Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Something Different from Anita Shreve--Testimony

I'm a big fan of Anita Shreve, and I've read all of her books. When I saw her newest novel, Testimony, in stores I picked it up immediately. What I discovered was that Testimony is a story different from Shreve's other novels. Most of her novels deal with a woman who falls in love in some life altering way--but Testimony is definitely different. 

Testimony still deals with a life changing event--but instead of love its a sex scandal at a tony private school. The book uses short passages from about a dozen characters connected to the scandal in different ways to reveal how it happened and its repercussions. Even though the scandal seems pretty straightforward from the start, there are some twists that happen through the course of the narrative that make the story much deeper than a ripped-from-the-headlines teen sex scandal story. In Shreve's usual style, Testimony keeps you turning the pages--I didn't want to put this book down. 

I will warn readers that there are some graphic scenes in this novel--it does deal with a sex scandal. I enjoyed the book overall, but I was a little disappointed since I had enjoyed Shreve's earlier novels so much and was hoping for more of the same. But overall I think this book is worth reading--its a good story about the consequences of seemingly harmless actions.

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