Sins of the Fathers

Van Zale #2

by Susan Howatch

This is the tumultuous novel of men and women pitted against a world of wealth, power, and privilege...the story of the powerful Van Zale clan, and the man, Cornelius Van Zale, whose dynastic struggle to control a great fortune becomes the center of his life. When the world of the Van Zales, of servants and country houses, of European summers and Bar Harbor clambakes, polite marriages and discreet affairs, suddenly begins to fall apart, we see this glamorous sphere for what it really is--rife with ruthless, power-hungry men, fortune hunters, secret sex, blackmail...and violence.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical, British Literature, Family, Gothic

726 pages, hardbound

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Susan Howatch (b. 1940) is a British novelist who has penned bestselling mysteries, family sagas, and other novels. Howatch was born in Surrey, England. She began writing as a teen and published her first book when she moved to the United States in 1964. Howatch found global success first with her five sagas and then with her novels about the Church of England in the twentieth century. She has now returned to live in Surrey.

Reviews

[Deborah Pickstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.5 stars

I love Susan Howatch's psychological writing. More, I love her method of taking a historical context and transposing it to a more modern one; in this case, the regime of Caesar Augustus in Rome. I see very few people seem to read the back story of Augustus as they review this book so I thought I would make a more detailed review than usual.

All of Howatch's books are written in this way, including the Starbridge series and the St Benet's trilogy. However, this is one of the earlier novels, all written in a Gothic novel style, and all covering an historical epoch.

This is part 2 of the story (part 1 is The Rich Are Different which I intend to go back and review similarly). The cast of characters is as follows:

Cornelius van Zale - Caesar Augustus (Octavian)
Alicia - Livia
Sebastian - Tiberius
Sam Keller - Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Kevin Daly - Maecenas
Jake Reichsmann - probably Herod (this is not entirely clear but seems the best fit to me as a) he's Jewish and b) he heads a rival bank/country).
Vicky - Julia
Emily - Octavia
Scott Sullivan - Iullus Antonius (son of Mark Antony)
Elsa Reichsman - Vipsania (actually Agrippa's daughter, historically)
Elfrida, Edred and George Sullivan - Cleopatra Selene, Ptolemy Helios and Ptolemy Philadelphus, Mark Antony's children with Cleopatra VII
Andrew - Drusus the Elder
Rose and Lori Sullivan - Antonia Major and Minor
Alfred (Sebastian and Elsa's son) - Drusus the Younger
Eric Dieter Keller - Gaius Caesar
Paul Cornelius Keller - Lucius Caesar
Samantha Keller - Agrippina
Kristin Keller - Julia the Younger
Benjamin Keller - Agrippa Postumus

No longer present but referred to:
Steve Sullivan - Mark Antony
Dinah Slade - Cleopatra VII
Paul van Zale - Julius Caesar

The other thing I love is the way she shifts from one character to another so that you get told a part of the story from a completely different perspective PLUS getting a different view on a character, as we slip behind his or her mask, who may have been represented quite differently when someone else was the narrator. And they are ALL complex psychological studies, just like real people are.

So, you can read this straight, as a Gothic novel - or you can read it with one eye on the back story. Either way, it's engaging writing but the latter way it becomes mesmerising, as Howatch demonstrates that all human stories are able to be repeated over and over again; just the context changes.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the sequel of The Rich are Different.

Even if I haven's read the first book of this series, the author managed to keep track of the previous story into the present plot.

This is the story of Cornelius Van Zale and his family during the period of 1949 till 1967. Each part of the book is devoted to one of the main characters that became then the narrators of the story.

The author intwined several controversial themes, such as adultery, murder, alcoholism, impotence, health problems among other without loosing the focus in the main plot.

In my opinion, Susan Howatch is a master of the story teller and her stories are quite unpredictable and very complex also.

Some other books I do recommend are Penmarric (1971), Cashelmara (1974) and The Wheel of Fortune (1984).

5* Penmarric
5* Cashelmara
4* The Shrouded Walls
3* April's Grave
3* The Devil on Lammas Night
5* The Wheel of Fortune
4* Sins of the Fathers

[Misfit]

This is just not keeping my interest. Sam is boring boring boring and I can't even bear to finish with his narrative. Perhaps because post WWII era doesn't interest me much. *shrugs*

Moving on, life is too short.

[Hoda هدى · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never felt so sad by a book in my life!
It felt so real and I tried to believe that it's just a book, but I don't think it is.
The world is just cruel.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequel to 'The Rich are Different', set ten years later. Again it's written from varying perspectives, which works well to develop the arious plots, but it mainly revolves around Cornelius, head of a bank. The book was very well-written, though I have little interest in high finance, and although the ending was rather bleak, I thought it was probably right.

Re-reading nearly nine years later, I found it gripping once again, and surprisingly enjoyable despite the business/banking theme. I had quite forgotten the climax of the book, which once again saddened me, but the conclusion was undoubtedly right. What an incredibly vile person Cornelius Van Zale is.

Best read after 'The Rich are Different'.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed this novel (and to finish it you have to - it's over 700 pages!) because I like these multi-generational wealthy family sagas, it was difficult to feel much empathy for the major players. Although I kept reminding myself the story follows the lives of the ultra rich and begins post WW II, when times were different, the two key women led such useless lives it seemed. Their marriages were up and down and motherhood clearly wasn't their forte. Most of the men were extremely ambitious and cutthroat. I suppose we like these books because we all imagine what life would be like with limitless resources, power, and success, but this is a shining example of money not bringing happiness.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was WOW!. It has a wonderful storyline and most of the time, I couldnt predict what will happen next which I liked. The book was centred around a man, Cornelius, How he tried to control his family, his friends and everyone around him in the name of morality, doing what is right but his means and reason was just to satisfy him alone. It all failed in the end and ended with his own daughte turning her back against him. i love this book soooooooooo much!

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read multiple Susan Howatch now and have loved everyone of them. This one was entertaining too, but I figure out all the plot twists, made me a little sad. But I guess if I read 10 bookd of hers before I figured out her plots and patterns it means she is an amazing writer. (Or I am a slow learner! - Both are true!)

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books of all time! I read The Rich Are Different first and liked that a lot but this was even better. Interesting, well written suspenseful - the works!!!! I'm sad it's over...

[Ryan Baldwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent retelling of the life of Augustus/Imperial Rome in a semi modern setting.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Susan Howatch does not disappoint. Themes of success, power, family, communication and patriotism set across the decades of the 1930's through the 1960's made this a satisfying read. I did not like several characters, but Ms. Howatch draws the reader into their world and to a large extent, their minds. I highly recommend this book and this author.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

Beautiful, lyrical, heartbreaking. Those are the words that most readily come to mind when I think of this book. I found 'Sins of the Fathers' to be a perfect reading experience. As an avid, long time reader, I can honestly say that there haven't been too many books I would say that about.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book, incredible up until the end when things turned predictable and melodramatic. It was going to get five stars but I had to knock it down because I really hated that ending. Nevertheless, I highly recommend the Van Zale duology (this is book 2). Do yourself a favor and read The Rich Are Different first to get the most out of this story.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it at a time when reading meant more than an escape. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Linda Lpp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in the 80's. Loved it then.

[Susan Liston · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read all these Susan H. family sagas years ago, I had no clue that they followed historical figures. Now that I'm rereading them, with a lot more historical knowledge, I was fine with Penmarric and Cashelmara and their tales of English kings. But I fall short with the details of Caesar and Cleopatra, etc., who The Rich are Different and this book, its sequel, follow. (So now I'll have to bone up on that and reread them later). Knowing this, however, makes it hard to criticize the plot, which in this case I got a little antsy with by the end. But these books are still very entertaining.

[Mairwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

** Please Note: This review contains a few spoilers!!**
This is a really great book. I sympathise with those on here who found it long-winded and I agree with respect to certain parts, but I'm used to reading huge tomes so it didn't bother me. What I particularly like about Susan Howatch's family sagas is her narrative style where six of the main characters each write a section in the first person. This gives several different angles on the person concerned, so that characters whom other narrators find disagreeable are shown in a completely new light and in fact turn out to be fairly normal likeable human beings. The only exceptions to this (in my own view) are Steven Sullivan, a character in the prequel The Rich are Different, and his son Scott. Even after reading their own narratives I was totally unable to dredge up any liking for or even sympathy with these two characters.
Reading the reviews on here I see that Cornelius is generally disliked, but I always liked him and I certainly felt sorry for him, especially (**SPOILER!!**)
after he contracted mumps which made him sterile. This was a terrible blow for him: he really did want more children (not for the sake of power either), and it cracked up his relationship with Alicia. However I found it totally bizarre (and not very credible) that Cornelius and Alicia were apparently unable to talk to each other about this tragedy at any time afterwards. Alicia is a strange character; she has plenty of human emotions but she won't show them, or even share them with anyone, least of all her husband.
The real villain of the piece in my view is not Cornelius but Scott.
(**SPOILER!!**) The ending of this book is particularly unpleasant, when Vicky tells Cornelius she never wants to see him again or have any further contact with him. Vicky seems to be a perfect imbecile anyway. Her servile attitude towards Scott and her persistent desire to marry him instead of giving him the boot is incomprehensible. He's completely selfish & self-centred, he treats her like dirt and he even offers her violence on one occasion. But she still won't dump him as he so richly deserves. And as the book progresses we see how Scott uses Vicky to try and destroy the bank, but thanks to one of Cornelius's old friends who warns him what's going on, Scott's evil schemes are finally revealed. Vicky should think herself lucky that her father did all he could to stop her marrying Scott. Scott's ultimate fate is the purest poetic justice, but idiot Vicky is too stupid to realise what Scott's really like and that he's using her as a pawn. She can't even understand that Scott's a danger to her own father!
One thing I don't like about Howatch is her tendency to kill off certain characters without any warning. (**SPOILER!!**) In this book we're told "en passant" that Dinah Slade, her son Alan and her stepson Tony were all killed at some stage during the war. This may be historically accurate but when we're told offhand that all these characters just HAPPENED to be killed in the war despite being major characters in the prequel, it does seem a bit sudden. Same goes for the character of Nigel, Mark's brother in Penmarric. We never actually meet Nigel, but he does exist and all of a sudden we hear first of all that he and Mark are estranged, without any preamble or explanation to this, and subsequently that Nigel's been killed in South Africa. One wonders why Howatch bothered to introduce him as a character. However Dinah, Alan and Tony are all major characters in The Rich are Different so their annihilation by Howatch is profoundly unsatisfactory.
Despite this I want to award five stars to this book because of its magnificent character drawing and the fascinating story.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘I’ve now reached the point where I don’t hate anyone. Hatred makes things worse. Hatred stops one coming to terms with all the horror and grief. And one must come to terms with it. Somehow.’

Although sometimes, I had enough of those people, at times the story was too much bordering to some kind of a soap opera, now and again descriptions of 'big banker's tools', and talking about philosophers were overwhelming, it was a fascinating reading.

How could parents endure to labour for years, to sacrifice themselves so that their children should have nothing but the best, and to discover in the end that it had all been for so little, for a quick visit on national holidays and a few hours spent in front of the television set in a silence neither side knew how to break?

--> Parenthood is one of the hardest jobs. It is sad how many people do it wrong. But even though they (almost) never get fired, sometimes they do take harsh consequences.

‘Oh, it was just a game,’ I said to the first psychiatrist, ‘just a way of making me feel better because I missed my boys so much.’ ‘No, it wasn’t a game,’ I said to the second psychiatrist. ‘It was real, they were all real, I knew what they looked like, and then suddenly one day they were gone and I didn’t know – still don’t know – how to bear the loss, I still miss them so much, whenever I think of them I can’t endure their nonexistence

--> Could you miss the children you never have...? Is the grieve real?

We have the three As instead: allies, aides and acquaintances. Or in other words: those we barter with, those we buy and those we acknowledge because it suits us to do so

--> How many people live like that? It is really sad...

Hypocrisy saves one’s sanity. It’s the shield you hide behind when the truth is too terrible to face

--> I didn't think this way, but how true it seems.

‘Fact number two: all women basically want to be wives and mothers—’
‘No, honey, they don’t. Sorry, but they just don’t. My fifty per cent of the human race isn’t a bunch of identical plastic dolls. We’re human beings and we’re all different and – incredible though this may seem to you – we don’t all want the same thing’

--> This book had much to say about women's right, how much thinking about women is still very narrowed, untrue and unfair.

Of all the great empires the world has known, ours will be the shortest. Two hundred years of chasing the Godalmighty Dollar, and what do we produce? The A-Bomb and I Love Lucy.

--> There was also quite a lot and harsh words about American culture.

I didn't know much about Augustus and his daughter, so the plot was new to me. Especially the ending. [By the way, I am skimming now the history of them, and I see that Susan Howatch did really a great job rewriting it, in the world two thousand later.]

Summarizing, it was a gripping historical fiction, written by a very educated author. Definitely worth trying. But considering what I have written at the beginning and that I had many times enough of those revenge, fighting for power, and comparing it to two other books by Howatch I give it 4 stars. Yet, again, compared to most pieces of the genre it is more like 5 stars-novel.

You’re all cut off and sewn up

[Additionally, I learn about American primitive art. There is something very compelling in these paintings.

And I loved the scenes and conversations with Vicky's children. Priceless! A pity there were so few of them.]

[Nick Artrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I selected Sins of the Fathers by Susan Howatch as my next read from my bowl of TBR titles and was excited to continue where I had left off! This novel is the second installment in the Van Zale duology, preceded by The Rich Are Different. In Sins of the Father, we pick up in the next generation, Cornelius filling Paul’s role. Vicky van Zale, Cornelius’ daughter, is the heart of the story and the pawn used in turn by father, husband, and her lovers.

Spoilers:

The first section centers around Sam Keller, the once fuckable character who turned out to be a Nazi. I was honestly pretty bored and grossed out through this section. There’s a lot of rehashing events from the first book, which was fine, but then there was was this strange thing where Cornelius wanted Sam to marry his daughter. Things did heat up at the end though when Cornelius decided to play hide the salami with Sam’s girlfriend. If your best friend refuses to marry your daughter, fuck the woman he does want to marry. Why not! It definitely reminded me why I loved Howatch’s books in the first place.

The second section definitely captured my attention. This section focuses on Alicia and introduces the information that Sam and Vicky have already been married. Womp, womp. I would have liked to have seen more interaction between Sam and Vicky before this happened, but that’s okay. Alicia always opposed the marriage because she wants Vicky to marry her son, Sebastian, like Carol Brady imagined by V.C. Andrews. I was a little frustrated because, like the first section, this section alluded to an inappropriate encounter between Sebastian and Vicky that has caused some sort of familiar discord, but didn’t disclose any specifics. In many ways, Alicia reminded me of Sylvia from The Rich Are Different. She finds herself trapped in this marriage with Cornelius who she decides to stop having sex with, but once Cornelius establishes a consistent relationship with his mistress she decides she wants him again, which is weird. Cornelius seems some sort of dweeby, like John Boy Walton, and doesn’t strike me as particularly interesting apart from his Machiavellian streak. I was frustrated Alicia’s section ended just as it was getting interesting!

Section three follows Cornelius and opens with Vicky in the hospital after having given birth. We discover Cornelius is still seeing Teresa regularly. Alicia has never heard him say the word “fuck” and Teresa has never seen his testicles because of his insecurity. I found both of these ideas to be slightly ludicrous, but what the hell. He wonders if his niece is a virgin at her wedding to his stepson (the other stepson, not Sebastian who wanted to marry his daughter - although we finally discover that he flashed Vicky which is what caused all the family drama.) The highlight for me was Cornelius being confronted by Elfrida with the knowledge he drove Steve to his death in The Rich Are Different. Sam dies at the end of this section and I couldn’t help but laugh that his last conversation with Cornelius involved his inability to consistently use condoms with Cornelius’ daughter.

The fourth section was fun, because I really got the chance to know Sebastian who takes center stage. He’s a slimy creature. He marries the daughter of the man his mother is sleeping with only to leave her for the daughter of the man his mother is married to. I felt bad for his poor wife who seemed like such a silly character. He ends up divorced because he knocks up Vicky, who doesn’t even really like sex and is basically coerced into their first encounter, but is content to carry on anyway. The baby dies. Very sad. Vicky realizes she is falling into the same trap as she did with Sam, where she doesn’t even enjoy the sex and allows her partner to construct her life for her. She leaves Sam which made me very proud.

The fifth section focuses on Scott, Steve’s son from his marriage to Cornelius’s sister (before running away and having another brood of children with Dinah, who apparently died before the start of this book). Scott is unusual. He doesn’t connect with his body, discusses himself in third person in his inner monologue, and probably has some sort of disorder that is being grossly misrepresented by whatever is occurring in Howatch’s delightful, but dated work. He goes away on a cruise where he is unable to perform sexually with a school teacher type who proves to be more experienced than she originally let on. He then meets another probably virgin that he attempts to seduce, who writes him a note instructing him to meet her in his room with all the lights off. He does and they have sex but it isn’t the inexperienced, repressed woman of his dreams it’s….Vicky! Who he had previously encountered on the cruise ship and attempted to avoid! The same Vicky who doesn’t enjoy sex! This really didn’t make sense at all, especially since Scott doesn’t seem particularly special and is Vicky’s biological cousin, but whatever. It was kind of thrilling and hilarious anyway. They end things and Scott is sent to Europe.

Vicky’s section finally arrived and honestly, by this point, I had come to despise Vicky. I can only blame this on Howatch, because Vicky is little more than a paper doll whose main purpose is to sleep with all of the main male characters. I’m surprised Cornenlius didn’t harbor some sort of sexual desire for her as well. Even as I discovered more of the story from her perspective, I still didn’t really grow to like her. Eventually she becomes engaged to Scott. Of course Scott ends up getting blind drunk and scaring the shit out of Vicky, but like…he’s your cousin. Your father helped to turn him against his own father and then pushed him towards his death. Like, maybe expand your dating circle outside of close family and friends? Not to victim shame, but Vicky doesn’t seem to make the wisest choices for the entirety of this novel (including the weird scene where she had sex with Scott by pretending to be someone else!) She also doesn’t have the tenacity of a Dinah or an Alicia. Scott commits suicide when Cornelius blows up his life. I was proud of Vicky for turning her back on her father. Cornelius ends up alone, an old man with no friends, and it felt appropriate.

This was the exact pulpy melodrama that I needed to warm my soul during the cold winter season, even if it was slightly less impressive than some of Howatch’s other novels.

[Linda Shrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not realize this book was a sequel. I didn't read the first book. However this book stands on its own. I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of Kane and Abel and Master of the Game. A family of wealth with all their dysfunctions. It took me awhile to get invested in the characters which I blame on not reading the prior book. This book is very long over 600 pages and it did positively hold my attention throughout. Once again there are characters that you dislike and those that are easier to like. That is the interesting and involving part of this book. Gave it 5 stars because it is everything. Novel should be.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as engaging as the previous Van Zale novel, "The Rich Are Different". Characters began to wear on me and eventually they managed to just disappear. Sometimes Howatch can be rather dark and gloomy and I wasn't as thrilled by the ending as I was in TRAD. Now that, was an ending! This one just petered out at the end. Even history repeating itself can be boring. Read TRAD and forget this lukewarm follow through.

[Cathy Wacksman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad I discovered Susan Howatch. I couldn't do justice at summarizing the story. There are so many good reviews if you look her up. Even though this particular book is about 20th century characters, there is an understory of Augustus Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony and some others. I found it fascinating and couldn't get much else accomplished until I finished the book.

[Eve Bluett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing family saga

Like Wheel of Fortune, I found this book very engaging almost to the point of being addictive. She is brilliant at depicting characters and relationships in a way that sucks you in and keeps you turning pages hypnotically

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not want to leave the book unfinished, but thought about it more than once. Did not like the end. Spoiled girl not knowing anything about the hard world of business. Hard to remember who is telling the story it changes up so much.

[Mary Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent sequel to "The Rich are Different." I still hate Cornelius--what a little backstabber!

[Jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't remember much of it accept it was a huge book to read, perhaps I should read again. I know I enjoyed it but can't remember much.

[ladydusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Own. (Thank goodness)

What a great book. Best one I've read this year. I want to write a more thorough review later. Still thinking.

[Lesley Paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. One of those that stayed with me through the years.

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked it a lot....not as much as the first (but then who ever does like it as much as the first). A compelling read!!

[Nancy NH · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sequel to The Rich Are Different but not quite as good. The time period wasn't as interesting and the characters were not as likable.