Sins of the Father by Kitty Neale
Monday, 10 Mar 2008 14:12
Sins of the Father by Kitty Neale.
Published by Avon, paperback, 545 pages, £5.99.
In a nutshell…
Cheesy. Disappointing. Predictable. Slow. Forgettable.
What's it all about?
Sins of the Father is the story of Emma Chambers, a working class girl living in an attic flat with her seven siblings and parents in post-war London. After her mother dies during childbirth, Emma's life takes a series of unfortunate twists and turns as she vows to make a better future for herself by whatever means possible. However, she finds that her new life takes her further and further away from the family she grew up with and once loved dearly.
Who's it by?
Kitty Neale is in her tenth year of writing novels. Her first venture into the world of literature was A Cuckoo in Candle Lane, followed by Outcast Child, The Empty Hearth, Another Time Another Place, No Time for Tears and Nobody's Girl.
As an example...
"There had been odd occasion when Luke had unnerved them, once predicting that their mother was carrying a boy, and as though he had the ability to see into the future, he had told them in advance when their father was arriving home from the war."
Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster
I very much doubt that Sins of the Father will make it to the big screen; it does however fit the bill of a Sunday night ITV1 drama. It's not intellectually taxing, very predictable and there's enough cheese to satisfy the ITV-watching mums who will relate to the post war era.
What the others say
"I found it very readable, on the whole, although there were some slightly irritating authorial asides in places." Sue's Book Reviews about Nobody's Girl.
So is it any good?
Sins of the Father reminded me of the sort of instantly-forgettable book one might read by the pool on holiday. Yet I don't think I would actually like to read about rape and poverty in 1950s London whilst topping up my tan and peering over my shades in Spanish sunshine. I found that I was only engaged in the book during the last quarter, and that was simply to fill my desire to know if I had correctly predicted the ending (which I had). I found it very difficult to become emotionally involved in the characters - this novel is not, as publisher Avon suggests, a tearjerker. Important events weren't labored over as they ought to be, in fact I'd almost forgotten they'd happened. I cringed almost constantly at the start of the story, the style of writing and suggestive character portrayals reminded me of tales I would conjure up in creative writing lessons at primary school.
This is a bit of a plot spoiler (or not, as the case may be), but the pivotal and emotional event of the return of Emma's daughter was described in two sentences. For me, relationships, feeling and real emotions were skimmed over, which was terribly disappointing. I wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't.
3/10
Rosie Park
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