Yuka's chapter is a bit different, as she emerges as much a victim as a perpetrator, although the almost permanent criticizing of the concept of family is also presented here.Īsako's chapter is even more different, as the one concluding the main story but also shedding light in the cases of the rest. The way families can shape their children is highlighted in Akiko's chapter, which also deals with the concept of hikikomori, and in the harshest way, with child molesting. Maki's chapter deals with the concept of courage and how society is eager to construct both heroes and villains/”losers” in the blink of an eye. Sae's chapter comments on the place of women in the still quite conservative Japanese society, with the whole concept of matchmaking and the perversion deriving from her husband and his obsession with dolls moving into this direction in metaphoric fashion. In that regard, the individual confessions approach works quite well, once more for Minato. The crimes involved keep the book entertaining from beginning to end, but it is the way the analysis of the characters leads to a number of sociophilosophical comments that make the context so captivating. Somewhere here is where the best asset of the novel lies, with the way Minato manages to analyze and individualize all her characters, while gradually bringing all the stories together through the murder of Emily, being truly ingenious. The novel unfolds the stories of both what happened before, during and immediately after the crime in the lives of the four girls and Asako, and the way their lives continued after that, through five chapters, one for each of the women. 15 years later, the lives of every girl are in shambles, with the impact of the murder and Asako's behaviour essentially dictating their actions, although in different ways. The latter, some months later, invited the girls to her house, only to accuse them of lying about not remembering the face of the perpetrator, and even demanding some kind of penance for him getting away. The incident had a chilling effect on the whole of the local society, but most of all, to the four girls and Emily's mother, Asako.

A bit later, though, the girls went inside the gym only to find their friend dead and the man nowhere to be found.

An unknown man came to their school after- hours, while they were playing at the courtyard, and posing as a ventilation technician, took Emily away from the rest, supposedly to help him. The girls always played together, occasionally in each other's house, but at one point, after a series of antique dolls were stolen from each of the girl's houses, they experienced a true tragedy. 15 years ago, Emily, an elementary school student from a rich family transferred to the small town of Ueda, and soon became close friends with four other girls, Sae, Maki, Akiko and Yuka.

Minato kanae penance