#15 of 52 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks
Anita Shreve has always been one of my favorite authors. To me, her language is like poetry, and she creates characters that have stayed with me for years. My favorite book of hers is Where or When.
In Testimony, she creates the story through about two dozen points of view–a multitude of narrative voices. And a pretty daunting task, I’m sure; but it’s one that she pulls off somehow. Some of the characters’ voices are so distinct that they leave a kind of footprint in my mind as I read. That’s rare, I think, for an author to achieve. This is why Shreve is one of my favorites, and why I’ll be reading several more of her novels in the coming months.
(Note: in a nutshell, Testimony is about a group of teens from a prestigious private school who are caught after making a tape of an obscene nature [I'm trying to put this delicately, so as to avoid any freaky weird Google hits]).
This was a difficult novel to read. Not for the subject matter–I was not shocked at the graphic opening chapter or the descriptions–but rather, the heartwrenching nature of the story tugged at me. Despite this, difficult as it was, I read on. And when I read the final words, I turned the page, wanting more answers–more explanations. I felt that some elements weren’t fully resolved, and I guess that’s ok, and possibly the author’s intent. Much like real life, things aren’t always tied up neatly. Questions do go unanswered. And we just have to accept it, and move on.
There is one character in particular, a girl named Noelle, who I wanted to know more about. I felt sad for her, but curious about how things turned out. Is it strange to hope that things turned out all right for her? She is, after all, not a real person. But sometimes I read a book and one character in particular stands out for me. Momentarily, in the suspension of belief, they become real. And long after I’ve read the book, that character still stays with me. They feel, in some way, like an old friend. When I reread the book and revisit them, I pick up on things I may have missed before.
Maybe this doesn’t make much sense. Anyway…I wonder in this story how certain characters fared in the end–ultimately–after the book is over. Noelle, Anna, Mike, and especially Silas, if things could have gone differently for him. It’s ok that some stories can’t have a happy ending. But I wonder how those stories might read, if they could.
