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Ratings: ★★★★☆(4.5/5)
Genre: Fiction / Literary Fiction / Historical Fiction / Adventure / Science

Book Review:
''Confessing a Murder'' by Nicholas Drayson is a deliciously entertaining and intellectual first novel. The Theory of Evolution was the greatest scientific concept of its age. It was so revolutionary that its author, Charles Darwin, revealed to a friend in 1854 that even mentioning it felt like ''confessing a murder.''

This novel purports to be an anonymous memoir found in an attic, written by an arrogant but brilliant homosexual whose life has crossed with Darwin's with startling regularity. He is writing it on a small island in the Java Sea, of which he is the only human inhabitant. The island has a live volcano, and aware that his life will soon come to an end, he sets out the true story of the theory of natural selection, confesses a murder of his own, and provides a fascinating account of the plants and animals of the island.

Drayson's writing is contemplative, full of picaresque adventures, and thoroughly enjoyable. If you enjoy literary fiction, historical fiction, or books about science and discovery, Confessing a Murder is a must-read. Highly recommended!