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The Confession

Jessie Burton

4.14 · Rating details · 1,226 ratings · 231 reviews

The sensational new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse.

One winter's afternoon on Hampstead Heath in 1980, Elise Morceau meets Constance Holden and quickly falls under her spell. Connie is bold and alluring, a successful writer whose novel is being turned into a major Hollywood film. Elise follows Connie to LA, a city of strange dreams a ...more

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Hardcover, 455 pages

Published September 24th 2019 by Picador (first published September 19th 2019)

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· 1,226 ratings · 231 reviews

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Aug 27, 2019 Paromjit rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, women-s-fiction, netgalley, mystery, family-drama

Jessie Burton's latest offering is an intimate, intelligent exploration of the complexity of women's lives and the depth nature of relationships in a narrative that goes back and forth in time as the lives of the three central protagonists are laid bare. In the 1980s, a young, beautiful and naive Elise Morceau meets the much older Constance Holden on Hampstead Heath. She falls for the confident and charismatic Constance, a writer whose novel is being turned into a big Hollywood movie, and follow Jessie Burton's latest offering is an intimate, intelligent exploration of the complexity of women's lives and the depth nature of relationships in a narrative that goes back and forth in time as the lives of the three central protagonists are laid bare. In the 1980s, a young, beautiful and naive Elise Morceau meets the much older Constance Holden on Hampstead Heath. She falls for the confident and charismatic Constance, a writer whose novel is being turned into a big Hollywood movie, and follows her to Los Angeles. Whilst Constance feels comfortable and at home in the city of illusions, ambitions, glamour and lies, Elise finds herself out of her depth and finds it more problematic. Their relationship becomes increasingly fraught with conflict as it slowly begins to disintegrate. Decades later in 2017, Rose Simmons is in her mid 30s, plagued by doubts and wondering about where her life is at with her long term boyfriend, Joe, and his failing business, although her best friend, Kelly is an invaluable support and anchor.

Rose has always felt a void in her life, her mother abandoned her as a baby, and she feels a abiding need to know more about her, convinced it will make her feel more whole as a human being and contribute to a greater sense of her identity. She finds out from her father that Elise had links with Constance, a woman who had withdrawn from public life at the height of her fame and lived a reclusive existence since then. Rose embarks on a quest to discover more about her elusive mother as she inveigles her way into Constance's life under false pretenses, securing a position as her carer. She goes on to develop a lively and critically important relationship with Constance that is to form the basis of her life changing decisions as she learns to become more of who she is. There are echoes of the past in the present as the ghost of Elise hangs over and haunts Constance and Rose.

This is a beautifully written novel from Burton, the characterisations are wonderfully vibrant in a immersive narrative and there is a great sense of the differing locations of LA and London. The women that inhabit the novel, their lives and relationships are depicted with great skill and expertise, outlining the challenges they face in a manner that feels authentic. This is a fabulously compelling read about love, loss, friendship, being a mother, secrets and a search for identity that had me completely engaged and absorbed. What struck me most about it was that what it had to say about women had a universality about it that I think will make many readers love it. Many thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC. ...more

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Jul 23, 2019 Emer (A Little Haze) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, contemporary, 5stars, read2019, reviewed, adult-fiction

The Confession is such a powerful novel. Not only does it have an incredible plot and interesting story...
But the women.
Wow!
These three main characters of Elise, Connie and Rose...
I am floored!
These women are so incredibly authentic. They are each so unique and so vital. Their stories are incredibly relatable to any reader. They speak to the spiritual autonomy of women. These women each in their own ways are on the same path, that of learning to trust yourself first and foremost. ...more

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Aug 04, 2019 Blair rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-release, past-and-present, read-on-kindle, netgalley, ekphrasis

I was glued to this. At over 400 pages, it's not quite a 'read it in one sitting' book, but I tore through it within a day. (Lovers of reading cliches will be delighted to hear I actually burned something I was cooking on the hob because I couldn't tear myself away from it.) The Confession is utterly engrossing; it took me on an emotional journey; at the end, I was sorry to leave its characters behind – but I also felt entirely satisfied with the endings they were given.

It's about two women: E I was glued to this. At over 400 pages, it's not quite a 'read it in one sitting' book, but I tore through it within a day. (Lovers of reading cliches will be delighted to hear I actually burned something I was cooking on the hob because I couldn't tear myself away from it.) The Confession is utterly engrossing; it took me on an emotional journey; at the end, I was sorry to leave its characters behind – but I also felt entirely satisfied with the endings they were given.

It's about two women: Elise in the early 1980s, and her daughter Rose in (approximately) the present day. In 1980, Elise meets and falls in love with Connie Holden, a successful writer. The two of them travel to LA to oversee the film adaptation of Connie's first novel; their relationship begins to falter. 30+ years later, Rose is at a crossroads – unsure whether to stay with her boyfriend, what to do about her career, and whether she wants children. Having been raised by her dad, she knows very little about her mother, who disappeared when she was still a baby. When she finds out about Elise's relationship with Connie, Rose is determined to track the writer down. And because of a series of flukes, she ends up... faking a new identity and becoming Connie's assistant.

Such an implausible situation could only arise in fiction, but I loved the book because of, not in spite of, this sort of thing. It's just so fun to read. The characters are so alive. I loved Connie; I defy anyone not to love Connie. I rooted for Rose all the way, and particularly liked the little world of friends and colleagues around her: her ineffectual boyfriend Joe and his doomed-to-fail burrito van business (saddled with the tragic name 'Joerritos'); her best friend Kelly, an Instagram influencer and mum-of-one who couldn't be more different from Rose but acts as a loving, stabilising presence. I disliked Elise, but that's partly because Burton is so successful at capturing the infuriating naivety of a 23-year-old who wonders: 'What was it that happened to a woman in the intervening decade between twenty and thirty – and did it happen to all women?'

This book has everything, really. It's about love, parenthood, friendship, art, freedom; it's entertaining, it asks big questions, it offers tension, mystery, pathos, and touches of comedy (again, 'Joerritos'). 1980s LA and late-2010s London are different enough that switching between them keeps the narrative fresh. Rose's journey is a joy (without being cloying), and I was both surprised and delighted by the conclusion of her story. I really didn't expect it to go in that direction, and I was so happy it did.

Although I thought The Miniaturist was okay, I got so sick of the hype around it a few years ago that, at one point, I thought I'd never read anything else by Burton. I'm so glad I took a chance on this. It's the perfect combination of smart/slick and cosy/reassuring, the perfect 'curl up on your sofa and read it long into the night' book. A treat.

I received an advance review copy of The Confession from the publisher through NetGalley.

TinyLetter | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr ...more

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Sep 13, 2019 Louise Wilson rated it really liked it

Rose Simmons has a dead end job and a relationship that's floundering. She's never k own her mother, Elise Morceau s she had disappeared when Rose was just a baby. He father gives her a book and tells Rose that the author knew her mother and might have some knowledge about what had happened to her. Intrigued, Rose secures herself as a companion to the now famous author, Constance Holden. Rose changes her name to "Laura Brown". She is desperate to find answers and she hope that Constance will hel ...more

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Sep 27, 2019 Abbie | ab_reads rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

Thank you so much @picadorbooks for my free copy of Jessie Burton’s The Confession! Once again I was spellbound by Burton’s masterful storytelling, this time focusing on books, what it means to be a mother and plenty of secrets.
.
Burton makes great use of the dual narrative in this one, jumping back and forth through time between the 80s and 2017/18. Usually I tend to prefer one narrative and find myself speeding through the other to get back to my favourite, but that wasn’t ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 karen marked it as to-read

how am i just hearing about this now? i feel very out of the loop, people!

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Aug 08, 2019 Ceecee rated it it was amazing

This is an absolutely superb book which is so well written. This story is told from the perspectives of Elise, Connie and Rosie and goes backwards and forwards fluidly from 1980-83 and 2017. Elise and Connie meet in London in 1980 and begin a relationship which is a very deep one. Elise believes that Connie ‘lured her in’ but thinks she doesn’t give her as much back as she gives to Connie. Connie can be silent and dismissive, perhaps partly due to age difference (Elise is much younger) and partl This is an absolutely superb book which is so well written. This story is told from the perspectives of Elise, Connie and Rosie and goes backwards and forwards fluidly from 1980-83 and 2017. Elise and Connie meet in London in 1980 and begin a relationship which is a very deep one. Elise believes that Connie ‘lured her in’ but thinks she doesn’t give her as much back as she gives to Connie. Connie can be silent and dismissive, perhaps partly due to age difference (Elise is much younger) and partly due to personality. Connie is a writer of two books that are very successful and one is turned into a Hollywood movie and it is while they are in LA that their relationship starts to flounder and the two separate acrimoniously.

Rosie is Elise’s daughter but she is not present in her life and when she was little Rosie created myths around her mother to make up for her loss. When she was 12 she decided she was dead and the loss of Elise to nearly teenage Rosie is beautifully and creatively described. As a thirty something Rosie decides to try to trace her mother and by a sort of comedy of errors she ends up working for Connie as her assistant. Connie and Rosie develop a wonderful relationship although initially Rosie hides her identity giving a false name. Connie is a terrific character- independent, clever, acerbic and some of their lively discussions are like verbal tennis and both of them realise that they are in love with the ghost of Elise. Through Connie, Rose is able to become whole, she sheds her vulnerability, becomes free and independent, accepts she will probably never find her mother, gains a huge amount of courage and instead of living a life anchored to inertia she is able to move forward and make something of her life. One of the most positive things that she did was to end the going nowhere relationship with a man who was going nowhere - she had been with Joe for 9 years but their relationship is stale.

This is a wonderfully crafted story of female and male relationships, of love and loss, the price of success especially in Connie’s case, abandonment and vulnerability but also of acceptance and moving forwards to a life not as shackled to the past. There are some well crafted characters some of whom are immensely likeable such as Rosie, Connie, Kelly and Zoe and even though Joe is not especially admirable he is easy to imagine. There are lovely descriptions of places - London, California, Mexico and NY. The author made me feel like I went on a journey with Rosie so I desperately wanted her to find what she was seeking. I love the fact that at the end of the story Rosie needed Connie as much as Connie needed Rosie so there is a growing equality in their blooming friendship. I loved this book from start to finish and I would like to express my thanks for the privilege of reading this ARC. ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Anna Luce rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-reviews, kindle, disappointing-reads, inane-protagonists, stunning-covers, lukewarm-reads

★★★✰✰ 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)

Although The Confession had a very promising start...I think I liked the book's cover more than its actual contents.

“It came smoothly to me, this loosening the threads of my own identity, weaving a new one. How had it become this easy to let go of myself, to pour words and fantasy into these gaping holes?”

The premise of The Confession is one that has been done time and again. A young-ish woman forms a bond with an older woman, the latter is often famous (she can be an actress like in The Seve/>start...I ...more

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Oct 27, 2019 Amanda rated it really liked it

In 1980 Elsie meets Constance on Hampstead Heath, she is a writer who is older and very charismatic, they begin a meaningful and intense relationship. When Constance takes them to L.A as her book is going to be turned into a film, Elsie feels like she has been abandoned, as Constance is too busy for her and expects her to wait on the sidelines.

The story jumps to 2017, Rosie has never known her mother,as she left when she was a child and was raised by her dad Matt. Matt gives her some ...more

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Aug 09, 2019 Emily B rated it really liked it

Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

I’ve read another book by the author and found this one very different. So don’t expect it to be similar.

I really enjoyed the characters, and felt my feelings towards them change all the time.
Yes some parts weren’t as interesting as others and it’s not a short book but the story is an interesting one without being too complicated.

The ending was a little frustrating as I like clear answers ...more

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Sep 02, 2019 ♥ Jx PinkLady Reviews ♥ rated it liked it · review of another edition

When I read a novel and it leaves me thinking about the themes, the characters and their life it's clear that the reading experience was totally worthwhile. I have been mulling over my thoughts and there is no doubt that this author writes a beautiful and compelling narrative.

The trajectory of the story toggles between the 1980s and three decades later where we see Rose drawn to the lady who influenced the life of her mother, Elise, a mother who mysteriously has not been any part of ...more

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Sep 02, 2019 SueLucie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This is the most emotionally engaging book I’ve read for a long time, chock full with strong female characters, not all particularly likeable, told in parallel timelines between the 1980s and the present day. I did like Rose and hoped throughout that she would come through and find resolution to her lifelong yearning for her mother. (view spoiler) ...more

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Aug 02, 2019 Caroline Middleton rated it it was ok

I feel really icky about this book.

The things I liked: the writing is absolutely gorgeous, very distinctive and evocative. Burton has a visual writing style that showcases her drama background and I loved how easy it was to read. She also writes very convincing characters - it felt real.

The things I didn’t: the characters are not likeable at all and the bad choices they made really triggered me because Burton is THAT GOOD with creating characters, but also, I wasn’t rooting for any ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-via-netgalley, 2019-second-half, writers-and-writing, parenting-or-not, newbury-library

A cut above Burton’s two previous novels, The Miniaturist and The Muse, and my favorite book cover* of the year. I just wish that she / her publisher hadn’t tried to stick to the pattern of a two-word title starting with ‘The’, as this title feels meaninglessly generic. Yes, there are a couple of important confessions in the book – one is about three-quarters of the way through, when Rose Simmons admits that she’s been masquerading as Laura Brown, an experienced personal assistant, to gain access to Constance H A cut above Burton’s two previous novels, The Miniaturist and The Muse, and my favorite book cover* of the year. I just wish that she / her publisher hadn’t tried to stick to the pattern of a two-word title starting with ‘The’, as this title feels meaninglessly generic. Yes, there are a couple of important confessions in the book – one is about three-quarters of the way through, when Rose Simmons admits that she’s been masquerading as Laura Brown, an experienced personal assistant, to gain access to Constance Holden, a reclusive writer and her mother Elise’s former lover; another is when Connie admits to Rose the role she played in Elise’s disappearance when Rose was a baby – but I still feel it’s not evocative enough as titles go.

In any case, Burton handles her two timelines very well. In the first few years of the 1980s, Elise and Connie meet and set up a tentative life together, with Elise even accompanying Connie to Los Angeles for the shoot of a film adaptation of her first novel, Wax Heart. But California is also where they fall apart, drifting off to be with other people; it’s where Elise meets Rose’s father.

In 2017–18, Rose feels lost. She’s 34 and still hasn’t figured out what she wants out of life in terms of a career, a partner and possible motherhood (“by thirty-five, you ought to have it sorted,” she feels). Looking for the mother she never knew seems to have sapped all of her creative energy. In burrowing into Connie’s life she’s looking not just for her mother, but for herself. The two choices she makes at the end of the book ((view spoiler)) struck me as wrong – wrong for me, at least – and yet I can see why in the world of the book that is how things had to be ((view spoiler)).

This is probably a longer book than it needs to be, yet I only felt myself chafing at the length in the last few chapters – I’d been perfectly happy to read 20 or 25 pages per day to get it back to the public library within the few-week deadline. So Burton kept me under her spell for pretty much the whole book, even if the story could have been dispatched in more like 300 pages than 450.

What will stick with me is the sense of societal pressure on both Elise and Rose, and how they both flout these expectations, for better or worse. I’ve felt Rose’s self-pity – shouldn’t I have more of a proper life by my mid-thirties? – and Elise’s temptation to just drop it all and leave, to not do what everyone else expects of me. Like Expectation, this is a book that will resonate for a lot of women, especially those in their twenties and thirties in this case.

*It is partially inspired by the title of Connie’s second novel, Green Rabbit. ...more

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Oct 01, 2019 Anna Maria Boland rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book! Read it. Read everything Jessie Burton writes.
This book is beautiful and heartbreaking and full of hope. But it’s the writing that makes this story amazing. I don’t know how Jessie Burton does it, but in every book her writing fits exactly the story and the characters. I was reading this book very slowly just to be able to enjoy it longer. I want to bath in her writing, I want to learn how to write like this. I want to keep reading Jessie Burton’s stories and let her writing fil ...more

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Oct 02, 2019 Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own

OMG!!!

My View:
I finished reading this last night – OMG!!!

This is such a sublime read full of emotional intelligence and elegant prose – I just wanted to highlight paragraphs and paragraphs – because of the skilled use of language AND because of the many astute revelations about life’s journey.

The narrative is engaging; a bit of mystery, a lot of coming of age, of learning to love oneself and live in the moment not the future, about acceptance, family, identity… this book has so much to ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Elle (theartfulelle) rated it really liked it

Jessie Burton is quickly becoming a go-to author of mine. Having read and loved both The Muse, and The Miniaturist, I really didn’t know what to expect from The Confession. It did not disappoint! There is something wonderful about Burton’s writing that quickly draws you in, and once you are in, you are hooked!

Starting in the early 1980’s we meet Elsie Morceau as she comes spellbound by the mysterious and alluring Constance Holden. Connie is a successful writer and Elsie finds herself ...more

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Jul 19, 2019 Pauliina (The Bookaholic Dreamer) marked it as to-read

Shelves: i-cant-wait

Dear glorious, eternally powerful ARC Gods, I pray thee to descend an ARC of The Confession upon me. I would forever cherish it, and no one loved the Miniaturist more than I. I would tattoo this bunny on my body if you would rather have a serious token of my devotion.

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Nov 07, 2019 Tracey Allen at Carpe Librum rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The Confession by Jessie Burton is a dual narrative story about three women, Elise, Constance and Rose. Elise and Constance are lovers in the 1980s and in the present day, Rose seeks answers about her mother Elise, who left when she was a baby.

Constance is a successful author, and the reader is given an insight into her career during the 1980s and her life as a reclusive writer in the present day. Rose devises a ruse to meet Constance and drill her for answers about her mother.

The Confession is m/>The ...more

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Aug 24, 2019 DebsD rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, mystery, this-years-best-books, rating-4-stars, fiction, ratings-4s-5s-plus, family-home, love

I requested this ARC from Netgalley because I had read the author's two previous adult novels - The Miniaturist (which I enjoyed) and The Muse (which I loved).

Like her previous novels, this is written skilfully, but in a way that seems effortless. Burton's prose is often beautiful and her observations are spot-on. Themes such as family, friendship, decisions, mistakes, consequences and responsibility are handled well, with sympathy and understanding.

The pacing is generall I requested this ARC from Netgalley because I had read the author's two previous adult novels - The Miniaturist (which I enjoyed) and The Muse (which I loved).

Like her previous novels, this is written skilfully, but in a way that seems effortless. Burton's prose is often beautiful and her observations are spot-on. Themes such as family, friendship, decisions, mistakes, consequences and responsibility are handled well, with sympathy and understanding.

The pacing is generally good, if occasionally a little slow, and the writing is complex and immersive. The tale is driven more by character than by plot (which is not to say it is lacking in plot, rather tha the characterisation is excellent). I found it took me a while to become engaged but then I realised that I had begun to care very much about what happened next for at least some of the characters. There is a dual timeline; one story is set in the 1980s and told in the third-person, and the other is contemporary and told in the first-person from Rose's perspective. This is perhaps why I identified most with Rose, even though she and I have little in common. I found Constance to be more appealing in the later timeline (and she is, really, the only major character who appears in both). For the most part, Elise irritated me - I wanted her to take control of something rather than allowing her life to be decided by the surrounding events. All of the characters are convincing - I'd have liked to know more about Matt's motivations for his later actions, and to find out more about Yola. The book delves artfully into the complexities of the decisions taken by the characters.

The event which seems to give the book its title happens relatively late in the story, and I feel that the ending felt a little rushed - it is not the book's strongest point.

I enjoyed this more than The Miniaturist, but less than The Muse - which means that for me, this author's books, in the order they were written, come in at 3*, 5* and 4* - which is a) consistently good, and b) means I will look forward to the next one! ...more

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Oct 18, 2019 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, british-literature, read-2019, historical-fiction

From BBC radio 4 Extra:
Episode 1 of 2

The new novel by Jessie Burton, the bestselling author of The Miniaturist and The Muse.

Rose Simmons is adrift in her mid-30s and still trying to decide what to do with her life. Her own mother disappeared when she was a baby and she's never known the truth of what happened to her.

When she learns that the last person to see her was Constance Holden, a reclusive novelist who withdrew from public life at the peak of her ...more

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Oct 26, 2019 Cat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: beautifulcovers, ebook, read-in-2019

Once more Burton brings us a story alternating between different years.

Unfortunately, I didn’t find this one as good as ‘The Muse’. Jessie Burton is an accomplished story-teller, but I think something was amiss in this one.

Was it maybe Rosie’s voice which was not compelling enough? Or maybe whimsical and difficult Elise, whom I didn’t warm up to? Whatever it was, I couldn’t connect as well to this story as I did with ‘The Muse’.

That said, I’m nevertheless stil ...more

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Aug 27, 2019 Rina marked it as to-read

Oh. My. God. How did I not know this is coming out next month?! I loved The Muse and this basically sounds like its gonna be at least equally amazing I can‘t wait!!

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Oct 25, 2019 Linda Kelly rated it liked it

Odd one this. Didn't enjoy it much, didn't like most of the characters and the so called confession was just, well, meh! Yet I wanted to read it to the end. 😳 Very odd.

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Oct 13, 2019 Jack (That English Guy who Reads) rated it it was amazing

I've eagerly awaited Burton's third novel since the moment I finished The Muse, back when that was published in 2016. It is safe to say that The Confession does not disappoint.

Burton reaches a new literary height here, with writing that is so beautifully crafted and language which drips in vivid imagery and rich, lucid detail. From the very first page Burton's writing is as familiar and as warming as an open fire on a winter's evening.

The Confession is very much a novel a ...more

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Aug 17, 2019 Helen White rated it really liked it

Rose has been looking for her missing mother all her life. Her life feels incomplete or permanently on hold. When her father gives her a clue - the name of an author who was the last person to see her mother she decides to insert herself in this authors life to find traces of her mother.

Elise is a young woman in live with Connie a successful author. She will follow Connie anywhere - even to L.A when Connie's book becomes a Hollywood film. Life starts to unravel though for Elise and her lack of ...more

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Jul 28, 2019 Ruth Brookes rated it really liked it

Morally questionable, complex, flawed characters and a story of selfhood, female autonomy, desire, loss and finding the truth of oneself. Richly descriptive, perceptive & full of ambiguity, this is very much a Jessie Burton novel. I didn’t completely love it, but there were points which really resonated & left me with lots to ponder. Beautiful writing.

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Aug 04, 2019 Kaja marked it as to-read

i still can't stop thinking about The Muse and it's been more than a year since i read it. You don't even know how excited i'm for this, it looks so good and i can't believe i'm only now finding out that this is coming out THIS SOON.

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Oct 25, 2019 Tripfiction rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-set-in-usa, novels-set-in-uk

Novel set in Hollywood and Hampstead

A novel by Jessie Burton is always a thing of pleasure, unusual story telling coupled with skilful writing. The Confession is about many things, primarily it is about what it means to grow up without a mother’s figure to guide and offer unconditional love.

Back in 1980s Hampstead, Elise and Connie are embarking on a lesbian relationship, a time when it was not easy to be openly gay. Connie has a film contract for one of her novels and both women fly over to Hollywood and settle there. Elise never really knew her mother, as she died when she was 9 years old. Connie, as an older woman, offers her the parental figure for which Elise craves. At first the balance of their relationship works well.

Within a short time unconsciously Elise has split their situation into Connie having everything – the success, the friends, the confidence, the talent – and Elise trailing along with nothing. Gradually she shifts into adaptive and ‘victim’ child mode and sets about having a relationship with someone in Connie’s circle. She can justify this action because she overheard something that spurs her into destructive behaviour.

Move forward to present day Hampstead and Connie has long since returned from the frivolous West Coast and is living on her own. Her hands have become decrepit and she seeks an assistant who arrives in the form of Rose. Rose purports to be someone called Laura who is in fact Elise’s daughter and she feels she needs to be deceptive and adopt this cloak and dagger scenario. Rose has such a strong desire to connect – somehow – with her mother, who she never really knew, and Connie seems like a good starting point. Rose/Laura now spends her life weighed down by the deceit she has set in motion, waiting to be caught out at any moment. Elise, you see, abandoned Rose when she was just a baby and left no trace as to her whereabouts, then or since.

Thus, there are two generations of women growing up without a mother. This is a novel of relationships, of maternal bonds and lack thereof and how one can cling to what one has lost. Yet, the narrative is as much about loss and yearning as it is about choices that can be made for a more positive future. One can reframe one’s life in a positive way and value the elements that one does have… and over time and through pregnancy, Rose indeed starts to adjust. Echoes of events and people appear in Connie’s books, paintbrush sweeps of hinted relationships do leave Rose wondering how much is fiction, how much is based on real life…. (the cover of the book refers to the title of one of Connie’s novels).

There are harsh words and consequences with Connie having pivotal relationships with both mother and daughter. She is an unforgiving woman, soft at times, focussed on herself and yet, she is nevertheless a sympathetic character. In the early days she tries to coax Elise into better mothering by haranguing her – citing her mother’s brain tumour and concomitant mental deterioration as a sign of poor mothering, brought on by daughter Elise’s behaviour and character – which ultimately sounded like a desperate yet futile attempt at motivation….

I felt the relationships between the characters sometimes felt a little lacklustre and flat (sorry!). It’s almost as though the author started out forming the characters with great enthusiasm and insight, got them involved in the plot and then lost a bit of inspiration and moved on to the next scene. In no way a deal breaker, it’s a great piece of fiction and had me absorbed from the get-go. Recommended. ...more

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Oct 07, 2019 Philippa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2019

As I wasn't a huge fan of Jessie Burton's last novel The Muse, I did not have high hopes for The Confession - and I could not have been more wrong. It's an intimate, intelligent and compelling novel that explores the lives of several different women. It takes place across two timelines - the early 1980s in London, LA and New York, and 2017-18 in London. The characters are well-drawn, believable and tender - Connie, in particular, is brought to life very well, I had visions of Eileen Atkins playi ...more

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About Jessie Burton

Jessie Burton

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Jessie Burton studied at Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, where she appeared in productions of The House of Bernarda Alba, Othello, Play and Macbeth. In April 2013 her first novel, The Miniaturist, was sold at an 11-publisher auction at the London Book Fair, and went on to sell in 29 other countries around the world. It was published by Picador in the UK and Holland in ...more