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A review by annrawson
Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden
5.0
A powerful and compelling novel which explores childhood trauma.
Some spoilers follow, especially for the first part of the novel.
The story begins with a heart-stopping prologue in which the main character, Rebecca, wakes up from what is clearly a recurrent nightmare to discover she has been sleeping next to a dead man...
Part One is narrated by sixteen year old Rebecca, who tells us the story of her childhood. It's an unusual structure for the novel, and this first third constitutes what would usually be considered backstory. As a reader, I am impatiently longing to discover what is happening in the prologue - who is the dead man, how did he die?
Soon I am drawn in by Bairden's skill as she evokes Rebecca's childhood, marred by poverty and abandonment and abuse piled on abuse. It's painful reading, as so often the young Rebecca is let down by those who are supposed to protect her - the father who abandoned her at birth, her mother who allowed, encouraged her abuse, the social worker who looked the other way, an abusive foster family. And yet we see evidence of Rebecca's resilience, and at the end of the first part she has been helped by a good psychiatrist, and has real hope for the future.
Part Two takes us back to a time shortly before the Prologue. Now grown up, Rebecca has a job, and a husband, and would seem to be a survivor. Only we very quickly learn that beneath the surface, there are more sinister things going on. She's abusing her husband, who is the son of her abuser. She is being tormented by silent phone calls. Her life is unravelling.
There are so many vividly drawn characters in this novel. As well as Rebecca, we get to see the dark past of her husband Lucas, the misery and despair of the social worker, Jim, and
the confusion, pain and anger of Nicole. None of them can be seen as wholly good or bad and they all do terrible things, and yet Bairden's compassionate writing allows us to empathise with all these broken souls.
This is a story with darkness at its heart, and there are many twists and turns to torment and delight lovers of crime fiction.
The revenge story is one of my favourite genres, and this is a truly outstanding contribution.
Some spoilers follow, especially for the first part of the novel.
The story begins with a heart-stopping prologue in which the main character, Rebecca, wakes up from what is clearly a recurrent nightmare to discover she has been sleeping next to a dead man...
Part One is narrated by sixteen year old Rebecca, who tells us the story of her childhood. It's an unusual structure for the novel, and this first third constitutes what would usually be considered backstory. As a reader, I am impatiently longing to discover what is happening in the prologue - who is the dead man, how did he die?
Soon I am drawn in by Bairden's skill as she evokes Rebecca's childhood, marred by poverty and abandonment and abuse piled on abuse. It's painful reading, as so often the young Rebecca is let down by those who are supposed to protect her - the father who abandoned her at birth, her mother who allowed, encouraged her abuse, the social worker who looked the other way, an abusive foster family. And yet we see evidence of Rebecca's resilience, and at the end of the first part she has been helped by a good psychiatrist, and has real hope for the future.
Part Two takes us back to a time shortly before the Prologue. Now grown up, Rebecca has a job, and a husband, and would seem to be a survivor. Only we very quickly learn that beneath the surface, there are more sinister things going on. She's abusing her husband, who is the son of her abuser. She is being tormented by silent phone calls. Her life is unravelling.
There are so many vividly drawn characters in this novel. As well as Rebecca, we get to see the dark past of her husband Lucas, the misery and despair of the social worker, Jim, and
the confusion, pain and anger of Nicole. None of them can be seen as wholly good or bad and they all do terrible things, and yet Bairden's compassionate writing allows us to empathise with all these broken souls.
This is a story with darkness at its heart, and there are many twists and turns to torment and delight lovers of crime fiction.
The revenge story is one of my favourite genres, and this is a truly outstanding contribution.