Penance

I have loved both books I have read that were originally written by Kanae Minato. They are deep, thoughtful, psychological wonders and very worth the reader's time.

Somebody has definitely been reading Natsuo Kirino. So yeah, I couldn't get past the fact that this book is eerily reminiscent of Natsuo Kirino's book, "Real World," in which a group of girls recount their encounter with a young murderer. Minato's "Penance" is kind of the same, in that it is the recounting of a group of young girls after they have grown up and are looking back on the terrible murder of their friend. The echoes of Kirino are all over Minato's story, but to be fair, Minato's story does have a theme of its own to deliver, that being a kind of whodunit, and also the idea of consequence played out over the entirety of a person's life. In Kirino's story, it is focused only on the girls in the here and now and their reactions to what happened to them when their paths crossed a killer. Anyways, I make the comparison because I happen to adore Kirino and anything even remotely resembling a chance to imitate or emulate Kirino's literary voice, I'm all for it. And when you add in the fact that it is Minato who is doing the writing, I knew for sure I would like this book. And did I? Well, yes... and no. The problem for me is that I read Minato's first book, "Confessions," before this book. Confessions is a grand masterpiece of writing, if not a perfect story of psychological revenge that knows no boundaries, especially because it involves avenging the death of a young child who was murdered in a cruel fashion. There is a satisfaction I obtained by the end of "Confessions," and as such, it remains one of my all time favorite books (and movies too, as the movie version is chilling and visually mesmerizing). With "Penance," I was drawn in by the writing and the story that unfolds in each of the chapters, which are basically told from the perspectives of everyone involved the day of the murder. However, by the end, I wanted a much larger story to play out, and the story didn't expand really at all. When the ending finally does bring about somewhat of a resolution and a reveal, it's not really that interesting. At least it wasn't to me. I found the joy of this book was what happened to each girl involved in the murder and how it affected them in their lives. Talk about tragic. Yet the ending didn't live up to the fate of the girls who were affected by the death of their childhood friend. The other issue might be that the story seems to fragment into two stories as well, that being the murder of a child, and the stealing of dolls from people's houses. Yeah, don't ask me to even explain that because it would take too long, but when you read the first few chapters, you'll wonder if one has anything to do with the other. The answer is kind of they do, but I couldn't help but think that the doll stealing stuff didn't even need to be in this story at all. Or to put it another way, the doll stealing plot might have made for a much more interesting stand alone story, especially with how it concludes in Minato's "Penance." I did like this book though, for sure. Minato's writing is superb and she definitely understands how to really make you feel like you are having a conversation with the characters in this book. I felt close to each of the girls, felt their pain and anguish and confusion about what happened to them, and definitely enjoyed the ride. I just wished the final destination was as enjoyable. Overall, a great read. Don't miss out on this one.

So, I'm not a huge pre-orderer. In fact, I tend to wait until books are released to read them because even when I pre-order, it's rare that I get to the book the first couple of months I have it. So, by then, they tend to be way cheaper than a pre-order anyway. But I did pre-order Penance because I absolutely LOVED Confessions. Confessions was just one of those mystery books that sounded intriguing enough to read, but not intriguing enough to blow your mind. And how wrong I was! Confessions was a huge surprise and became one of my favorite reads. So, I was looking forward to Penance like you wouldn't believe. Unfortunately, this one didn't live up to my expectations. The Good: Penance was a quick and easy read just like Minato's Confessions was. And if you liked how dark Confessions was or just like dark books in particular, then Penance doesn't disappoint in that aspect. In fact, I'd argue that it's slightly darker than Penance and maybe a bit more unnerving. The Eh: Because this book has the same event told in 5 different ways, some of Penance ends up being repetitive. It was a page-turner regardless, but because of this it wasn't as much of a page-turner as Confessions. Plus, Confessions was way more...explosive than Penance. At the end of Confessions, I kept repeating to myself "WTF?" At the end of Penance, I just shrugged. Plus, I found Penance to be a bit confusing. For example, I think something might have happened to the murderer, but I'm not sure what nor am I sure if that plot point was supposed be murky or not. Either way, it's murky to me, so if someone wants to explain that to me in the comments, I'd be eternally grateful. So, Penance was an okay read. It's just that compared to Confessions, it leaves a lot to be desired. I'll still check out Kanae Minato's other books (hopefully, they're translated extra fast) because she does dark well. However, I suggest that you read Penance first and then read Confessions so that the awesomeness of the latter doesn't taint the former.

Kanae Minato has done it again — and if you’ve read anything else by her, you already know exactly what that means. Eyes heavy, mind exhausted, and yet somehow completely incapable of putting the book down. That particular kind of torment is her specialty, and Penance delivers it in spades. From the very first page, there’s a pit in your stomach that never quite goes away. You’re always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the darkness you can sense lurking just beneath the surface to finally crawl its way into the light. Minato is a master at that slow, suffocating tension. She doesn’t need jump scares or shock value. She just quietly unravels you. What makes Penance so devastatingly effective is the way she structures the story through her characters — each voice distinct, each perspective peeling back another layer of grief, guilt, and the kind of rage that only comes from unimaginable loss, fear and anger. She forces you to sit with a question that has no clean answer: what would you do? How would you carry the weight of something so horrific? How far would you go in the name of justice — or revenge — when the two have long since stopped looking different? Nobody walks away clean in a Minato novel. Not her characters, and certainly not us as readers. That’s what makes her work so unnerving, and so utterly unforgettable. She has a rare gift for writing stories that are as emotionally gutting as they are compulsively readable — the kind that linger in your chest long after the final page. Penance is dark, haunting, and deeply human. Exactly what you’d expect, and somehow still more than you were prepared for.

Idea interesante pero literariamente muy flojo. Esperaba más. Quizá la traducción tampoco ayude, el relato está poco trabajado, en algun momento agota.

Amazing writing... it makes you wanna finish it at once! Although the story is not anything extraordinary, the way the writer unravels it is breathtaking! I wish I new Japanese to read the original book...

I can't believe how hooked I was on this novel. I read it all in just one day because I simply couldn't stop until I got to the last page. And now I'm going to look for more books by this incredible author.

Wish I could read it in Japanese

A very good read