Reviews for Sin

The average rating for Sin based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-05-21 00:00:00 Gueran Ducoty 'Sin.' An unfortunate title for a novel, don't you think? It brings to mind sad little paperback romance novels or soft porn fictions marketed to women looking for a little titillation (not that I would know anything about that). Josephine Hart's 'Sin' is not pornographic nor is it romantic; it is ruthless. It's about all of the horrible things that we do to each other out of envy or boredom or desire. "Nothing prepared me for my hungers, which, if not assuaged, would surely devour me." This book delves deep into the mind of a beautiful young woman (Ruth) who has everything anyone could possibly wish for. But her obsession with ruining her sister's life proves to be her downfall. She will stop at nothing to take away any small happiness, including doing the unthinkable. Is it my fault that I do not love where I am loved? That I accepted the gift I should have rejected? I hated the moments where I found myself reading Ruth's thoughts and finding myself in some small way relating to them. Hart takes a magnifying glass to all of our ugly parts and dares us to look closer.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-11-17 00:00:00 Jack Larmer "I believe now that I was exposed too early to goodness and that I never recovered." Sin by Josephine Hart I read this after reading "Damage" by same author. This book was also great. Another novella, it contains the same tragic, searing prose as Damage. This book is about the sin of envy. The main characters are Ruth and Elizabeth, two sisters. Elizabeth is almost..perfect. She has no malice in here, not one drop of craftiness or evil, not even cattiness. There is something innocent and untouched about Elizabeth and maybe that is why Ruth, her sister hates her so much. Ruth is an empty shell. She is the opposite of Elizabeth. She is joyless. Her only motivation in life..the only thing that gives her even a slight feeling of ..well..something..is ruining Elizabeth's life. Taking Elizabeth's things. Anything that belongs to Elizabeth Ruth must have. She is a woman possessed and her possession lies in her need to totally and completely destroy Elizabeth. As with Damage, Ruth's selfish desires cause events to spiral out of control leading inevitably to tragedy. While not as great as Damage, Sin is still a fantastic read. Like with Damage it is a novella and can be read quickly. And like with Damage, this intense litle fire cracker of a book will linger long after you read the last page.