Testimony
By Anita Shreve
**** Stars
This book was one that will make you think more about your personal morals than any book I have ever read. The themes of betrayal or guilt or even the classic good and bad choices are stretched to the limits in the plot of this novel. I have never found my hardened Republican style beliefs to be even tested much less changed by a book until I read this one by Anita Shreve.
I am the type of person who believes in the death penalty, and specifically the Texas version where there is an express lane. I am the type of person who believes that rape ought to be included in the list of crimes that is eligible for capital punishment (and it is not at this point). I am the type who believes in a harsher more judgmental view of crime and punishment similar to the view of the Old West, they did the crime, they do the time or if the crime is bad enough then you hang them or shoot them in the street if they somehow pass the courts without due punishment. I am NOT a lenient person.
And yet, after reading this book where several young men are accused of committing statutory rape and where they all gave written confessions, I find myself wondering if the consequences are quite necessary or even if they are just. In fact I do more than wonder about this, I have changed my beliefs on several issues in today’s society. I no longer believe in blanket rules over things like statutory rape and if I read a review that said this before I read the book I would most likely become angry with the ignorant foolish person who believed that rape could be anything but rape. Well I still believe in the death penalty and I still think rapists (especially child rapists) should be punished to the most horrible and painful degree possible, but I don’t think I will throw a rule out there and anyone who toes that line gets the axe. Now, I recognize that there are sometimes extenuating circumstances that change the situation. But if the incident doesn’t fall into those circumstances THEN the person gets the axe. Literally, in my opinion. This is not a large change in beliefs but it is a large step in accepting people and situations I am not familiar with.
There are several characters that the reader ends up identifying with and several that the reader will hate beyond any other in any book the reader has read. Personally, I identified mostly with Silas and Owen who are a father and son that both go through a tremendous amount of emotional trauma. How they handle it might not have been my reaction but I completely understand where their motives come from. That is probably why this book is so powerful for me as a seventeen year old in high school much like Silas is.
4 comments:
We've had some great discussions about this book and all the moral and ethical situations that the characters experienced! One of my most enjoyable "book clubs" of all time!
Great review.
Should we consinder this for next month's book club. It sounds like an awesome conversation starter.
We can definitely discuss the possibility.
My review on amazon:
This was a sad but interesting novel about 3 boys who were caught on videotape committing various activities that were labeled a sex crime because the girl involved was only 14 and the boys were 18 and 19 years old. The scandal and resultant fallout from the event affects the young female victim, the boys, their families and friends, the students, as well as the entire community of Avery where the private school is located.
The disconcerting thing about the book was that it was told from many different points of view and sometimes was confusing as it went back and forth in time. Those changing voices also reflect the fact that perspective is everything when looking back at an event or situation. The characters in the story all suffer in various ways as the boys face the consequences of their drunken night of debauchery.
No matter how you feel about teens, alcohol, and sexual activity - it becomes clear that when those three exist in combination there will be tragedy and innocent victims resulting from those poor choices.
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