Reading Group Guide
1. What do you think of the title Testimony? What might the reader expect before reading?
2. In the very first paragraph of the novel Anita Shreve tells the reader much of the outcome of the story; does this technique reduce or increase the narrative tension as the reader progresses through the novel?
3. ‘A first sentence, he [Mike] had discovered, dictated not only the tone of the tale, but also the manner in which it would be parcelled out, and he had found his first few false starts to be inhibiting. In the end, he had settled upon a factual tone that suggested a before and an after.’ Mike realises this, but would this also be a fair comment about one of Shreve’s major interests in the novel?
4. Shreve uses an ambitious narrative structure to tell the story, and frequent changes of tense, perspective between the different narrators, and timeframe. Does this continuously shifting narrative unsettle the reader? How, morally, does the reader read the various testimonies? Could it be argued that through reading these testimonies the reader is placed in the position of a voyeur? What do you think about the language used to describe Mike watching the videotape for the very first time? And can you think of other narrative devices Shreve employs?
5. Are there any ‘unreliable narrators’? Does speaking to the university researcher give any of the narrators a sense of redemption?
6. Regarding the incident that led to scandal, could it be argued that J. Dot, Rob and Silas behaved well in any sense or at any point?
7. What, exactly, is Mike first afraid of? And do these fears change as the novel progresses? Does Mike’s knowledge of his personal culpabilities make him a tragic character? Indeed, who do you feel is the most tragic character in the story? Indeed, does anyone gain from the scandal?
8. Why does Silas feel so angry? And why does he feel especially bad after the incident? Do think he’s right to feel as he does?
9. What do you think about what happens to Ellen? Is this a case of just desserts?
10. Do the ordinary rules of society apply as easily in the microcosm of the school?
11. Is Shreve drawing broad conclusions between relationships between parents and children?
12. Several of the characters find themselves in exile and/or facing a new start; discuss how Shreve explores these notions.
13. ‘Truthfully, I don’t think anyone’s life was ruined,’ says Rob. What is the reader to make of this statement? What do you feel about the way the novel ends?