Book Review of Confessions by Kanae Minato
We heard that Confessions was a book about a teacher getting revenge on her students, but we did not expect the insidious, methodical, and chilling ways in which all the crimes in the book were carried out. It is one of the most unique thriller books we have ever read.
Keep reading to see our Confessions Book Review: Kanae Minato’s Novel of Vengeance.
This is a thriller book blog post featuring the english translation version of the book Confessions by Kanae Minato, with our book review and discussion, plus book recommendations for other similar thriller books we think you might enjoy.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which, if used for purchase, will result in a small commission, at no additional cost to the buyer.
Slowprose Review Format
Generally speaking, we don’t think of ourselves as “serious” reviewers, so our format may be a little different. Here is what to expect when you are reading Slowprose book reviews:
- Cover Review – doing the cliche of judging a book by its cover.
- Book Blurb – we share the book jacket or Goodreads blurb about the plot.
- Intrusive Thoughts – these are the general thoughts and feelings we have about the book while reading it.
- Book review – our overall review and star ranking of the book
- Book aesthetics – this is how gorgeous we thought the pages of the book were, or how easy/hard it was to read, or how good the narrator was if it is an audio book.
- Book recommendations – we talk about the author’s other books or other books that remind us of this book in some form or fashion. Basically, this is our catch-all to talk about anything else that we want to.
To see our full review system, including our method of assigning and weighting stars, go here.
COVER REVIEW – Confessions by Kanae Minato
Isn’t this an amazing picture of Confessions in front of an enviable library? Love the angle of the picture, the wooden floor & that library! Ugh! Gorgeous!! It is courtesy of Raquel Gifford and is used here with permission. This is the type of fantastic content that can be found on her Instagram, so please go check that out!
Confessions gets 5 stars for this cover.
This is a great book cover. It is compelling to look at, and combined with the title of the book, definitely peaks your interest and draws you in to find out exactly what it is about. The school imagery with the desks and chair, along with the lighting like a spotlight in an interrogation, makes it feel ominous and gives almost a visceral reaction.
After reading this book, we like this cover even more. It is perfect. 5 Stars for sure.
BOOK BLURB – Confessions by Kanae Minato
Given our extreme irrational fear of ever being a spoiler of an epic plot twist, we will just share the book insert or book blurb found on Goodreads to provide the information in terms of the plot:
Confessions by Kanae Minato
After calling off her engagement in wake of a tragic revelation, single mother and middle school teacher Yuko Moriguchi had nothing to live for except her four-year-old child, Manami.
Now, following a heartbreaking accident involving her four-year-old daughter on the grounds of the middle school where she teaches, Yuko has given up and tendered her resignation.
But first she has one last lecture to deliver on the last day of the school year. She tells a story that upends everything her middle school students ever thought they knew about two of their peers, and sets in motion a diabolical plot for revenge.
INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS – Confessions by Kanae Minato
Ok, starts off like a monologue.
IDK if I am loving the way the story is being told? Like listening to her talk to her students?
Lots of different things discussed, but clear to understand.
Her story tho.
Hell hath no fury….
Ok, swapping to a different narrator. Naoki’s Mother?
This is better, in terms of how the story is being relayed.
Poor Mom. But also, wow. Talk about priorities mixed up.
Revenge is a long game, but its working in this case.
That ended badly for her.
Another swap in perspective and different point of view. Naoki Shitamura.
This kid is in over his head.
OH MY GOSH KID. DON’T DO THAT.
Crazy to think this is the rational in a immature mind. But realistic, I think. Extreme though.
She drove him insane. Catastropic consequences keep happening.
Flip again.
Brilliant yet messed up by his mom.
IDK. Not buying this one as much. Too mature in terms of thoughts and rational for his supposed age.
Oh twist!
Back to first teacher.
Ahhhhh. Clever girl. Still doesn’t change anything for her, but that dish was served.
CONFESSIONS BOOK REVIEW
Slowprose Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
This is a story about VENGENCE. It is a book that will definitely stay with you.
If you are looking for a slow burn thriller unlike any other, this book is for you.
When we say slow burn, we definitely don’t mean boring. We didn’t think this book suffered from any lag time, or had any unnecessary things. (Shuya Watanabe would approve)
From the beginning of the very first chapter, it grabs your interest with a narrator telling a story that you KNOW is going to be full of drama and intrigue. As the story unfolds, told by one of the main characters, Moriguchi, you undergo so many emotions as she tells the story about her young daughter and how all the pieces fit together. It leaves you with the feeling of both feeling sad, and also a profound “Oh Wow” kind of feeling.
Then the story switches points of view. That’s when we realized that this book is the telling of the same story, the same factual event, but from different point of views. As it is being told by different characters, revelations and “confessions” come to light to the reader. It is overall quite riveting.
The story is told from a total of five different perspectives, with the final chapter being told by the original narrator. Not surprisingly, the chapters told by the main protagonist Moriguchi (the teacher) and the two students she accuses of killing her daughter (Watanabe & Shitamura) are the most revealing and riveting. Other chapters are told by another student in the class, and the mother & sister of Shitamura. They are less bombshell, and more filler/background information for context.
The only thing we would say in terms of criticism would be that we felt Watanabe’s dialog isn’t believable as a middle schooler. But overall, this was a very good book and definitely would recommend it, particularly if you are looking for a thriller book that really isn’t like anything else out there.
We wouldn’t really describe this book as “edge of my seat” type of thriller, but the entire book is more of a slow burn, creepy, and sinister type of vibe. It is a really unique and well done thriller.
Slowprose Star Rating – 4.5 Stars
BOOK AESTHETICS – Confessions by Kanae Minato
We listened to Confessions via audiobook and really enjoyed it. Given that this is a story of the same events, all from different perspectives, having different narrators was kind of key. We enjoyed all of them, and particularly thought that the narrator for Shitamura was outstanding.
Since we listened to the book, we didn’t actually realize that the chapters were long. We did note the chapter names and loved how they were titled: Chapter 1 – The Saint; Chapter 2 – The Martyr; Chapter 3 – The Benevolent One; Chapter 4 – The Seeker; Chapter 5 – The Believer; Chapter 6 – The Evangelist.
Slowprose Feature – Book Content Creator
Typically we have two books going at once – one audio and one physical.
Most of the time, when we listen to an audiobook we don’t have a physical copy of the book to take pictures of. We love to feature pictures of the book because, well, we are nerdy like that. We love book pics!
So, we figured that reviews of audio books would be a great opportunity to feature other content creators and their incredible book pictures!
In this post, you have seen the incredible picture from Raquel Gifford featured and is used here with permission. Please do go visit her beautiful feed and support fellow book nerds and creators!
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
This book popped up on our radar via some Booktok recommendations. We had not heard of it before, so we assumed it was a fairly new release. Imagine our surprise to learn it was originally published in 2008!
The author has another book released called Penance, dubbed as a psychological thriller. Based on how much we liked Confessions, and also based on this awesome cover, we definitely are interested in checking out Penance.
When they were girls, Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuko were tricked into leaving their friend Emily with a mysterious stranger. Then the unthinkable occurred: Emily was found murdered hours later. The four friends were never able to describe the stranger to the police; the killer's trail went cold. Asako, the bereaved mother, curses the surviving girls, vowing that they will be the ones to pay for her daughter's murder . . .
You can find all these and more in our storefront, Slowestuff Books From The Blog storefront.
We hope you enjoyed our Confessions Book Review: Kanae Minato’s Novel of Vengeance. If you pick it up, let us know what you thought of it once you read or listened to it! If you know of other thrillers that you think we will love, please let us know what they are. We love to get book recs from fellow readers.
If you want more book posts, check out the Slowprose section of the blog where we have more book reviews, book lists, favorite authors and more.
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Happy reading!
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[…] This book – it is one that will keep you thinking about it for days after you finish it. There are some scenes that take your breath away. This is a sinister, ever evolving thriller told from the perspective of several different people about one set of events that occurred. It is a story of vengeance and wrath in the most unexpected of settings. Check out our full review of Confessions by Kanae Minato. […]