The theme of this story is the envy between two brothers, with the idea of good versus evil embedded in the actions of the characters. This apparently psychological story takes place, at first, in the minds of its characters and then it erupts into serious consequences. The narrator of the story, Ruth, is the heroine who represents evil. Meanwhile, her adoptive older sister, Elizabeth, represents good. As evil wrongs good, it also changes its own composition.
The story portrays the English upper class in luxurious settings, with all the characters having the same or very similar vocabulary and personal tastes. The arguments between them are mostly intellectual.
Elizabeth is Ruth’s first cousin adopted by Ruth’s parents after the death of Elizabeth’s parents in a car accident. Ruth blames Elizabeth for stealing her parents’ affections and not allowing Ruth to be her only child. Throughout her days, Ruth secretly wishes ill on Elizabeth as she waits for a solid opportunity to devastate her. After growing up, marrying, and having one child each, Elizabeth’s husband dies. Elizabeth remarries a wealthy businessman. Meanwhile, Ruth manages to steal the affections of Elizabeth’s husband, Charles, and has an affair with him. All this he has haunted and planned, in cold blood, for years. Her adultery along with a tragic accident destroys both families. In the end, Ruth comes away with as great a loss as Elizabeth and Charles with the conjecture that when one destroys another person out of envy, she loses herself and becomes part of the person she destroys.
The novel is gripping in a soapy way, emphasizing strong, destructive emotions with dramatic words, even if the foundation of those emotions may feel hollow to the reader. Then, very often, the narrator expresses herself with phrases and short sentences that sound like adages or deep thoughts. For example, when Ruth wants to destroy Elizabeth’s first marriage, she thinks that she should wait until the couple is “deeply in love”. Ruth says, “Why mess up something that’s already imperfect? It’s the first crack that ruins the Ming…”
I finished reading this book in one sitting, perhaps because it’s only 164 pages, or I unknowingly enjoy melodrama. Hart’s confessional approach to telling the story in the first person and his short, almost poetic sentences give the impression of an inspirational style, which can amuse and engage readers; however, due to this very style, the book deviates from the maxim, “the story is the thing.”
Also, the central conflict was not very compelling to me, as Ruth’s parents did everything right for the two girls. In such a case, even if there could be some envy, it would not be so strong and so deadly. In other words, considering the psychological evidence of the backstory, Ruth’s feelings and actions are not justifiable.
Sin is in hardcover with ISBN-10: 0679416730 and ISBN-13: 978-0679416739
The author Josephine Hart is Irish. She has been a director of Haymarket publishing; she also produced a few West End plays and made several television appearances. The first book of her Damage of her has been adapted to the cinema. Her books are: Damage, Sin, Oblivion, The Stillest Day, The Reconstructionist, and Grabbing Life by the Throat.
Sin by Josephine Hart is a book that one should read at one’s own risk.