Thursday, February 5, 2009

Book Review-Testimony


I just finished reading Testimony by Anita Shreve.


From the inside cover:


At Avery Academy, a prestigious New England boarding school, the headmaster finds himself in possesion of a videotape--a disaster in a small package. More shocking than the sexual acts recorded on the tape are the ages of the students. One girl is just fourteen.


A Pandora's box, the tape unleashes a storm of shame and recrimination throughout the small community. The men, women, and teenagers involved speak out to relate the events of that night and their aftermath. Mike Bordwin, the headmaster, struggles to contain the scandal before it destroys the school. Silas Quinney, a well-liked boy, grapples with the tremendous consequences of his mistakes. Anna, his mother, confronts her own forbidden temptations. And Sienna, an enigmatic and troubled young woman, tries to put the past behind her.


For all the tape reveals, it provokes more questions than it answers. How did this happen? Who is to blame? And will the mistakes of one foolish moment ruin the futures of everyone involved? As the chorus of voices rises to a crescendo, it reveals the surprising truth of what occured that night, and how the lives touched by these events will forever be transformed.


This book was pretty good. I flew through it pretty quickly. But for some reason, it left me feeling unsatisfied. I don't know if it was all of the hype about the book, or what, but I wanted more out of it. Maybe a bigger twist or something, but I saw all of it coming.


I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

1 comment:

  1. What do you think of Anita Shreve's writing? I had read one of her other books some time before and did not care for the writing. The subject matter of Testimony is what interested me and the story was pretty good. The emotions of the people truly felt like my own.

    You won a book on my blog by the way. Check your email and send me your mailing address.

    Deidre

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