A review by kurtwombat
Penance by Kanae Minato

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

To it’s advantage, this book is full of odd feelings--deranged creepy mystery. Unfortunately for me, one of those feelings was thinking I was enjoying the book more than I was. I was so keen on the structure of this nefarious balloon that I failed to realize air was escaping the whole time. There is an initial murder and four lives that branch out from that event—each incorporates tales sidling up close to horror in interesting ways but each is also a bit redundant, a bit too long and presented with voices that seem a bit arrested. This last might make sense, childhood trauma can arrest your development but I was never sure if that was intentional. Or even if it was a result of translation. I did enjoy the overall affect and where the ending went—though the ending was oddly abrupt and off camera after some longwinded narrative. Don't want to say too much because there are some nice surprises. Still a worthwhile read—perhaps I needed to be more patient.