When an author's name appears in bigger print than the title, it's a good clue that the author has reached some bar of success. To be honest, my purchase of this book at at a local library book sale was motivated by the fact that I've enjoyed reading other titles by Anita Shreve.
I did find this book's topic matter to be a little grim, which is all summarized in the first chapter--sexual misconduct by teenagers at a private boarding school. The novel starts at the viewing of a videotape by the headmaster and then flashes back to the past, showing the viewpoints of the myriad characters involved. The chapters carry the name of the characters under observation. The reader is also shown the devastating consequences suffered by nearly all the characters.
At the beginning, I didn't exactly look forward to reading this novel as it was similar to watching a train wreck slowly unfold. Not just any train wreck, but a seemingly preventable one that was caused by bad judgement. The author's narrative style pulled me in, though, and I became progressively more invested in the characters. The story does hold a few surprise revelations.
Overall, I would recommend Testimony. I found it to be a thought-provoking exploration into the complex origins of misjudgements.
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