Sins of Our Fathers

by Shawn Lawrence Otto

From the screenwriter of the Oscar-nominated House of Sand and Fog, comes an edge-of-your-seat thriller with literary and moral complexity. A fierce, elegant exploration of race, money, and the American Dream. Finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize and winner of the NE MN Book Award.
Sins of Our Fathers tells the story of an arson inside an embezzlement inside an assault inside a banking scheme, all the way down to the core of the book, which is an unflinching look at America’s original sin: five hundred years of physical and spiritual violence against Native peoples. Crimes that made our country.
Small-town banker J.W. has been caught embezzling funds to support his gambling addiction. He is on the verge of losing everything when his boss offers him a scoundrel’s path to redemption: sabotage a competing, Native businessman named Johnny Eagle.
A single father, Eagle recently returned to the Northern Minnesota reservation, leaving a high-powered banking job in hopes of simultaneously empowering his community and saving his troubled son Jacob—but his actions threaten the local town business owners.
When J.W. moves onto the reservation and begins to work his way close to Eagle, hundreds of years of racial animosities rise to the surface, inexorably driving the characters toward a Shakespearean and shattering conclusion.
"Masterfully written. It flows so beautifully that you don't realize you're in the middle of reading's version of rocky river rapids until it's too late to escape."
—PopcornReads
“Screenwriter-turned-novelist Shawn Lawrence Otto pushes his perfectly crafted characters to their limits. The result is a literary tour de force and a psychological thriller that hooked me from the first page and carried me through to its stunning conclusion.”
—Joel Surnow, creator of 24
"A classic on par with To Kill A Mockingbird."
—J.D. Colbert, past president and CEO of Native American Bank

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Book Club, Contemporary

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 25, 2014

About the author

Shawn Lawrence Otto is an award-winning screenwriter, novelist and science advocate who wrote and coproduced the movie House of Sand and Fog, which was nominated for three Academy Awards. Sins of Our Fathers, a literary crime novel, is his first novel. It earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly and is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

Otto is also the producer of the US Presidential Science Debates between Barack Obama and his opponents Mitt Romney and John McCain, and author of Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America, which won the Minnesota Book Award.

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read an advance copy of this book that was mailed to my workplace, likely because it deals with banks and racism and other things we deal with in my workplace, and as the resident "literary person" at work I got to read it first.

It's an interesting premise for a thriller. White banker with history of redlining, gambling problem, and crumbling family is blackmailed into putting a Native American banker out of work or get reported to the FBI. Of course, he runs into some complications, such as actually developing a friendship with the Native American banker, and in particular falling for his teenage son, who fills a particular role in his life because he lost a teenage son. No one saw that coming.

And the writing is so vivid. You can tell that the author is used to being a screenwriter because he wants you to visualize everything so clearly, from hotel conference rooms to autumn leaves on northern Minnesota's ricing lakes. By the same token, his writing style doesn't always extend to rich emotional reflection. Entire days of complicated emotions can be skimmed over in a paragraph, but physical conditions will be described in detail. Sometimes the emotion comes out in dialogue, and occasionally in narration, but not always. Novel written by a screenwriter.

I found the setting very convincing. Minnesota is my home, and I found the Minnesota details very grounded (if at times a bit too heavy-handed; you don't need to namedrop every local beer), but more than that I found the race relations near the reservation convincing. I spent a summer on an Indian reservation and witnessed more outright racism than I'd ever heard in my life. This book captures that tone of white racism against Native Americans in a way that's very consistent with what I remember. Because this was so convincing I was able to buy into other details, too. I have no experience harvesting wild rice, for instance, but I trusted the author to explain it.

There are a few tropes in this story that felt really tired and predictable, but those were mostly at the beginning. They include the father-finds-surrogate-son dynamic, the finding-peace-through-animals-especially-horses theme, and the white-man-and-Native-American-man-are-supposed-to-be-enemies-but-wind-up-friends bit. When JW, the protagonist, is gambling and trying to go home and see his wife, you know how the chapter is going to end. And when he winds up in a car accident and desperately needs someone to find him on the side of the road, of course it's the one person he's hoping to find.

But by the middle of the book things were getting interesting and I couldn't tell what was going to happen or who was going to do it or how anyone was going to get out of this mess and then I was very interested. And it didn't end how I expected it to, which I appreciate. Although, I couldn't decide if I liked the ending. If a white guy martyrs himself to screw over another white guy and let the Native American banker succeed does that make him a white savior? Or is he just getting the other white guy out of the way so the Native American banker can pull himself up by his bootstraps? Who is the hero here? You should all read this book and then we can discuss.

One more thing: I was very irritated with how this book dealt with women. There are four female characters, which for starters is too few, and the two that aren't his wife and daughter have their breasts described right away as one of their main character traits, apparently. Come on, man. Your wife is the state auditor. Show some respect. Is this just how this genre works? I mean seriously. I'm not even asking you to pass the Bechdel test because third person limited omniscient makes that difficult. But you can do better.

So, mostly, a vividly written, racially aware, and relevant Minnesota thriller. The plot heats up in the middle but you have to ride through some tired tropes to get there. And men need to learn how to write about women.

[Matthew Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful novel that reminds me of Hemingway when he was at his best. A strong story with complex characters written with great skill and economy. Sins of Our Fathers opens a door to another world - that of contemporary Native American life and its relationship to the rest of America - and would be worth reading just for that. But it goes far deeper, into the stresses and conflicts of love, ambition, and duty in our times, what it is to be addicted (in this case to gambling), what is required of a man to make him feel he is a success, what it means to sacrifice for something in order to find redemption. Incredibly well-researched, the book succeeds as both a literary novel and a page-turner.

[Greg Laden · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/201...

JW, protagonist, is a flawed hero. He is not exactly an anti-hero because he is not a bad guy, though one does become annoyed at where he places his values. As his character unfolds in the first several chapters of Shawn Otto’s novel, Sins of Our Fathers, we like him, we are worried about him, we wonder what he is thinking, we sit on the edge of our proverbial seats as he takes risk after risk and we are sitting thusly because we learn that he does not have a rational concept of risk. We learn that his inner confusion about life arises from two main sources: the dramatic difference between his temperament and upbringing on one hand and the life he ended up with on the other, and from unthinkable tragedy he has suffered. And so it goes as well with the other hero of the book, Johnny Eagle, who is a flawed, almost Byronic antagonist. Flawed because he is not the bad guy yet is an antagonist, Byronic because of his pride. There is also a troubled young man, a full blown antagonist we never come close to liking, and a horse.

When I moved to Minnesota from the East, I quickly encountered “The Indian Problem.” Not my words; that is what people called it. Very rarely major news, but still always a problem, the concept includes the expected litany. Poverty, fights over spear fishing rights, fights over off-reservation gambling, and the usual racism. I lived near the “Urban Res” but was told never to call it that. Doing some historic archaeology in Minneapolis I came across an early 20th century hostess, of the first hotel built in the city, who had written elaborate stories of Indian attacks in South Minneapolis, part of the Indian Problem, after which she and her hotel gave refuge to the victims. None of which ever actually happened. I read about trophy hunting by the farmers in the southern part of the state, who took body parts from the Native Americans executed as part of the Sioux Uprising, and heard rumors that some of those parts were still in shoe boxes in some people’s closets.

Later I married into a family with a cabin up north. I remember passing Lake Hole-In-The-Day on the way up to the cabin, and wondering what that meant — was a “Hole in the day” like a nap, or break, one takes on a hot lazy afternoon? And the cabin was an hour or so drive past that lake. Many months later, I did some research and discovered two amazing facts. First, Hole-In-The-Day was the name of two major Ojibway Chiefs, father and son, both of whom were major players in the pre-state and early-state histories of the region, of stature and importance equalling or exceeding any of the white guys, like Snelling, Cass, Ramsey, after which counties, cities, roads, and other things had been named. But no one seemed to know Hole-In-The-Day. It was just a lake with a funny sounding name like most of the other lakes. The other thing I learned was downright shocking: Many of the towns and other destinations we have visited many summer weekends are actually on an Indian reservation. On the reservation, yes, but not near any actual Indians. So, I could tell you that I spend many weeks every summer on an Indian Reservation up north, and it would not be a lie. Except the part about it being a lie.

Otto’s book pits the white, established and powerful, Twin Cities based banking industry against an incipient Native bank and the rest of the reservation. The story is a page turner, but I don’t want to say how so, because I don’t want to spoil any of it for you. I am not a page-turner kind of guy. I am a professional writer, so therefore I’m a professional reader. I can put a book down at any point no matter what is happening in order to shift gears to some other task awaiting my attention. But I certainly turned the pages in Sins of Our Fathers. The most positive comment one can make about a piece of writing is probably “this made me want more.” That happens at the end of every chapter in Otto’s novel.

But just as important as Sins of Our Fathers being a very very good book, which it is, it also addresses the Indian Problem. It does not matter if you are in, of, or familiar with Minnesota. The theme is American, the American Dream, really. Everybody has an Indian Problem, especially Indians. Tension, distrust, solace and inspiration in modernized tradition, internal and external, are real life themes and Otto addresses them fairly, clearly, and engagingly. “Fathers” is plural for a reason, a reason you can guess.

It is important that you know that Sins of our Fathers is not Minnesota Genre though it is set here; it is not Native American Relations and Culture Genre though that is in the book. It is action, mystery, adventure, white knuckle, engaging, well-paced, and extremely well written. There are aspects of this writing that recommend this book as an exemplar in plot development, character construction, dialog and inner dialog, narrative distance, and descriptive technique.

[Diana Raabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

RICH AND SATISFYING

Shawn Lawrence Otto’s debut novel, Sins of Our Fathers, is much more than a compelling page-turner, although it is also exactly that.

The novel begins with America’s everyman, therein known as JW, taking big risks with his finances and his place within his family. Story and history unfold to reveal increasingly dangerous risks and increasingly larger stakes, taken on to some degree by various characters. When is the risk worth the reward?

Otto’s perfect-pitched yet unforced plotting toy with the deal of a lifetime, eloquently guiding readers through the machinations of consumer lending practices and back room deals, the beauty of the ancient art of Native wild rice farming, and the complexities of a father’s love and his grief. Underlying the novel is a current of racism. To this, Otto remains true without the annoying gratuity seen in other works that attempt to enter this arena with less grace and knowledge.

Otto’s writing is honest and uncompromising, whether he is focused on the banking community or the Native American one. His descriptions are concise, but so exact that the reader is almost physically pulled into every scene. A glinting gold tooth, a simple breakfast served at a point of no return, the quiet grandeur of Natives ricing in the setting sun: all receive worthy treatment under Otto’s sharp pen.

“The work was demanding, but the Indians kept a steady slow pace that never let up. JW fell in with them. The sky was clear, the air was cool, and the leaves of the sugar maples around the barn were brilliant red. The smell of wood smoke made JW feel like a kid again. It rolled out from under the pan and swirled around and through the rice, infusing it along with his clothes. The blasts of warmth on his face, the intermittent sting in his eyes, the feeling of the charred wooden paddle running through the toasting kernels, the hissing over the snaps of the fire: JW was entranced..."

Ultimately, Sins of Our Fathers is a rich and satisfying read. Don’t miss it.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out as 3 stars. I liked the start of the story. I liked the characters. It was the writing that was bugging me. It had the kind of descriptions that don't lend depth to either the story or its characters. It was overloaded with pointless adjectives. There were long passages of this and I hoped it was only used for the set up. But it lasted all through out the book.

After the set up, the story turned to 2 stars, quickly falling to 1 star. I will say that the author did a great job at creating some great characters. They were memorable. They also felt well drawn. But that is the only praise I can muster. The story became a farce. It was so improbable. I think some of those long passages I mentioned could have served the reader better if they were used to tie the highly improbable to reality. It was pretty lofty in that respect. This was 1 star for me but the characters helped to add a star.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a journey I took reading this novel. Complex and imperfect human beings attempting to make sense of life and live it the best they can given their personal histories. It grapples with imperfect love, the desire to do better even when it makes things worse. It is about what grief can do to a person when not dealt with. I loved how it captured northern Minnesota and all if its richness of its people and its places. It was not predictable as some books are that I have read. Very much worth the read.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sat in on a radio interview with Greg Laden and Shawn Lawrence Otto on November 23 as the host of the program. Laden asked Shawn why "Sins of Our Fathers" should be considered a literary novel as opposed to a popular novel. Shawn had a good answer, and I invite you to listen to the podcast from Mnatheists.org to hear what he had to say. I have my own definition of the difference and it applies especially to this novel. A popular novel is a novel read to pass the time, but a literary novel teaches truths about the human condition and various levels of community from the personal through the local and to the global. A literary novel illuminates institutions; their faults and strengths and reflect the research done by the novelist. I have in cases learned more about certain aspects of thought through literary novels than through non-fiction treatises because a well-written story brings the thesis from the abstract to the personal.

Storytellers have known this for centuries. Stories are the most effective ways to pass from generation to generation the rules and moral foundations of a society. Mythology is a form of truth in that the characters experience those aspects of life that the listeners can relate and respond to, and in listening or reading make internal decisions as to how they would respond in similar situations. A good story well-told is a way to evoke thought experiments.

"Sins of our Fathers" inspired several thought experiments for me while I was reading and digesting it. The key to this participatory reading is the novelists' ability to create complex and compelling characters, and the main character is a rich, compelling conflicted man. JW is highly intelligent, able to find solutions to difficult problems. His skills in presentation enabled his rise from a stable boy to the president of a bank despite the lack of a formal education. He tried to do the best he could in every situation until a tragic accident led him on a long, inexorable downward spiral. He continues to try to do the best thing, but finds himself writing a second mortgage on his own house, forging the signatures of other bank officers and here he sets the bait for his own trap.

When he is found out by his boss, he is given the choice between prison or preventing an Indian from opening a competing bank on a nearby reservation. The success of such a bank would lead to the downfall of his own bank, because the nearby casino would pull its deposits. In order to work his boss' plan he must move onto the reservation. The friendships that he develops there lead to the meat of the story.

The characters in this story are well-fleshed out. As a reader, I was able to relate to each one. The story tells of the complex legal issues that have unintended effects for tribal councils on reservations and for the people who live there. It tells of racism and it tells of the modern effects of a long history of sublimation of the indigenous people. Otto describes the gambler happily climbing into the casino's web, succumbing to the narcotic and pain-numbing effect of gambling.

Can a man of JW's character find ultimate redemption, or is he doomed at the end of his journey to be finally and completely broken? I can only say the end led me to shed a few tears, looking around to make sure that no one was watching me blubber.

[Julie A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sins of Our Fathers is an extraordinary achievement by screenwriter and debut novelist Shawn Otto. Through exacting descriptive detail, rich character development, and tension building action that compels the reader from scene to scene, Otto adroitly leads us on an exploration of what separates us – race and class, and what we have in common – loss, addiction, and the on-going struggle for connection, within our families, across generations, and in the larger community. Sins is a riveting story of one man’s attempt to salvage a former life -- but at what expense to the Indian community, and the last vestiges of his integrity? Readers of many genres will find it time well spent.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rich and enriching in so many ways, this novel goes beyond cliche topics and book genres. Yes it is an engaging, page-turning story of loss and redemption, of good vs evil, of temptation/coercion vs doing what's right, of racism/oppression vs human connection, and of coming of age/stage. But the level of detail and character development for JW, Johnny Eagle and his son deepens our identification with all of those things, and we have pangs of self-recognition in their journeys of moral development. The rich descriptions of the MN landscape, ricing and horse training elevate setting beyond mere literary device. The re-connections of these men to the land and to Pride mirror how they move from mere perception of being in control (while allowing chance and others to control them) to claiming control, by choosing to change the experiences they have with each other. Not just individual redemption in the end, but a triumph acheived together.

[Phyllis Gauker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fine book. I won this from first reads on goodreads.com.

We all go through life when everything seems fine until wham! something shocking and unexpected happens and throws us for a loop. This requires that we re-think everything. This book is about re-thinking. PAge 331 says, "..thinking one could predict the outcome was hubris. Nature did not have a human morality, and chance led down strange alleyways. Chance. That is definitely the theme of this book, and the choices we make afterward.

[Minnesotajoan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reading from start to finish. Tells story of financial genius JW and relationship between a Northern American Indian family set in Northern Minnesota. The author explores various character's frailties in real life situations. The relationships between characters is well-developed as well as giving the reader an insight into modern Native American culture. Racial stereotypes of Caucasian and Native Americans are deftly handled with humor and the hope of rising above them for the good of all. Have I been cagey in this review? Yes. You definitely need to read this one.

[Amber Polo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Native American gaming world of Minnesota, tribal life and management and told with insight into gambling addiction and depression. Small town banker JW and Johnny Eagle, a NA trying to raise his son back on the reservation, become friends and rivals as JW loses it all and takes chances to win back his former life. Along the way he learns deep lessons about honesty, honor, and who he is.
A great blend of internal struggle and an external world in change.

[Jessica R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. I finished it in three days with very little sleep and showing up late for work. I found the characters true to life in that I sometimes wasn't sure if I loved them or hated them because of the choices they were making. It is the weaving together of several people, their lives and the historical context in which we all live. I see it as a complex redemption tale in which redemption may not turn out the way it is expected. Definitely worth the read.

[Rachelle Varley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I unreservedly recommend Sins of Our Fathers. I love books which not only entertain but also teach me something interesting that I didn't know. Mr Otto writes in an engaging style and the plot is fast paced and takes unexpected twist and turns. I also learned a great deal about Native American culture and the challenges and obstacles that community faces. All in all, a very good read!

[Neil Crocker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cross between an expose of reservation life and a thriller.

[Judy Evenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a really good read which I finished in two days it was so compelling. The story is packed to overflowing including gambling addiction and banking ins and outs, embezzlement, parent/teen relationships, rapes and abuse, fires, shootings, rice harvesting and horse training, betrayals and broken trust..... all set in northern Minnesota in a small town with a nearby Indian reservation. The characters are so well developed you feel like you’ve know them or at least met them before. Would recommend to anyone!

[Joan Maclin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It has enough suspense as a "mystery", although suspense is not its primary purpose. There is a lot of insight into the dynamics of families, races, industries, environmental competition, historical perspective ... all woven into a tale that feels a little artificial but that is well offset by interesting and well developed characters.

[Kmacke · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Minnesotan, I wondered how Otto was going to address the issues of Native Americans living in the current dominant culture. He does not condescend nor appropriate the native culture, and there are well-written descriptions of the wild rice harvest and an honor powwow. It took me a long time to warm up to the main anglo character, JW, but that's a big part of what makes the book work.

[Whitney Stearns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book from start to finish. A very good read about friendship, troubles in life, and race. I wasn't sure about it when I first came across it, but it was very good. I do wish things would have ended differently for JW, though.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't judge this book by its cover. Engaging and spurred great discussion. Looking forward to reading more by Otto.

[Annie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promising writing, decent characters, not to bad overall although way too many wildly implausible twists and turns.

[Cathy Putman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appreciated the author's thickening of the notion of debt in the plot while keeping it below the level of comment or rumination.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enlightening.

[Verena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sins of Our Fathers by Shawn Lawrence Otto is a debut novel by a writer who has previously written for film and television. This book seems made for film, with crisp scene changes and methodical plot progression. Although it is not a mystery, it is a good page-turner. Early on, I thought I had the story figured out; it was a surprise to find out that I hadn't.

North Lake, a small town next to an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota, is ripe for conflict between the banking interests of the town leaders and the banking needs of the nearby Native American population. John White, aka JW, is the president of the North Lake bank. His compulsive gambling leads to embezzlement, and he is at the mercy of his boss, Frank Jorgenson, who insists that he destroy the work of Johnny Eagle. Eagle is a successful Minneapolis banker who has moved to the reservation to raise his teenage son and also to raise the economic possibilities of his people. He has built a successful wild rice processing business and has started construction of a bank on the reservation.

Although some of the characters are stereotypes, the central players show complexity and depth as they struggle to make decisions against a background of racial mistrust, ethical questions, generational divides, and gender misunderstandings.

[Kenneth Hursh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rather obviously named John White (JW) is a bank president in a town near an Indian Reservation in Minnesota. JW is also a deeply indebted gambling addict who is losing his family and career. He ends up living in a trailer on the reservation, but can redeem himself financially if he figures out a way to ruin a rival Indian banker, Johnny Eagle.

JW half-heartedly attends some Gamblers Anonymous meetings and starts reading the Big Book while plotting against Eagle. JW also whole-heartedly befriends Eagle’s son, Jacob, whom JW helps learn to train a horse. Embracing Big Book notions of making amends, and overcoming his prejudices against Indians, JW begins to question if he can ruin Eagle, even for a big payoff.

Sins is primarily about overcoming racism, from both the white and Indian perspectives, but it also weaves in a tense crime caper with JW’s attempt to frame Eagle and then undo the deed. JW is a believably flawed protagonist, his addiction providing a believable reason for him to want to change. The story also, believably, does not wrap up all nice and happy. JW’s misdeeds lead to dire consequences for him, Eagle, and Jacob, but the more important thing is the men overcoming racism and learning to respect each other.

It was an emotionally engaging, exciting, and ultimately inspiring book.

[Nada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sins of Our Fathers by Shawn Lawrence Otto is a story of greed and business. Set on and around the Native American reservations in Minnesota, it is also a story about the racial divide, prejudice, and discrimination. It is the story of one man seeking to reclaim his life and his decision between doing the right thing or the expedient thing. Shawn Lawrence Otto's writing is beautifully visual.

Read my complete review at: http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2014...

Reviewed based on a copy received through a publisher’s giveaway

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fulfilling novel that kept me guessing about the ending until the end. I particularly enjoyed the inclusion of themes such as racism, privilege, and redemption.
The information provided on the interaction between Native American and White culture was open and honest. I recommend it as a great read!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining book that combined many different topics into an enjoyable narrative. Original story about a community banker with a gambling problem who is essentially blackmailed by his boss to commit low level corporate espionage against a competitor based on an Indian reservation. Really enjoyed seeing the characters develop and get over their initial negative impressions of one another

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember how or why this ended up in my library queue, but I'm so glad it did. A good story, well- told that happened to hit on a lot of my particular interests along the way, through a fast-paced and suspenseful.story. I'll definitely be picking this one up to reread and pass along.

[Kristin Ammerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I read all summer! I loved the MN references and have always enjoyed learning a trade or process within a novel. This story respected culture and allowed the reader to feel some discomfort, too. Shawn Otto's opening made me squirm!