The title 'His Sins' is catchy and intriquing. In the first paragraph in Chapter I of Part I, the sentences are powerful. They introduce characters, a setting and they set the tone. The dialogue in the story is easy to understand and to follow. Readers will appreciate the ease with which this story can be read. Each scene transitions smoothly into the next because of the dialogue. Nice work.
Review by Writer's Digest
'His Sins' spans three generations of a struggling family, focusing on the fate of the women who ally themselves with ambitious, emotionally distant and selfish men. Ms. Behnish creates compelling, complex and intricate characters, particularly in the case of Elsa who the reader follows from before birth until the cliffhanger ending.
The social and political events of the time periods covered by this novel come into play in realistic plot twists and scenarios that help develop character and build tension. Each generation is convincingly drawn - they all have different ways of speaking, thinking and navigating their worlds.
It's quite impressive that Ms. Behnish was able to carry some of the concerns of the first generation into the third generation without making all of the characters similar.
Review by Red City Review
"His Sins" by Sylvia Behnish
Alexander and Janet's dream of starting fresh lives in America were laid to rest when Alexander's father, a coal miner, met an untimely end. After the funeral, the couple find themselves without the funds required to move overseas, and their increasing discontentment leads to a deep enimity between them. Terrified by a future cut short by the same fate as his father, Alexander lashes out at his family. It is into this unloving environment that Elsa and her siblings are born. Intelligent children, they quickly pick up on their parents' unhappiness and internalize it. Eventually the young family moves to Canada where Alexander is freed from a life spent digging below the ground and is delivered instead into another sort of servitude. Life in North America, it turns out, does not guarantee a person wealth or happiness.
As Elsa ages, her story picks up where her parents' leaves off and we begin to observe the obstacles a young girl, bruised by bad family history, must overcome if she wishes to undo all her years of emotional abuse and pain. "His Sins" is a serious work of fiction with a powerful message. Through well-told scenes and dialogue, Behnish opens up a Pandora's box of anger, regret and depression that engulfs her. Elsa threatens to repeat her parents' mistakes after marrying a man who is as bitter and angry as her father. But because of that last vital ingredient at the bottom of Pandora's box, hope, she instead raises her own daughter to be confident, independent and uncompromising. While Elsa's childhood was traumatic, Behnish shows how all experiences, whether positive or hurtful, shape a person as she grows into adulthood. Even the deepest wounds can begin to heal if one is strong, patient and maintains an open heart.
