judicial systems and the lack of justice in certain scenarios. CONFESSIONS will simultaneously shock and awe at the depths people will go to seek revenge, acceptance, and/or attention.

Publication Date: 19th August from Mulholland Books.

With thanks to the author and publisher for the review copy via Netgalley

After an engagement that ended in tragedy, all Yuko Moriguchi had to live for was her four-year-old child, Manami. Now, after a heartbreaking accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.
But first, she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that will upend everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a maniacal plot for revenge.

Well. Ok that was an amazing read for me, totally addictive I barely put it down. My first reaction upon completing it was to go a little bit Bill and Ted. “Messed up dude” was my actual thought.

And indeed, there were some messed up characters within the pages of “Confessions”, often for good reason as the story developed but occasionally just because. Such horrific happenings and yet told mostly in a very matter of fact and straightforward fashion – through several layers and several voices, we find out the what, why, when and who and as much as this is a book of confessions it is also a book of consequences. Like a nest of Russian dolls one thing leads to the next and to the next and irrevocably to a final showdown which for me, was immensely satisfying if very dark.

My first foray into Japanese fiction – I can certainly see why it was a bestseller, perhaps the Japanese “Gone Girl” not in story at all but in capturing the imagination and creating a word of mouth buzz that obviously worked well and for good reason. Watching the thought processes of some very twisted minds as they play out scenario’s that are at turns fascinating, horrifying yet very believable this is intensely creepy and profoundly disturbing.

The prose is staccato in nature, most especially from the teacher’s point of view, giving a sharp and often detached feeling to the whole thing, as perhaps someone in shock one step removed from events may describe something – it gives a particular resonance and ambience to the tale being told and creates an edgy atmosphere that may play on your nerves – it certainly did on mine. Some very creative writing right there and almost perfectly constructed.

From the moment Yuko starts her goodbye speech to her students, to the very end where she has the final word, you will be enthralled, often uneasy and absolutely wanting to know what is going to happen. This is not a book where you will love the characters, perhaps not even relate to them, or root for one or the other but more a psychological thriller that will edge its way into the very darkest recesses of your mind and linger there…waiting to jump at you out of the shadows.

This is not a horror story and yet it horrifies. It is not really a crime story although there are crimes involved. It is a story of the darker side of human nature, one of vengeance and ramifications and oddly, childhood and coming of age. For me it was perfectly poised and certainly one of the best books I’ve read this year for getting me obsessively involved in its pages. Its ok, I’m breathing again now…

I can see why it won’t be for everyone – if you want kittens and rainbows stay away. If you can’t cope with a story that is utterly dark with very little hope of redemption for anyone then stay away. But if you want a book that will get into your head and make you shiver then get this now.

From me it comes Highly Recommended.

Happy Reading Folks!

http://lynnsbooks.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/confessions-by-kanae-minato/
Confessions is a compelling and shocking story narrated by individual characters whose individual chapters will eventually reveal a full picture of the events that occurred leading up to the death of a young girl.

The story starts in a highschool classroom where a home tutor (Yuko) informs her students of her decision to leave her job. She relates a story about how she came to be a teacher and goes on to more personal issues including why she raises her child (Manami) as a lone parent – sometimes necessitating bringing her to school. (Unfortunately during one such occasion Manami goes missing and her body is eventually found floating in the school swimming pool.) Yuko believes that two of her students are responsible for the death of Manami. And so the story begins.

I wondered if I would enjoy Confessions for two reason (1) it sometimes feel that translations quite literally do lose something in translation – slight nuances and descriptions for example – and this can sometimes give the text a quite blunt feeling. (2) I’ve already seen the film for this and so wondered if it would lose some of the suspense.

Neither fear turned out to be well founded. This book gripped me in a way that meant I was virtually unable to put it down.

As I said above the story is related by different individuals. through which we eventually build up a picture of three of the students and three of the mothers involved. Starting with the teacher we move on to other key players including the two accused students. Each chapter builds upon the last as you uncover a different side to the story. Each provides an intense and sometimes scary insight into the motivations of each character and more than that displays how small misunderstandings have the ability, Chinese whisper style, to turn into a much bigger issue. I loved the complexities of this story and the way that all the strands from each character eventually paint a much bigger picture.

The writing style is very straight forward and uncluttered, you could accuse it of being a little stark and yet I enjoyed if for this particular story. It doesn’t need flourishes and embellishments but works on a much more psychological basis and the sparseness of the writing helps to reinforce that somehow – like there are no distractions just very straight forward accounts from each narrator that are sometimes sad, sometimes shocking and sometimes will turn your feelings on their head.

Nothing here is quite as it first seems and I sometimes felt myself having sympathy in the least expected place!

It’s a story that takes a look at motherhood. It looks at the way that the pressures of society work differently on people. It delves into the effects of peer pressure. It shows the impact that a simple misunderstanding can have and the ripples that can cause. A book of murder and revenge – where strangely enough the murder is almost downplayed and the revenge comes across very quietly and creepily.

I definitely recommend this book.

I suppose everybody wants to be recognized for what they've done; everybody wants to be praised. But doing something good or remarkable isn't easy. It's much easier to condemn people who do the wrong thing than it is to do the right thing.

Yuko Moriguchi is still reeling from the death of her daughter, Manami, when she makes the end of the year speech to the middle schoolers she teaches. Her speech puts in motion her revenge upon two students, let's call them A and B, and leads to some pretty twisted actions by some pretty twisted people.

This book is told from multiple points-of-view, basically the points-of-view of the people who have set all of these horrible events in motion. I liked that it also was in a form of a letter, a will and testament, journal entries, etc. You definitely get a much richer story from being able to see the events from multiple points-of-view.

This book has some pretty twisted stuff in it. You think that the events that Yuko Moriguchi mentions in her speech are pretty horrific but then things start happening after her speech that manage to top that. The majority of people in this book are pretty insane or becoming insane. What I liked about that was getting to read the reasons behind their insanity or getting to see their slow progression into insanity. There were two people who quite possibly could have been psychopaths.

This is definitely going to be on my top 10 books of 2014 list. I would highly recommend everyone reading this book (unless you tend to be squeamish). Every time I read a book that has been translated I get a little worried that it might be awkward but this book was easy to understand and utterly captivating. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the galley.