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A review by kellyvandamme
Sins of the Father by Sharon Bairden
4.0
Sins of the Father starts with a deeply unsettling prologue that hooked me right away. I felt incredibly intrigued and I simply had to know where this story would take me. I felt that we were heading for disaster and I hardly dared look, but I could not look away either.
Part One takes us back to the 1990s, to Rebecca’s childhood in a rather bold move by the author to steer clear from a dual timeline throughout the novel. I found it quite refreshing to have the whole background story in one go, and considering what comes after I do believe it’s the right choice, it gives us a frame for Rebecca’s subsequent actions and helps us to understand her.
Rebecca’s is the story of an abused and confused little ten-year-old girl taken away from her home after her mother has been brutally murdered. She hears voices in her head, other versions of herself who keep her company and offer comfort, but they can also be mean and scare her. Rebecca’s mum had fallen in with the wrong crowd, got herself addicted to drugs, and didn’t care what happened to Rebecca as long as she could get her fix. The tragedy of it all really got to me. Not just that a mum would offer up her daughter on a silver platter to be able to buy drugs, but also that the neighbours would ignore a little girl’s plight for quite some time.
People turn a blind eye to what we suspect might be going on behind closed doors cos it’s none of our business. While in some cases we should make it our business. Although foster care or care homes might not be the ideal solution either, especially for a troubled child like Rebecca, another difficult issue Sins of the Father touches upon. Stories like this always make me think too much, you know, about how it might be fiction in this instance and to me, but reality for more children than I dare consider.
As we meet up with Rebecca in the present, we find that the troubled girl has turned into an equally troubled woman. Unable to let go of the past she’s determined to make sure some of her wrongdoers get their just deserts. However, she is not the only one with a hidden agenda and ulterior motives.
Sins of the Father is teeming with characters ranging from unlikeable to positively despicable. If you need to like the characters in the book you’re reading I’d suggest you look elsewhere. I did understand where some of them were coming from, it’s easy to judge people in circumstances you have no personal experience with, and I try not to, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them.
Sins of the Father is a grim example of what might happen when mental illness not only goes unchecked but is exacerbated by various sorts of abuse. It is a tale of revenge and justice and a powerful debut whichever way you turn it.
Part One takes us back to the 1990s, to Rebecca’s childhood in a rather bold move by the author to steer clear from a dual timeline throughout the novel. I found it quite refreshing to have the whole background story in one go, and considering what comes after I do believe it’s the right choice, it gives us a frame for Rebecca’s subsequent actions and helps us to understand her.
Rebecca’s is the story of an abused and confused little ten-year-old girl taken away from her home after her mother has been brutally murdered. She hears voices in her head, other versions of herself who keep her company and offer comfort, but they can also be mean and scare her. Rebecca’s mum had fallen in with the wrong crowd, got herself addicted to drugs, and didn’t care what happened to Rebecca as long as she could get her fix. The tragedy of it all really got to me. Not just that a mum would offer up her daughter on a silver platter to be able to buy drugs, but also that the neighbours would ignore a little girl’s plight for quite some time.
People turn a blind eye to what we suspect might be going on behind closed doors cos it’s none of our business. While in some cases we should make it our business. Although foster care or care homes might not be the ideal solution either, especially for a troubled child like Rebecca, another difficult issue Sins of the Father touches upon. Stories like this always make me think too much, you know, about how it might be fiction in this instance and to me, but reality for more children than I dare consider.
As we meet up with Rebecca in the present, we find that the troubled girl has turned into an equally troubled woman. Unable to let go of the past she’s determined to make sure some of her wrongdoers get their just deserts. However, she is not the only one with a hidden agenda and ulterior motives.
Sins of the Father is teeming with characters ranging from unlikeable to positively despicable. If you need to like the characters in the book you’re reading I’d suggest you look elsewhere. I did understand where some of them were coming from, it’s easy to judge people in circumstances you have no personal experience with, and I try not to, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them.
Sins of the Father is a grim example of what might happen when mental illness not only goes unchecked but is exacerbated by various sorts of abuse. It is a tale of revenge and justice and a powerful debut whichever way you turn it.