Bookseller Reviews
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PENANCE
Eliza Clark deserves 6 stars. Thank you to Faber for the ARC. I cannot wait for the release of this book in July so everyone gets to read it!
If you enjoy... READ MORE
Do you know what happened already? Did you know her?
Penance deserves to be one of the standout novels of 2023. This is a work of fiction dressed as a true crime history of the shocking murder of a schoolgirl... READ MORE
PENANCE
Hell is a state school in a small town in the North East of England. Hell is an abandoned theme park. Hell is posting on tumblr.com at three in the morning... READ MORE
Outstanding
Eliza Clark's 'Penance' is a breathtaking account of a fictional murder through the lens of (the unlikeable) Alec Z. Corelli.
This novel had me gasping... READ MORE
"Did you see the pictures of the body? Did you look for them?"
This is an astonishingly good novel. A work of fiction, presented entirely as a true crime book about a brutal, tragic crime, this is a very clever, very t... READ MORE
Best new author in Britain
Eliza Clark is the best new author in the UK. You can disagree if you like but you'll be wrong. I suspected as much when I read Boy Parts and it's been con... READ MORE
refreshing and unsettling
Reading Penance by Eliza Clark was an experience that left a lasting impression on me. One of the aspects that truly stood out to me was how it made me con... READ MORE
PENANCE
This! book! Is! So! GOOD! I was lucky enough to get my hands on a proof, and I’m overjoyed that I did. I can’t wait for everyone to read it. Eliza Clark i... READ MORE
Compelling but a little too slow paced
I’ve been sitting with this one for a while and I’m still not entirely sure what to think about it. I loved Eliza Clark’s debut Boy Parts, and I am one of ... READ MORE
I loved it, a fantsatic analysis of society's obsession with true crime
I haven't stopped thinking about Penance since I finished reading it. It's such a clever novel that I devoured mostly in one sitting, it really blurs the l... READ MORE
Horrifyingly propulsive.
Fantastic. Seamlessly blends narrative storytelling with interviews and text dialogue to create a truly horrific tale. Maintains Clark’s writing style foll... READ MORE
Darkly Nostalgic
This was an incredibly nostalgic read for me, as it follows the lives of teenage girls in a horrible seaside Yorkshire town during the 2010s. It got to a p... READ MORE
Ethical True Crime
Probably the best book to come out of 2023.
‘Penance’ is written from the perspective of a failed tabloid journalist who, in an effort to revive his lite... READ MORE
"All that is left is the ghostly echo...."
I am a HUGE fan of Clark's debut, Boy Parts, so I was incredibly excited to read this new book.
Think Mean Girls meets Heathers meets The Craft, and add ... READ MORE
The epitome of unreliable narration...
'Penance' is brilliant. The book slowly unravels the night of a murder in a small Northern seaside town told via a build up of interviews, true crime podca... READ MORE
eliza's sophomore novel absolutely SLAPS
So, I LOVED Boy Parts. I loved it so much. But I was still a little apprehensive going into Penance because I have some feelings about the true crime genre... READ MORE
Synopsis
'Do you know what happened already? Did you know her? Did you see it on the internet? Did you listen to a podcast? Did the hosts make jokes? Did you see the pictures of the body? Did you look for them?'
It's been nearly a decade since the horrifying murder of sixteen-year-old Joan Wilson rocked the small seaside town of Crow-on-Sea. Based on hours of interviews with witnesses and family members, and even correspondence with the killers themselves, journalist Alec Z. Carelli has constructed what he claims is the 'definitive account' of the crime. It's a riveting snapshot of lives scarred by tragedy, and a town left in turmoil.
The only question is: how much of Carelli's story is true?
Publisher information
- Publisher: Faber & Faber
- ISBN: 9780571371785
- Number of pages: 448
- Dimensions: 196 x 130 x 28 mm
- Weight: 370g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
View allA compulsive and unsettling examination of the morality of true-crime.
Although Clark’s second novel ‘Penance’ takes quite a different approach to her first one (don’t go into this expecting Boy Parts 2.0), her debut gives eno... READ MORE
An enrapturing read
Penance is stomach-churning. The fact that this is fiction doesn't take away the absolute macabre horror, either. You can consider yourselves warned.
Un... READ MORE
Masterful
Challenging the ethical ambiguities surrounding the production of true crime books and podcasts (and the questionable playing with truth in the search of a... READ MORE
Disappointing
I found this a tedious read,
Engaging and thought provoking
The premise is simple, adolescence girls murder a peer. However the approach of Clark lifts this well written and completely accessible novel into someth... READ MORE
Brilliantly portrayed characters
A really well-told mystery in the vein of Matt Wesolowski’s Six Stories series.
Clark paints adolescents with empathy and understanding. She also capture... READ MORE
This is how you do issue fiction
This was soooo meta like, this is how you do issue fiction! The double (unreliable) narration, chronic online-ness, teen female friendship, fandom obsessio... READ MORE
Loved just as much as her debut
I loved the author’s debut Boy Parts, and this one disturbed and entertained me just as much.
Read it if: you’re interested in the dynamic around teenag... READ MORE
Trash. Written about 15 year old girls…..by 15 year old girls?
I don’t normally leave reviews but I felt compelled to call this one out. Yet another book whose cover is full of plaudits and praise and its contents are ... READ MORE
An amazing read!
Penance is an utterly compelling novel with a disturbing, bleak and haunting narrative. It explores a lot and evokes many feelings and questions as one rea... READ MORE