Recently published October 21, 2008
In her latest novel Testimony, author Anita Shreve explores issues surrounding teenage sexuality and the long-term ramifications of our in-the-moment decisions. When a video surfaces featuring a 14-year-old freshman girl engaging in sexual acts with three senior boys, Avery Academy in Avery, Vermont is shaken to its core. The headmaster, knowing the press will have a heyday with a story about sexual misconduct at a prestigious private school, initially reacts by trying to resolve the problem in-house and contain the story. Of course, word gets out, and the lives of all involved are changed forever.
Rather than telling the story in a linear narrative format, Shreve gives us chapters from many different characters’ perspectives. We hear from the headmaster, from all of the boys involved and from their family members; we hear from the young girl at the center of the controversy, and we hear from her roommate; we hear from one boy’s girlfriend, and from members of Avery’s faculty and staff, and from people who live in town and know the boys involved.
Shreve utilizes primarily first- and third-person perspectives and gives one boy’s mother a second-person narrative that puts the reader right into the situation. Her writing is compelling and very readable. In fact, I started this book Sunday around noon and finished it later in the evening, reading it in, essentially, one sitting. Her explanation of the events leading up to the fateful Saturday night and her exploration of the ramifications of the decisions made in its aftermath are insightful and force the reader to ask a lot of important questions.
At the center of the controversy is the question of who is to blame. Are the boys, by virtue of the fact that they are legally of age, automatically to blame for taking advantage of a younger girl who was clearly intoxicated? Does the 14-year-old girl, who appears to have participated willingly but later claims she was raped, at all to blame? Can a 14-year-old girl seduce three older boys and take advantage of them?
While the questions that are literally related to the plot are interesting, perhaps the most important issue Testimony asks us to examine is the way in which decisions and actions we undertake in the heat of the moment can change our lives forever. The boys involved in the video were all talented athletes with bright futures ahead of them. The girl was just beginning her high school career, and though she was dealing with a troubled family life, she had a lot to look forward to and would encounter many opportunities for growth at Avery. The administration and faculty, who are as shocked by the video as the rest of the community, do their best to handle the situation with sensitivity and responsibility, but it’s shaky ground, and they do not always make the best decisions. Shreve weaves their stories together masterfully and allows us to get into their heads and hearts and to understand what they are feeling and why they’re thinking what they’re thinking.
I enjoyed reading Testimony and would recommend it to readers who enjoy a compelling story and the multiple narrative structure. I didn’t really care for the ripped-from-the-headlines nature of the plot line (a similar scandal took place at a real school in New England a few years ago and was written about in a book called Restless Virgins), but I think Shreve’s handling of the subject matter was excellent, if not a bit predictable. 3.75 out of 5.
Have you read Testimony? What do you think?
Filed under: Book Reviews | Tagged: anita shreve, Book Reviews, books, fiction, reading, teenage sexuality, testimony
I really loved this novel and highly recommend it to others. I didn’t notice the predictability of the plot simply because I was captivated by the narrative.
I unfortunately did not enjoy this book. I was bothered by the jumping back and forth through time, which, coupled with the multiple narrative structure, confused me. I also felt that there were characters whose stories were not fleshed out enough (well one in particular, but it’s a possible spoiler to say who). My review is here.
I didn’t realize that a true story along similar lines had happened so recently. That does let me down. Overall I liked the book, though, and the questions it explored like you said.
Excellent review, as usual. I enjoyed Testimony – made me think about how one simple action affects so many.
Haven’t read it yet but it is on my Christmas list. I have read everything else she has written so can’t wait. Thanks for the review
This book is in my TBR pile, and I can’t wait to read it. I’ve loved all of Shreve’s books so far, and I’m hoping this one doesn’t disappoint.
I really liked this one…Shreve is consistent. This one was a bit of a departure for her, but it worked for me.
I live near Boston, Mass and this novel sounds like a story that broke at a nearby prep school a few years ago. That being said, it’s on my TBR list and I can’t wait to get to it.
I enjoyed your review, particularly your appreciation of the skillful handling of multiple POV. It’s very difficult to handle continuty, emotional overlap, and preserving an individual’s frame of reference in a tale’s portrayal. I’ll read the book to see how Ms. Shreve pulled it off.
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I have this book in my TBR pile right now but it is going to be a bit longer before I can get to it. Just too many books to read.
Great review. Makes me look forward to the book even more.
[...] Book Review: Testimony by Anita Shreve [...]
Great review!
I just read Testimony as well and share many of your sentiments…except I loved it and didn’t find it predictable…primarily because I wasn’t aware of the actual story it was based on. I definitely would recommend this one to others with the caveat that they need to be prepared for multiple povs/voices and switching back and forth between time lines.
Loved the book. Went out on the Web to find out more about Shreve and the book. Read a couple of interviews with her. She really is concerned with the issue of underage drinking and its consequences.
I read this book in one sitting today (while waiting on jury duty) and I think it’s good as a “straight through” book. The multiple narrator style works best when you can read it as if everyone is giving “testimony” in the same room. I was a little disappointed that there was no “closure” , but I guess that’s the way real life is, especially in a situation like that.
I’m currently reading this book and while it does jump around and the narrator style is a bit different than her other works, I’m enjoying it, but I’m a Shreve fan and I have liked all her books.
[...] reviewed two books this week, Things the Grandchildren Should Know and Testimony, both of which I read the previous week…well, I read Testimony in one sitting last Sunday, [...]
[...] Rebecca at The Book Lady’s Blog [...]
hi everyone im from mexico and i need to read a novel so i went to sanborns and i found this book, i think it manages situations that actually are happening in this world so its interesting and i am really enjoying this
good luck:D