Tuesday 2 December 2008

Novel of Recollection

Finished December 2
Testimony by Anita Shreve, performed by a full cast
This is one of Shreve's best and the performance did justice to it. The novel is centered around a private school in Vermont that has both boarding students and day students. The headmaster is given a videotape that shows sexual acts performed at the school by students. The girl involved in the acts is only fourteen. As the events unfold, they bring shame, retribution, punishment and loss to those involved.
The story is told by many characters talking about the event in the past, some as much as two years later. We see the aftermath first, and the actions that led to what happened later. How one moment can affect the futures of so many and forever transform their lives is something that comes through clearly by the end.
The voices ring true, perhaps because of the cast giving individual nuances to the characters. I wept with the characters, and found myself truly involved in the story.

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