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Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Testimony

by:  Anita Shreve
published by:  Little Brown and Co.

At a New England boarding school, a sex scandal is about to break. Even more shocking than the sexual acts themselves is the fact that they were caught on videotape. A Pandora's box of revelations, the tape triggers a chorus of voices--those of the men, women, teenagers, and parents involved in the scandal--that details the ways in which lives can be derailed or destroyed in one foolish moment.


Writing with a pace and intensity surpassing even her own greatest work, Anita Shreve delivers in TESTIMONY a gripping emotional drama with the impact of a thriller. No one more compellingly explores the dark impulses that sway the lives of seeming innocents, the needs and fears that drive ordinary men and women into intolerable dilemmas, and the ways in which our best intentions can lead to our worst transgressions.

I had read a lot of negative reviews of this book before I got to it.  A lot of it centered around the fact that the book was told from about a dozen or more points of view.  It was hard to follow, it was hard to keep track of the various characters and who cared what some of them thought! 

I listened to the audiobook and I liked it.  It was very well done.  Each character had it's own voice so it was really easy to keep track of who was talking.  All the actors did a fantastic job, although I probably would have picked a different one for Silas, I didn't like the sound of his voice, but otherwise they were all really good.

I thought the story was fairly interesting.  I was kind of let down by the reveal of who was behind the camera.  They kept talking about who was behind the camera and how no one was mentioning.  I won't give it away, but I guess I had hoped it would be someone a lot more scandalous.

I don't know if I'd rush out and buy this book, but it's worth a pick up at the library.  I'd definitely recommend the audiobook.

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