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Testimony: A Novel

Anita Shreve
Little, Brown and Company (2008)
ISBN 9780316059862
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (12/08)

“Testimony” begins from the perspective of the headmaster of Avery Academy, Mike.  He has come into possession of a sex tape, a tape in which all four individuals involved are students at the academy.  The contents of the tape are very graphic and extremely disturbing.  “It was a small cassette, not much bigger than the palm of his hand, and when Mike thought about the terrible license and risk exhibited on the tape, as well as its resultant destructive power, it was as though the two-by-three plastic package had been radioactive.  Which it may as well have been, since it produced something very like radiation sickness throughout the school, reducing the value of an Avery education, destroying at least two marriages that he knew of, ruining the futures of three students, and, most horrifying of all, resulting in a death.” (p.3)   

The book continues to explore the implications that one act can have on the future, each chapter told from a different character’s point of view.  The constant changing between characters every few pages is a little confusing at times, especially in the beginning when you do not know who any of them are.  However, as the book goes on and you become more familiar with the players, it becomes much easier to follow.

It is very interesting to see the different perspectives of the life-altering event and the impact that it has on everyone involved.  Throughout the book we get snippets here and there of what actually happened and by the end of the novel we have the entire story.  The main premise is definitely something that every mother dreads, and unfortunately it is becoming all too common in today’s world.  It is this very reason that the book is so interesting.  It is something you don’t want to see, but once you do see it is hard to look away.  It takes the events of one night, shows the ripple effects that occur, and the resulting unfortunate consequences.

Anita Shreve has created another wonderful novel!  The characters and plot are very interesting and intriguing, making “Testimony” a book that once you begin reading you will not want to put it down.        

 

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