Naoki Shitamura (B) did not show up to school, whereas Shuya Watanabe (A) acted as if nothing had changed. The class president of Moriguchi’s former class, Mizuki, writes a letter to her to tell her what has happened since her retirement. Moriguchi decided not to trust the law for punishment but instead mixed HIV-positive blood from Manami’s father into A and B’s milk cartons in an attempt to infect them.

Thinking she died, B attempted to cover up the murder by putting Manami’s body in the pool where she drowned. The police concluded it to be an accidental drowning, but Moriguchi reveals that Manami was actually murdered by two students in the class, dubbing them “A” and “B.” Through interrogations, Moriguchi finds out that A and B approached Manami after school and knocked her unconscious with a shock purse A made. The novel was also adapted into a 2010 Japanese feature film of the same name Minato has received many awards for her debut work.Ī middle school teacher named Yuko Moriguchi brings her students together and announces her retirement due to the death of her young daughter, Manami. The novel's chapters are in the form of a one-sided conversation, a letter, a diary entry, a reminiscion, a blog post, and a one-sided phone call. It is a suspense novel that traces the impact of a schoolteacher's act of revenge, and it deals with themes of motherhood and power as well as social issues like AIDS and hikikomori. Nominee for Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel (2015)Ĭonfessions is Stephen Snyder's 2014 translation of Kanae Minato's 2008 debut novel, Kokuhaku. Nominee for Strand Critics Award for Best First Novel (2015) Shosetsu Suiri New Writers Prize (2007 for the first chapter)

Confessions by kanae minato