Looking for stories focused on someone who actually has done something, or was partially responsible for some mistake in the past, who feels guilty or wants to change, and so gets a redemption arc.
But they don't die during or after.
Not looking for things where protagonist's mistake(s) get whitewashed afterwards by way of plot convenience (e.g. actually, it turns out you were being mind controlled, or someone else was framing you all along, so it wasn't your fault after all).
not required, but bonus if there's a persistent secret identity component like Jean Valjean making a new life for himself.
by fishinexcess
1 Comment
A Little Life adjacent but lighter on the trauma, you might like The Kite Runner
The protagonist genuinely did something wrong as a kid, knows it, carries it for decades and the whole book is about whether you can actually make something right that happened that long ago. No cop outs, no “actually it wasn’t your fault” moment
It’s heavy but it doesn’t punish him with death, it’s more about whether redemption is even possible and what it actually looks like when it’s messy and incomplete