Sins of the Father

by D.W. Marchwell

While volunteering to help prisoners earn their high school equivalency, Charlie Kirby meets Caleb Farmer, who asks his help to write a letter to his long-lost son, Junior, to make amends. Touched by... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1615813497
• ISBN13: 9781615813490
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Sins of the Father

Charlie had a rough childhood. After his father went to prison, other kids didn't want anything to do with him. In college, he met Jesse, the love of his life. Now, however, Jesse is gone, killed in a car accident. Charlie fills his time teaching school and volunteering at a prison, teaching inmates to read. That's how he meets inmate Caleb Farmer. While helping Caleb write a letter to his estranged son, it doesn't take long for Charlie to get close to the man. Touched by the man's desire to reconcile with his son before he dies, Charlie decides to help him find his son. James Marshall has no desire to revisit the past, or reconcile with his father. He meets Charlie by chance when mutual friends try to set them up and is attracted, but when he finds out Charlie knows his murderous father he's angry. Can James get past his anger and salvage what could be a wonderful relationship, or will the issue of his father be the wedge that drives them apart forever? Sins of the Father is an emotional tale of forgiveness, acceptance, and love. I could sympathize with Charlie's loneliness after losing his lover of many years, and his desire to assuage his own past pain by volunteering. I could also understand James's desire to leave the past behind, especially after discovering that his father had murdered his mother. Both men are wounded by their pasts and in need of love. I could even sympathize with Caleb Farmer's desire to find forgiveness for his crime before he died. The problem, for me, came when the three men's conflicts intersected. I felt like Charlie was too pushy toward James, trying to force him to do something he didn't want to out of misplaced guilt perhaps, and too wishy-washy at the end. James had every right to be angry and conflicted, but his behavior at the end was hard to understand as well. Only Caleb seemed consistent throughout the whole story. Charlie and James come together quickly, but seem to lack a fundamental understanding of each other that was too easily remedied in the end. Sins of the Father is an interesting book that tackles a lot of important issues, but it failed to resonate as strongly with me as I hoped it would. Cassie Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

5 Hearts of The Romance Studio!

I really enjoyed this book even though it did cause me to shed a few tears. It is very well written. It moves smoothly between the past and the present. I can't say that I think of it as a romance though it does have some romance in it, this is a story of redemption and reconciliation. The characters are so well developed that the reader almost feels what they are going through. I liked that even after all that Charlie had been through in the past he still had hope and compassion for other people instead of being bitter and that James has not given up hope on trying to find love. I had a small problem with the story line of Deanna and Beth; it just sort of cut off in the middle of the story and left me dangling. I would have liked to have seen that resolved differently. There is m/m sex in the story but it is not too detailed or offensive. I think even if you a reader did not m/m fiction that they would enjoy this book it is that good of a story, it reminds the reader of the healing power of forgiveness even if we are only forgiving ourselves. - Ana

An involving and affecting novel

In his novel Sins of the Father, D.W. Marchwell gives his readers a thought-provoking and touching story of love and second chances. This is a tale of two men who have both suffered due to the actions of their fathers and who must learn to let go of their pasts and embrace what the future has to offer them. I enjoyed reading this story. While it is not flashy or exciting, it is well-written and very involving, and it tells a very sweet and emotional romance. While I'm not a huge fan of prologues and epilogues, I have come to realize over time that sometimes these literary devices can enrich the reading experience. Such is the case in Sins of the Father. While the overall novel is written in the past tense, both the prologue and the epilogue are written in the present tense, giving the reader a feeling of three snapshots in time. These scenes may not be absolutely essential to the telling of the tale, but each documents a hugely important and emotional point in time, and the epilogue especially provides a sense of closure. With his two main characters, Mr. Marchwell gives us a couple of ordinary fellows - "everymen," if you will - who are undergoing extraordinary events. Charlie is a character that the reader can care for while at the same time acknowledging his flaws. He is less than perfect, but it is because of this that we become emotionally invested in him. To keep himself from dwelling on his own loss, Charlie throws himself into helping others. He may think that he has come to terms with his father's actions, but he hasn't, really, and the loss of his husband only exacerbates matters. He clings to the prison and to his GED program there as a coping mechanism. His emotional neediness allows him to become so caught up in the drama revolving around Caleb and James that it won't let him go. In a way, he lives vicariously through these two, and his absolute need to see them reunited makes him pushy to a flaw. James is not quite as well developed a character as is Charlie, which makes sense given that Charlie is the main focus of the story. While James is likeable, we don't draw him quite as close to our hearts, and my only real worry about his peace of mind as I read the story involved how it would affect Charlie. Mr. Marchwell indicates that all of his stories have at least some basis in fact. This probably contributes much to the feeling of realism that exists in this novel, from the prison to the interpersonal dynamics to the sense of love and loss that the characters feel. There are no feats of daring, good-versus-evil struggles, explosions, or car chases. There is, however, a deep feeling of emotion that permeates this entire story. As I read Sins of the Father, I felt a sense of despair that Charlie and James would ever be able to make a future together. The issue of Caleb and his need for James's forgiveness hangs over their heads like the Sword of Damocles. The reader knows that one day it is going to fall, and the results will prob

Such a deeply moving, insightful and beautiful story!

I admit I was not impressed with DW's previous effort, "Good to Know", but Sins of the Father is one beautiful story. A story of pain, redemption, forgiveness, healing and hope, Sins of the Father is quality writing underlined with so much emotions. I could not stop reading. This is m/m romance and I know the writer will give us a HEA but the fates of Charlie and James keep me glued till the last page. There are a lot of deeply moving scenes. I am not embarrassed to say I find myself all choked up and cried in some of them. As for the characters, they are all credible and convincingly drawn out. As in "Good to Know" this writer is brilliant in depicting the mind and emotions of a young child. The beginning, when a deeply hurt teenage Charlie says good bye to his mother, and towards the end when a six year old James fails to understand what has happened to his own. These scenes are so compelling and riveting. I wish the writer will try his hand on a stand alone story featuring a young boy finding his way in life. At first I was disappointed when the writer skipped twenty over years between Charlie meeting the first love of his life, Jesse, and the "real" start of the story when Charlie is now a lonely 40+ years old man. Charlie may have lost Jesse but because of Jesse the once sad, bitter and withdrawn young Charlie has grown into a caring teacher, both to his teenage students and to the prison mates. I would love to have read the changes in Charlie's character because of the support from one wonderful man and his family. But as the story progresses one could understand why the writer has done this. The story is about Charlie, James and Caleb. Charlie may have never found peace with his own father. But because of his developing friendship with Caleb, he may just find the closure he craves. As for James, a man as deeply scarred by the turmoil in his early childhood as Charlie and maybe even more, would this hunk of a man ever find peace and closure? Or would he fail and at the same time loose the man who may mean everything to him? And what about Caleb, a condemn man who know he would never be forgiven. Will Caleb find redemption? The story is driven by all these questions and answers. So much so that I got annoyed when sex scenes interrupt the flow of the story. I have to remind myself this is a M/M romance and sex is essential! Don't get me wrong I am not asking the writer to tone down the romance. I enjoy the developing romance between Charlie and James but the sex scenes could have been replaced with more on the moral, the father-son conflicts and the conflicts facing these 3 men which are so well written. Even if the sex scenes in this case are limited to the right balance (thank you!), I feel the romance between Charlie and James does not need it. And I thought the writer handles their romance very well towards the end when all seems to be lost. Sins of the Father is one wonderful reading experience and I highly recommend it. Kudos to