This shifting perspective of the same crime from the point of view of the bereaved mother and the guilty boys, in true confessional mode, provide an interesting counterbalance to one another in terms of the reasons for their actions both past and planned, and the keenness with which our sympathies as readers change as each ‘confession’ is brought to light.
The following story is then narrated by the various protagonists intimately involved with the crime. The story hinges on the collusion in the murder of a female schoolteacher Yuko’s, young daughter by two of her male pupils and in her last lecture to her class there is to be an exposure of truth and a plan for revenge, that will unhinge and surprise both them and us as reader. Little surprise then that this book has escaped my attention, despite there being a 2010 Oscar nominated film version, directed by Tetsuya Nakashima. I will make my own confession straightaway and admit to not being that hugely read in the field of Japanese crime fiction. In this thriller of love, despair and murder, everyone has a confession to make, and no one will escape unharmed. But revenge has a way of spinning out of control, and Yuko’s last lecture is only the start of the story. And before she leaves, she has a lesson to teach. Her daughter was killed by two people in the class. She tells her students that she has resigned because of what happened – but not for the reasons they think.
It’s the last day of term, and Yuko’s last day at work. When Yuko Moriguchi’s four-year-old daughter died in the middle school where she teaches, everyone thought it was a tragic accident.
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