The Confession - Jessie Burton

Last year I read both The Miniaturist and The Muse by Jessie Burton, and quite frankly thought her writing couldn’t get any better. Yep, proven wrong once again. The Confession exceeded all expectation for me and I was completely enthralled from beginning to end.

The book begins in 1980, when twenty-year-old Elise Morceau spots the beautiful and enigmatic Connie Holden, then 36, whilst waiting for a blind date with a man. She abandons the date and her and Connie begin a quickly-blossoming relationship.

Jump forward to 2017, and Rose Simmons is trying to piece together the secrets of her past over three decades on. Her father has never told her what happened to her mother, whom she doesn’t remember, and she has grown up with the idea that her mother is dead. In her mid-thirties, Rose finally discovers a vital piece of information that may help to uncover the truth - that her mother was once in a relationship with elusive author, Constance Holden.

The novel jumps back and forth between the early eighties and the late 2010s, and alternates the first-person narration of Rose Simmons and the third-person narrative of Elise Morceau. Throughout Burton’s compelling story, we are able to piece together the crumbling relationship of Connie and Elise back in the 80s and how this has shaped the bitter old woman Connie has become in the present day.

Burton’s writing is once again completely enchanting, and I found myself stopping after certain passages to re-read them, stunned by the beautiful language and wanting to experience it all over again. I’m a big fan of novels with more than one protagonist, and particularly enjoy a narrative which spans different time periods and ultimately entwines their stories.

Once of my main observations about Burton’s writing is the unparalleled characterisation she weaves. I feel that I have come across her characters at some time in my life - they are so realistic that they almost jump right off the page. Her characters are always flawed, which I love, and you are always unable to resist forming an attachment to them.