Determinism is an ill used word, but it applies here. The thing that appeased me most of all is the claustrophobic and boxed in device of cause and effect.

Penance is about horror, loss of innocence, and the pressures of society. I DNFed Out by Natsuo Kirino, for it was not dear to my book reading brain cells.

The Japanese, however well meaning, produce authors of unequal merit. Yet despite their aura of otherworldliness, they produce flawed works of art.

They also have a strong work ethic and do not value the maudlin. They have their own idea of what makes a movie great. They are unimpressed by Maxim-de-Paris, mostly. The Japanese have a reputation for perfectionism. So a very mixed read for me, but still a very different type of story. There were unusual revelations, surprising reveals but in the end found this at times very good and at times boring. Yet, the stories told by each girl were at times repetitious which is to be expected because many of the details of the murders were the same, but the stories about their lives after the crime and threat, went on too long, at least in my opinion. These novels are told in an very dispassionate voice, which adds to tension the scenarios provoke, and this one also duplicated that tone. This premise sounded equally intriguing and it did start well, with the same creepy overtone but this is where the similarities ended. I read this author's novel Confession last year and found it intriguing, and really loved the insidious nature of evil it depicted. The mother of the girl who does not return, threatens the remaining girls, telling them that by the time the statute of limitations is expired on her daughter's murder, the remaining girls must either write a confession or perform an act of penance. (Apr.Five ten year old friends go to, their school to play, only four will return alive. Minato ( Confessions) has crafted an unnerving tale of tragedy, guilt, and penance. All these fully fleshed-out characters have suffered since Emily’s death, each in her own way. Fifteen years later, with the statute of limitations running out, each survivor relates the consequences of that warning for herself. Emily’s mother blames the girls and warns them to “atone for what you’ve done, in a way I’ll accept,” if they can’t find the murderer. When she doesn’t return, the other girls go looking for her only to discover her dead.

The stranger, claiming he has no ladder, says he needs someone to help him reach a ventilating fan in a pool changing room. One summer day, when they’re all 10, a strange man approaches the girls while they’re playing ball by the swimming pool of their small, rural Japanese town’s elementary school. Minato’s moving, tension-filled second novel charts the impact of a traumatic murder on four young women, Sae, Maki, Akiko, and Yuka, who were childhood friends of the victim, Emily.

Minato kanae penance