I began reading this book, and right away I thought I wasn’t going to like it. But it grew on me with each chapter. And by the end of it, I thought, “Wow, I really need to talk to someone about this book.” So, here is my Confessions book review.
Trigger Warning
This book contains the murder of children, child abuse, relationship abuse, abuse in general, deep psychological themes, purposeful HIV infections, and sad psychological imagery.
Confessions Book Review
Confessions is a horror/thriller novel by Kanae Minato. It was originally written in Japanese, then translated into English.
I enjoyed reading this book, but not at first. However, I’ll get to that in the section called “What I Didn’t Like About It.”
Regardless, it’s an excellent book.
It made me feel like I had a window into Japanese culture, including their thought processes, perceptions of school teachers, life in general, students, and other nuances of their daily life.
Although, as a non-Japanese person, I can only assume this is what the author was trying to portray–certain inequalities in the culture and disadvantages in her career choice as a school teacher.
You see, this book is about a school teacher written by a former school teacher. So, I wondered if one day she was like, “these little shits! What’s the worst thing I can think of to make them listen!” Or something of that matter. And her idea was born.
It’s my personal opinion that the Japanese culture is so regimented and rooted in polite society that their only outlet is art. Art in whatever form they can create. In this case, the outlet was art in written form. And damn, Minato-sensei did a fantastic job.
Confessions Plotline: Confessions Book Review
It wouldn’t be a Confessions book review if I didn’t tell you what this book was about. If you’re wondering if this book is for you, here’s what you need to know.
So, Confessions is about a school teacher (Moriguchi-sensei) who is a single mother and, with a teacher’s salary, is unable to pay for a full-time nanny to care for her four-year-old child while she is at work. Therefore, the next best thing is to bring her to work with her.
After all, it’s a middle school and it’s pretty safe, right? Or so she thought.
One day, while she is busy teaching her class. Her daughter, who often wanders around the school, goes missing.
After searching the entire school, she is located inside the school’s pool, dead.
As horrific as this sounds, it only gets worse.
The police ruled it an accidental drowning. However, it turns out it was not an accident.
Two of her students were conspiring against her and had planned the murder of her daughter. As she connects the dots, she eventually learns this truth and begins a plan of her own.
Revenge is a dish best served cold
So, one day, she goes into class to give her last lecture and starts her revenge plan. But the first step is quitting her job. Step two is making sure the two murderers suffer until they can’t take it anymore.
And it works very well. At the same time, one of the kids is a mastermind sociopath. And like any sociopath, he lacks empathy and true emotions. So, he believes he is fine, regardless of how much his life is falling apart. But Moriguchi-sensei’s plan is too thought out to let this bother her.
Confessions Book Review: It’s Not What I Thought
One thing to note is that the novel is called Confessions because it’s written from the perspectives of multiple characters. Some are confessing their part to the police, sharing their account of what happened, while others are monologing, genuinely believing they were helping the situation.
With each new “confession,” you get new information about the storyline, the characters, the plotline, etc.
What I didn’t like about it
Upon completion of the book, I really enjoyed it. But it didn’t start off that way. Actually, I didn’t like it at first.
Why didn’t I like it? The first 50 pages or so are the chapter when Moriguchi-sensei quits her job. And she is basically monologing for 50 pages. It’s a one-sided conversation, where she makes it seem like students are asking her questions, but you don’t hear the questions; you only hear her monologue.
I tuned out, over and over again. It made it a little boring in my opinion. But I continued to read it.
One huge facet of her revenge plan (I’m not going to give too much away here) is how she “poisons” the students who murdered her child. But since I took biology classes of this type in university, I know this is not possible. So I had to suspend disbelief to appreciate her plan.
Moriguchi-sensei goes into detail about how this will eventually kill them, but there was simply a lack of research on this topic. Regardless of the plan, I wanted to like the book.
The final thing that I didn’t like is that it’s actually not a horror book. It’s more of a psychological thriller.
It made me very sad. I was sad for the teacher, the murderer, the murderer’s parents, and their upbringing. It was just such a sad book. But horror it was not.
My Overall Score
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was a brutal read, and it made me think about my life choices and whether I was making any good ones. It made me appreciate my parents more.
Kanae Minato is a fantastic writer who deserves the success this book has received.
I’m giving Confessions by Kanae Minato a four out of 5 because, despite a few things I didn’t enjoy, the book evoked a wide range of emotions in me, which is rare. So, it hit a chord in me.
What are your thoughts on this novel? Leave your own review and rating below. After all, I don’t write these reviews to provoke anyone; I write them to start a conversation.
