Testimony, by Anita Shreve.Actually, I just finished it today. I really, really like Anita Shreve. She has an understated writing style that uses very few words to say a whole lot.
Testimony is her latest. It opens with a prep school headmaster viewing a tape of what will become a huge sex scandal that greatly damages the school and many of the students. Rather than relay the events in chronological order, Shreve gives voice to many, many narrators, all of whom are touched by the scandal in some way.
What I found most thought-provoking are the voices of those who are pulled into the aftermath not because of anything they did, but simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have four kids who did one really, colossal, stupid thing, but the impact of that one thing was bigger than anyone anticipated.
The male students involved were all star basketball players. Because of their association to the crime, the coach is fired and the rest of the season is cancelled. Because the season is cancelled, many of the players who counted on being scouted for college scholarships will not have that chance. Does anyone ever think that their selfish acts will affect other people in that way? I wondered more than once if Shreve wasn't at least partially inspired by the Duke scandal from a few years back.
And then you have the parents' perspective: watching your child make a life-altering mistake, and knowing you can't do anything to fix it.
I didn't think I would like this one at first. Based on the description, I expected a little sensationalism. But it turned out to be quite good -more about the characters and less about the plot.
Two thumbs up.
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