Confessions

By: Kanae Minato, Stephen Snyder (translator)

Narrated by: Elaina Erika Davis, Noah Galvin

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

Her pupils murdered her daughter. Now she will have her revenge.

After calling off her engagement in the wake of a tragic revelation, Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her only child, four-year-old child, Manami. Now, following an accident on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.

But first she has one last lecture to deliver. She tells a story that upends everything her students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a diabolical plot for revenge.

Narrated in alternating voices, with twists you'll never see coming, Confessions probes the limits of punishment, despair, and tragic love, culminating in a harrowing confrontation between teacher and student that will place the occupants of an entire school in danger. You'll never look at a classroom the same way again.

©2014 Kanae Minato (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Such a great revenge story chilling and engrossing

The title of this review really says it all. I finished this book in two days which I almost never do, I cannot recommend this enough.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Great book and performance. Watch the movie too.

Story is thrilling and well paced. Watch the movie if you want to see a great artistic rendition of this story.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Confessions

it took me a minute to get in to the style of the book. The way it started out was a little different. But once I got into the story I needed to see how it ended this is a great book.

Beautifully Written Suspense

I loved this book from beginning to the very end. The story setup was delicious in its revenge I was never bored. I felt the dark satisfied at the books conclusion. The reader did an excellent job. I want this book in written form to add to my library. I highly recommend it if you like dark revenge fiction.

A Bit Crazy!

At first, the style of narration in the story threw me a bit, but once I got used to it the story fell into place. What a crazy tale though! Different and crazy! Enjoyable and crazy! ...crazy!

Extensive Revenge

This book was recommended to me by my girlfriend, so I had to listen to it. The first chapter starts off very slow and feels very disconnected, but picks up after a while. Each chapter provides a dark twist that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Audible’s Version of “Confessions” is Best

Although this book garnered 4-5 ⭐️ reviews, the partial chapter of the Kindle sample did not interest me. However, spoken-word Japanese—as is written in the sample—flows better when read aloud. The Audible spoken-voice sample was much better than the Kindle version.

This is a disquieting psychological thriller with elements of non-supernatural horror. This complex revenge story is told from the POVs of six different characters—vaguely reminiscent of Rashomon—each narrating and/or sharing a chapter in this short novel. As the story proceeds, the author’s puzzle pieces begin clicking into place, revealing characters’ motives and methods, delusions & psychological dysfunctions—leading to a surprising but deadly conclusion that will satisfy readers who like revenge stories.

I’m giving this 3 stars for several reasons:

1. As a whole, the pace was good, but some sections dragged, so I increased listening speed (a lot) or skipped ahead.
2. The “bad/evil” student is an adult-level genius, so he would know disease transmission routes. Or at the least, how to research the topic online.
3. I found it incredible that not a single student told a parent or had nightmares about the food-tainting incident at school.
4. How did a middle school boy get his blood drawn at a lab without a parent present? Or was it via a home delivery kit? Furthermore, would test results—that could be mis-delivered or opened by someone else—be mailed? With the patient’s name on it?
5. Moriguchi seems to know too much about other characters’ feelings and intimate conversations.
6. I rated the Audible narrators 3 stars because character voices were often too similar. Narrators were probably coached to pronounce Japanese words/names, at times they were not convincing—especially the male narrator. How many different ways can you say: “Manami” or “Mizuki” or “Mizuho”? These odd pronunciations stopped the story for me.

Loved this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️LOVED this darkly twisted tale of psychologically damaged children and adults each seeking their own independent and egotistical release from both real and perceived threats to their happiness. Evil deeds, wicked plots, murder, broken hearts and broken minds are explored with an unapologetic honesty that is both beautiful and terrifying.

A very compelling read.

This was a great story told from five different perspectives. It was enjoyable to hear each of the characters inner thoughts and feelings as they go through the same story. I also found the ending extremely satisfying. The narrators did an excellent job of portraying the 5 characters. Very enjoyable story!

it's good. just not kind of book. great bizarre.

it's good just not my kind of book. great bizarre story. kudos to the writer

1 of 3 people found this review helpful