Sin [Mass Market Paperback]

Josephine Hart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 29, 1993

Ruth smiles, but beneath the surface nurses a hatred as powerful as the sea, and as sharp as the coldest of blades. The object of Ruth's malevolence is her cousin, Elizabeth -- orphaned at nine months and raised by Ruth's parents as their own -- whose very presence stole Ruth's birthright as only child. From this twisted sense of betrayal grows an envy, dark as night, from which there can be but one refuge: Elizabeth's destruction.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Hart's bestselling Damage will undoubtedly flock to the bookstores to snatch up her second novel, but they may be disappointed by this one, which essentially marks her as a one-note writer. Again there is an insistent yet oblique narrative voice; this time it belongs to Ruth, who is insanely envious of her cousin/sister Elizabeth, adopted by Ruth's parents when her own family died in an accident. Calling herself a "malevolent creature," Ruth realizes that her desire to destroy kind, generous Elizabeth is the expression of a warped psyche. When she succeeds in seducing Elizabeth's husband, Sir Charles, Ruth exults in their lasciviously detailed red-hot sex, but after he repudiates her, she experiences terrible pain. The staccato sentences that successfully propelled Damage are here reduced to fragments so truncated they cry out for parody; elsewhere, Hart's prose is terminally overwrought: "Ferocity had etched something high, cold and silver onto my face." Readers will discern a pattern in Hart's plot technique: obsession leads to evil, betrayal and lust, then to painfully ironic complications and eventually to tragic, symbolic retribution. The trouble this time around is that the melodrama palls and the frisson of suspense is lacking. 100,000 first printing; BOMC alternate. (Aug.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This fascinating follow-up to Hart's astonishing debut novel, Damage ( LJ 2/15/91), focuses on the sin of envy, embodied here by the narrator, Ruth. Ruth is corrosively jealous of her orphaned cousin Elizabeth, who was raised and cherished by Ruth's parents as their own daughter. She hates the good, generous, kind Elizabeth and waits for the moment when she will be able to break her rival and take everything. Her compelling voice makes Sin as readable as Damage , but the root of her envy never seems completely believable, and the brevity of the novel works against the author's intent. Was Ruth (badly misnamed by her parents, as it turns out) born with this fatal streak of envy, or was she struck by it in the one episode from her childhood which Hart offers as explanation? Though flawed by its failure to clarify this central point, Sin remains a disturbing, provocative work, sure to be eagerly sought by readers of Damage . Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/1/92.
- Dean James, Houston Acad. of Medicine/Texas Medical Ctr. Lib.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Ivy Books (May 29, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804110972
• ISBN-13: 978-0804110976
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,017,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The complexity of badness, September 14, 2000

By 

Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sin (Audio Cassette)

This is a novel that deals not just with envy. Elizabeth and Ruth are cousins, and Elizabeth gets adopted by Ruth's parents when her own parents are killed. The girls grow up as sisters, but all along Ruth develops an incredible ill for Elizabeth, even though she doesn't do anything to provoke that resentment. Ruth makes it her life's mission to destroy Elizabeth. Her dream is to see her in pain, suffering and humiliated. She resorts to extreme manipulations and convoluted schemes to achieve that purpose.

Ruth is an amazing character, who personifies badness in a thought-provoking way. Her selfishness, envy and greed are almost incomprehensible. How can a human being harbor such hate for someone who has never done anything wrong? This novel made me think and think about the issue. Is it possible that people are born bad? So many times i've heard that we are all born good, and it's circumstances that make us bad. Did Ruth turn bad when she saw her parents combing Elizabeth's hair? Was that the moment when Ruth became jealous of her cousin? What happened in subsequent years, how did that badness grow?

Almost as amazing are Elizabeth's reactions to her sister's attacks. As evil as Ruth is, so is Elizabeth gracious and forgiving. Elizabeth summarizes her philosophy of life during their final meeting, a cathartic episode for Ruth, who is deeply changed after that.

A fascinating, disturbing novel that i highly recommend.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Sophomore Effort, December 8, 1999

By 

Sara (OK, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sin (Hardcover)

I thought Sin was a crafty follow-up to Damage. Not as poignant, but a good read nonetheless. Some second novels are flat compared to the author's first release, but this is not the case with Sin. It is well worth your time although I do concede that it has an overall soap opera feel to it. The place names, plot, and characters can seem ostentatious at times so prepare to make at least a small suspension of disbelief. Hart continues to explore the ideas of jealousy, obession and passion in Sin but not with the same effectiveness as with Damage. Overall, I would suggest Sin as an excellent rainy day, relax and have fun read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars obsessions can be fatal, February 5, 2002

By 

[e-mail] (Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sin (Mass Market Paperback)

I see this as a story of girl, Ruth, who carried burden of deprived childhood, deprived in an unusal way(being too lucky/capable). It develps in to a dream to see her cousin and adopted sitestr Elizabeth suffer in pain, in all possible secretive ways. On the other hand Elizabeth has practiced to love Ruth instead of fighting her, She didn't figure this out till Elizabeth told her of her strategy at a very late stage in their lives. If Damage is a good book, this is an excellent one.