by Kanae Minato
Hardcover, 240 pages
August 19, 2014, Mulholland Books
4 stars
"I do not want to be a saint."
Confessions is the dark, disturbing, and sometimes humorous tale of Yuko Moriguchi, a middle school teacher whose daughter has been killed at the school. The police have ruled it a tragic accident but Yuko believes that her daughter was murdered by two of her students. Because these students are too young to be prosecuted even if they were caught, Yuko decides that she needs to take matters into her own hands.
There are the usual bumps in this book that happen with translated fiction - certain phrases that sound a bit off and cultural differences that take a bit to get used to. Once you get past those difficulties, however, Confessions is full of plot twists that will make you cringe...but you'll want to keep reading to see what happens next. The story is told from multiple perspectives, allowing each character to explain his or her behavior, but it starts and ends with Yuko framing the narrative with her thoughts on punishment and revenge. Hearing each character explain why they behaved the way they did brings to light exactly how disastrous misunderstandings can be in the wrong circumstances and highlights just how twisted the climax is, once all the puzzle pieces come together.
Confessions is a creepy read that will leave you contemplating where the line between justice and revenge exists and how far is too far to seek revenge for a murdered child.
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