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eileenthecrow's review
2.0
this started great and as the story went on i realized i don't care about most of the characters or their point of views. it also felt a bit unrealistic at times but oh well, i would be okay with it if i had just cared about what was happening. by the third one, i was just really disinterested.
vespurr's review
4.0
4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. I read this book from cover to cover in a single afternoon.
Penance, like Confessions, has such an interesting writing style. Part letter, part one-sided conversation, part speech, and so on. I find Minato to be so unique and fascinating. I would like to see more of her works translated into English.
For me, the most wonderful thing about Penance is not the crime story or the mystery itself, but the way the story explores human behavior and the psychological impact a traumatizing event can have on a person. What happens when four young school children experience a murder and are subsequently threatened by the mother of the victim?
The characters, each unable to move past their childhood trauma, end up in downhill slide of events that only go from bad to worse. In the end the murderer is revealed, but the question of 'who was really to blame?' hangs in the air.
Trigger warning: This book does contain the sexual abuse of children. This is something I personally could have done without, and believe the book could still have been great without it. I know that others might argue against that, but this is a personal preference and my own rating goes down slightly for that reason.
However, Penance was overall fantastic and I would LOVE to read more from Kanae Minato in the future.
Penance, like Confessions, has such an interesting writing style. Part letter, part one-sided conversation, part speech, and so on. I find Minato to be so unique and fascinating. I would like to see more of her works translated into English.
For me, the most wonderful thing about Penance is not the crime story or the mystery itself, but the way the story explores human behavior and the psychological impact a traumatizing event can have on a person. What happens when four young school children experience a murder and are subsequently threatened by the mother of the victim?
The characters, each unable to move past their childhood trauma, end up in downhill slide of events that only go from bad to worse. In the end the murderer is revealed, but the question of 'who was really to blame?' hangs in the air.
Trigger warning: This book does contain the sexual abuse of children. This is something I personally could have done without, and believe the book could still have been great without it. I know that others might argue against that, but this is a personal preference and my own rating goes down slightly for that reason.
However, Penance was overall fantastic and I would LOVE to read more from Kanae Minato in the future.
gkahahaha's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
marieintheraw's review
4.0
Not as twisted as Confessions by this author, but still full of twists and turns. The only reason this has a lower rating is that one of the perspectives I was not enjoying as much as the rest of this story.
thejejo's review
3.0
Confessions was such a good book I had to pick this one up. It was pretty good…personally it was unnecessarily sexually crude when it came to children. I love me a thriller but it was a bit much for me. Hopefully the authors next book will steer clear of kiddos
dumb_library's review against another edition
3.0
I read Confessions by Kanae and absolutely loved it. This one didn’t pack as much of a punch and I was pretty bored starting about halfway through. It felt very repetitive and it seemed to lead to nowhere. I still find Kanae’s writing to be amazing and I will definitely be checking out any other translated works by her!
mikes_ha's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
ninich's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5