Tag: Anita Shreve

#BestsellerCode100: Writer’s Review of Testimony by Anita Shreve

Let’s take a look at the next novel from The Bestseller Code 100 list, Testimony by Anita Shreve, from a writer’s perspective.

This post contains spoilers.

 

Testimony* by Anita Shreve

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

Summary: When the headmaster of Avery Academy receives a video of three of his older male students engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl, he is shocked. What will be the consequences for the students involved and for the school, which is already struggling? How did this happen and what should he do about it?

Plot/Format

This novel has an unusual format in many ways. First of all, instead of the standard rising conflict, the author presents the highest level of drama — the most intense scene — in the first chapter. All the following chapters cover either the acts that gave rise to the event or the results from it. It is like a mirror is shattered in the first scene and the rest of the book is about trying to reassemble the pieces.

The story is told from the perspectives of multiple characters, some of whom are closer to the sex scandal than others.  At times the diversity of viewpoints is excessive and unnecessary, for example when Natalie the lunch lady at the school or the town boy named Daryl, who sells alcohol to minors, get their say.

To her credit, Anita Shreve uses an unnamed researcher from the university to instigate some of the “testimony” and tie together the pieces with the finest of threads. The book might have been stronger, however, if the researcher was more concrete and pulled the pieces together more tightly.

Each chapter also varies in point of view. For example, the first chapter with Mike the headmaster is in third person. The second scene (by Ellen, Rob’s mom) is told in second person. Sienna, the underage girl, narrates in first person.

Characters

Because Anita Shreve tells the story from multiple perspectives, it isn’t clear who the protagonist is. The reader learns the most about one of the boys named Silas; what his motives were and what happened to him.

A case could also be made that Mike, the headmaster of the school who views the video, is the main character, especially since he’s the character we meet first. On the other hand, his actions also instigated much of what happened to Silas.

 

Photo of a house in Vermont by Mariamichelle via Visualhunt.com

Setting

The setting is a private school in Vermont. It adds atmosphere, but the story could have been placed anywhere and still had the same impact.

Discussion

A test for the greatness of any novel is how well it remains relevant over time. Unfortunately, from the perspective of the #MeToo era,  how Shreve treats the three young males who get drunk and sexually assault an underage girl seems tipped towards sympathy for the boys. The girl is presented at times as a willing participant, or at the very least less of a victim, than the boys. That perspective feels outdated.

Overall, although the construction of the novel was intriguing, the themes didn’t work for me. I had to work to finish the novel because I didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters.

 

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What are we reading next?

If you ever have questions about what we are reading next or when we’re starting the next discussion, check the 100 Book List tab in the navigation bar at the top of the blog. Links in the list go to the landing page from this blog where the discussion starts. However, this is an open-ended challenge so feel free to jump in with any of the books at any time.

The next book is number 53. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (2011) – Discussion begins August 20, 2018
Romance

#BestsellerCode100: A Reader’s Review of Testimony by Anita Shreve

Testimony by Anita Shreve is next up on our Bestsellers List reading challenge.  For a summary of Testimony, please check out its introductory post.

This post does not contain spoilers.

 

Testimony* by Anita Shreve

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

General Thoughts

I had high hopes for Testimony. Its genre – mystery/suspense – is one that I usually enjoy reading. But there was very little of either mystery or suspense in this novel. The biggest question was what ultimately happened to Silas, because it was obvious that he was the most vulnerable character in this story. But by the time the big reveal came along, I had really ceased to care. The story dragged on too long and centered too much on the headmaster’s affair and not enough on the students caught on the pivotal sex tape.

Misleading Title

The title, Testimony, led me to believe there would be a legal trial, but instead the word referred to recollections of the events given to an outside interviewer by each of the characters. We never meet this outside interviewer; we only hear vague references to the initial letter this person sent to each character.

The headmaster’s chapters were the longest, with the most details, and yet his story was not told to the interviewer, but instead told as he wrote his own “memoir.” None of this worked from me – it felt too much like a writing device rather than the way a real story would flow.

Female Provocateur

As a female author, I expected Shreve to develop multi-dimensional female characters, but the few females in this book were hardly that. I was especially disappointed in Shreve’s development of Sienna, the 14-year-old female student involved in the sex tape. She gave us just enough “testimony” to dislike the girl and feel sympathy for the male students who were obviously ensnared, but no insight into the reasons behind the girl’s actions, family life, or childhood.

As an introduction to Anita Shreve, Testimony left me with no desire to read any of her other novels. I can only assume it made the New York Times Bestseller list based upon Shreve’s loyal readers and the popularity of previous novels.

If you have an Anita Shreve novel that you can recommend, please let me know.  Surely as a bestselling author, she has written better novels than Testimony.

 

Related posts:

  1. Book-beginnings, a discussion of the first line of the novel
  2. Karen’s review from a reader’s perspective
  3. Roberta’s review from a writer’s perspective

You can also join us on social media:

What are we reading next?

If you ever have questions about what we are reading next or when we’re starting the next discussion, check the 100 Book List tab in the navigation bar at the top of the blog. Links in the list go to the landing page from this blog where the discussion starts. However, this is an open-ended challenge so feel free to jump in with any of the books at any time.

The next book is number 53. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (2011) – Discussion begins August 20, 2018
Romance

#BestsellerCode100: Number 54 Testimony by Anita Shreve

Time to start the discussion of our next novel from The Bestseller Code 100 list, Testimony by Anita Shreve.

This post does not contain spoilers.

 

Testimony* by Anita Shreve

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

Summary: When the headmaster of Avery Academy receives a video of his students engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl, he is shocked. What will be the consequences for the students involved and for the school, which is already struggling? How did this happen and what should he do about it?

Have you read Testimony by Anita Shreve? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Related posts:

  1. Book-beginnings, a discussion of the first line of the novel
  2. Karen’s review from a reader’s perspective
  3. Roberta’s review from a writer’s perspective

You can also join us on social media:

Do you have suggestions for ways to improve this reading challenge? We’d love to hear them.

Have you written about Testimony by Anita Shreve? Feel free to add a link to your review in the comments.
__________________

What are we reading next?

If you ever have questions about what we are reading next or when we’re starting the next discussion, check the 100 Book List tab in the navigation bar at the top of the blog. Links in the list go to the landing page from this blog where the discussion starts. However, this is an open-ended challenge so feel free to jump in with any of the books at any time.

The next book is number 53. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire (2011) – Discussion begins August 20, 2018
Romance

#BookBeginnings Testimony by Anita Shreve

Today we’re starting the next book in The Bestseller Code 100 challengeTestimony by Anita Shreve for Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!

 

book-beginnings-button-hurwitz

Testimony* by Anita Shreve

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

Summary:  When the headmaster of Avery Academy receives a video of his students engaged in sexual acts with an underage girl, he is shocked. What will be the consequences for the students involved and for the school, which is already struggling? How did this happen and what should he do about it?

First Sentence:

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.

Discussion:

The first chapter  should come with a warning. I took the book with me to read while waiting to get my car’s oil changed. Within minutes I realized that the intense description of sexual acts on the video weren’t something I felt comfortable reading in public. It made me squirm with embarrassment and I had to put it away. That is the first time I’ve ever had that happen. (I did my grocery list instead).

Have you ever had to quit reading a book because of similar circumstances?

What do you think? Would you read Testimony?

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