The Sin Eater

by Alice Thomas Ellis

In this title, Alice Thomas Ellis writes a tale of complicated family relations.

Genres: Fiction, Modern, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, British Literature

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Alice Thomas Ellis was short-listed for the Booker prize for The 27th Kingdom. She is the author of A Welsh Childhood (autobiography), Fairy Tale and several other novels including The Summerhouse Trilogy, made into a movie starring Jeanne Moreau and Joan Plowright.

Reviews

[JimZ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like this book at all. One of those books where I was very glad when I was through with it.

I won’t give up on her. 25 years ago, I read ‘The Inn at the Edge of the World’ and ‘Birds of the Air’ by her and liked them. I have yet to read The 27th Kingdom’ and her memoir, ‘A Welsh Childhood’.

She used to be fiction editor for the UK publishing house, Duckworth.

This novel is about a weekend when people gather at their ancestral home in Wales where their father is dying. There is Michael the oldest son (wife, Angela) and Ermyn a daughter, and Henry who lives in the home along with his wife, Rose. Then there is a cook, Phyllis, who apparently hates all of them, and her son Jake, and her grandson Gomer (yes, Gomer) who is a teenager and who she dotes on, and he is a total creep/loser. This is one of those books, at least for me, where absolutely no character is at all likable. The weekend involves a cricket match. The Catholic Church is involved. I would have to guess the time period of this book was late 1960s-early 1970s when priest and nuns started to dress in laypeople’s clothes and there was reform, and Alice Thomas Ellis absolutely hated the reforms. So Rose was a mouthpiece for the venting of the author.

I thought the writing in some places was just really bad. I was writing some of the passages down... Here are a few examples:
• Rose’s thoughts about Gomer: ‘Rose treated him with cold and immaculate contempt...he was like a stupid and unattractive puppy, incapable of recognizing rebuff, and Rose wished somebody would beat him with a chain.’
• The shopkeepers, on the other hand, smiling like spiders....
• His shirt had been savagely, professionally laundered...
• Ermyn gazed out to sea. Although calm, it did not look reassuring—smooth and wrinkle-free like the face of a saint or a psychopath.

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[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m reading outside my current database. . . .and because I know very little about Catholic references, I suspect I be missing a great deal in Alice Thomas Ellis’s first book. I do believe I will have spoilers below. But I’m not even sure on that. . . .

First, upon launching in I had no idea that a sin-eater is really a thing, and not just a clever book title. So. Had to look that up, googled it:

Sin-eater
The term sin-eater refers to a person who, through ritual means, would take on by means of food and drink the sins of a household, often because of a recent death, thus absolving the soul and allowing that person to rest in peace. In the study of folklore sin-eating is considered a form of religious magic. This ritual is said to have been practised in parts of England and Scotland, and allegedly survived until the late 19th or early 20th century in Wales and the adjoining Welsh Marches of Shropshire and Herefordshire, as well as certain portions of Appalachia in America. Traditionally, it was performed by a beggar, and certain villages maintained their own sin-eaters. They would be brought to the dying person's bedside, where a relative would place a crust of bread on the breast of the dying and pass a bowl of ale to him over the corpse. After praying or reciting the ritual, he would then drink and remove the bread from the breast and eat it, the act of which would remove the sin from the dying person and take it into himself.

Then we moved from one odd character to another. I had to chart it out. Finally, I realized this was about a father in the process of dying upstairs. I was delighted by Ermyn’s whimsical, distracted way of thinking – reminded me of me. Everyone else – not very nice. Began to think Dad was dying out of self-defense, although from almost all perspectives except Ermyn’s when conscious and living his life he seems to have been a Piece of Work.

This is English Writing Of A Certain Type. . . .wicked humor (if you get it) woven in prose that is plain and either culinary or botanical. Or obtusely sexual – odd sex, of course, nothing mundane. Because of that, and my habit of reading hard books (this was a physical book) in a horizontal aspect right prior to serious snoring, I found my head hitting the book repeatedly . . . .in other words: most people I know would find this a sleepy, vague read, as I did through some parts.

Then the last 2 pages. What the hell? If this book were written now, in the current psychological thriller model, the last page would be the first, and the rest of the book fleshed out to explain that crazy scheme gone wrong.

Meanwhile, back upstairs, Dad does finally, finally die after everybody and their brother spend bedroom visits over his unconscious prone self and chat about what’s for tea, mostly. He’s alone when he finally goes, after all. About that time Erymn is having a moment lying on her back in a bush during a party outside with neighbors and family celebrating Himself. So. I think Ermyn is the SinEater, taking on all the crazy failings of the gathered crowd. But not that last one, right? Anyone? I look forward to any and all guidance. I will continue my Alice Thomas Ellis track to see if it gets clearer.

Bemused, but because I'm compelled to call for translations, I gotta go with 3 stars (which are probably for me, not the author?).

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Alice Thomas Ellis' disquieting domestic tales. A family gathers at the old home while the patriarch is dying. Sister-in-law Rose is up to mischief, sister-in-law Angela is in the throes of middle-aged adulterous passion and younger son Michael (Angela's husband) is up to no good with the housekeeper's grandson. Murder hangs heavily in the air in the last chapter... This is ATE's first novel, and some of her themes are already recognizable : the unconventional female protagonist, the young woman longing for God, the assorted pompous family members and acquaintances. This is a recommended read for anyone who likes their humor mixed in with a little edge of discomfort.

[G Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellis is one of my new favorite authors. I'd read another one of her novels, "The Inn at the Edge of the World," and like it enough (or thought it strange enough without being off-putting) that I picked up another one of her novels at the library the last time I was there. And I'm delighted I did.

You can choose just about any paragraph from this book and enjoy every sentence — without familiarity of the story or the characters — just for the combinations of words. Like this one:

"Ermyn was nervous of the parish priest. He was a dour man, unsmiling and abstracted, with none of the merry charm that so frequently disfigures the Catholic clergy in the colder countries. She thought Rose brave, but wondered whether she was good: she was pure, but so were some poisons in that unadulterated sense. Ermyn still thought of goodness as being kind to animals, brushing your teeth night and morning, and helping."

Or this one:

"He was unwilling to discuss his marriage in front of Rose since it made her laugh. For some reason he had married a small but powerful and foul-tempered Scot with pretty, vicious features, a great mass of hair and a tendency to give way to intermittent fits of drunken violence. Her life, she was wont to tell him, was centered in her children, of whom there were three, and she didn't give a damn for anyone else — not anyone, d'ye hear."

How much the reader knows of Ermyn, Rose and "he" with just these few sentences. Imagine a book full of them. That is Ms. Ellis.

[Patti · Rating 1 out of 5]

This debut novel of celebrated author Alice Thomas Ellis came highly recommended and lavishly praised; one reviewer saying that it was the best representation of contemporary British life that he had ever read.

Perhaps one needs to be British and contemporary to appreciate the book.

This is the story of an upper crust Welsh family, gathering at the family manse where their father, The Captain, lies dying.

It is an exceedingly rare occurrence for me to not only form no attachment to any of the main characters, but instead to actively despise them. At one point, one of the characters imagines them to be the living embodiment of the seven deadly sins. I disagree, because that would make them interesting. I found the characters to be shallow cardboard stereotypes, dull and one dimensional.

As for the writing itself, Ms. Ellis is ovely fond of simile, but sometimes can craft a beautiful paragraph.

Running throughout the book is a subplot involving religion. Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and atheism are all discussed. Ms. Ellis has said that she based Rose's disillusionment with Catholicism on her own, believing that the "New Mass", ecumenism and "forgetting about Christ and focusing on Jesus, Jesus Jones..." has betrayed the older Catholics and the dignity and decorum of their faith.

The very last few paragraphs of the book infuriated me. The sudden cruelty and antipathy towards it seemed a plot device meant merely to shock, thrown in by a writer who did not quite know how to end the story.

I did not like The Sin Eater.

[Poppie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily my favourite book ever, and I simply have to tell someone why.

Alice Thomas Ellis has created a small slice of life in this book which is so believable, so charming and yet so bitingly sardonic, that years after finishing this novel for the first time I can still picture- with worrying accuracy- the small seaside town in which it is set.
During the course of the story, we follow the lives of several members of a well-off Welsh family, who have come to visit their ailing patriarch.

Among the familial strife that naturally occurs, we have the eldest son's wife, Rose. Although she could be loosely seen as the main character of the novel, her thoughts are never fully known to the reader. All we really know is that she's Irish, Catholic and not fond of her fashionably Conservative sister-in-law, Angela (a feeling which is shown to be very much mutual). Another standout character is Ermyn, the only daughter of the family. Ermyn longs to be a nun, and is becoming increasingly despondent about her current life.

The whole story is very entrenched in Catholic tradition, and an overarching theme is the clash between old and new, modern and ancient. Ellis is a very witty writer, and much of the prose is very droll in nature; this book might not be everyone's cup of tea, but my paperback edition is beckoning me right now for another re-read.

[Victoria Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder if readers who didn't enjoy this book would feel differently if they knew it was Catholic fiction or if that would make them put it down. Maybe they did know and it didn't affect their enjoyment one way or the other. Catholic fiction must be, first of all, a good, well written story--which some readers didn't agree it was. I liked the story. In addition, I enjoyed the Catholic symbolism and analogies (for example: there's a sheep in the yard and there's the Goat bar that reference the separation of sheep from goats as mentioned in the New Testament.) The Welsh myth, from which the title comes, lets the reader know that this isn't just a family quarrel drama--its about sin, sinning, and recognizing the need for forgiveness. It was a different kind of read from say, Maeve Binchy, but I still enjoyed it. (I did think it had a slow start, though.)

[Emmkay · Rating 3 out of 5]

"They'd been quarrelling covertly for a long time now, to the danger of other motorists. Angela had a large repertory of small sounds, not usually associated with aggression. She would sniff, cough, tap her fingers, hum quietly on clear stretches of road. Michael used the car to startle and alarm, speeding round corners, overtaking lorries. Neither of them was given to open displays of anger. They came from the same background - conventional, incurious, outwardly pacific. But confined spaces and solitude didn't suit them. Without other people and distraction they regressed and bickered in a sexless, pre-pubertal way."

There's some very fine writing in Ellis' first novel, although the parts did not completely come together for me as a whole.

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last night I finished reading The Sin Eater. Wow! What can I say? This book had me enthralled. Wickedly clever and disturbingly spot-on. This is a biting satire propelled by fascinating, if nasty, characters. Alice Thomas Ellis is a fine writer who knows the power of showing rather than telling. The deep set ways in which the class divides view each other with suspicion and distaste, and the Welsh ways —with a smattering of Welsh words too— all combine to give a convincing, authentic picture of the way it was, and reveal the sad truth beneath the fiction. And when Angela recounts an incident of mixing with the “working class” at some school function and declares how glad she is that class distinctions have disappeared, well… it’s just hilarious, proving how blind the upper classes were to their own arrogance. For me this tale hit home so often that I’m just gobsmacked. If you grew up in Wales and are old enough to remember the late 50s, I believe you'll find this will disturb some memory cobwebs.

[Holly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was hoping to find this "witty" and "biting" commentary on religion, good vs evil, family relations, etc, and was bitterly disappointed. The characters were flat, the plot was tedious, and the commentary was anything but thought-provoking. Based on the many good reviews out there, I wonder if I'm missing some profound statement but find myself reluctant to spend any more time on this book. For good fiction based on religious conflict, I find Graham Greene (The Power and the Glory), David Lodge (How Far Can You Go?), Robert Coover (Universal Baseball Association), etc. to far exceed Ellis's first novel. (My edition is Penguin, 1986)

[Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminded me of Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibson but without the redemptive ending. Absolutely mordant with phrases such as "china as white as a carnivore's teeth". An oddment of characters, siblings and in-laws and hired help all mixed together. A diatribe against Vatican II. Very funny in a horrible sort of way. Her first novel and I'm hoping for better in her later works. I adored her memoirs.

[Gianna Mosser · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept wanting this book to reach the domestic critique or parlor room drama it set out to be. The characters were underdeveloped, with the exception of the psychotic sister who longs to be a nun despite having been raised a Protestant. Never clear what was divulged in the small details, turned in on itself, so the narrative never arched.

[Harry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but all the characters are pretty unlikable which of course was intentional but didn't make reading it much fun. Rose, the sarcastic cynic was the most enjoyable but also pretty sad. Shades of Virginia Woolf both in style and lack of action but also in direct reference - the sheep. Kind of like watching a snarky Downton Abbey.

[Valissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

"How does he do it?" I asked Karen once. Suicide wasn't one of my addictions, so I didn't know.
"He makes it sound so boring," she said.
"That can't be all," I said.
"He makes you imagine," she said, "what it's like to be dead."

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely reminiscent of O'Connor. I will read more of Ellis' books, but with trepidation. This was an, at times, disturbing commentary on hypocrisy and petty hatred.

[Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

In The Sin Eater the reader follows the hijinks (not very hi or jink)of a family waiting for their patriarch to pass away. In the meantime, the self-centered, boring rabble go about their days, meandering through palpable family tensions. Rose, one of the central focal points of the story, married into the family years ago and now seems to think of herself in terms of being better than everyone with the exception of her two twin boys (whom the reader never meets; they are away while the patriarch lays dying). Add in a few upper crust snobs, a surly housekeeper with a delinquent grandson to take care of, and a teenager with an obsession for reading the Bible to solve problems, and you have what could be construed as a barrel of laughs - if you get the inside jokes.

I loved Ellis' The Inn at the Edge of the World, and I was pretty stoked about this earlier novel by her. In the end however, I think you need to be British and old enough to have experienced life in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as cognizant of several jokes specific to British class structures in order to appreciate this novel. Without a prior understanding of these things, I'm afraid the book was fairly dull. I won't give up on Ellis though - her writing style is too strong and vivid to let one book scare me off.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure to rediscover Alice Thomas Ellis! One would never guess that this was her first novel, so sure is her talent. She is one of those rare writers who can perfectly describe much in few words. I liked this book the first time I read it years ago, but appreciated it even more now that I have read Serpent On The Rock: A Personal View Of Christianityand understand a bit better her background. Those who read such authors as Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene, and Penelope Fitzgerald would do well to add Ellis to their libraries. They will not be disappointed.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

unconvinced. the book had its moments if insight but o the whole it seemed somewhat pointless. as a first novel it demonstrates that the writer has potential (i reserve judgement untill i have read her later books). this potential did simply serve to exasperate during this book, as she was unable to fulfill it. she also seems to have some strange issues in her personal relationship with adjectives...

[Rosemary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably my least favorite Alice Thomas Ellis book. Perhaps explained by the fact that it was her first novel?

I did, however, really like this line, mostly because I can relate to it:

"... were it not for Angela, she could have gone into her cool kitchen and made some stews and strange aromatic ice-creams. Rose liked to cook alone, safe from advice, and where no one could she what she was doing."

Strange aromatic ice-creams ... sounds wonderful. :)

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that writers worship and average readers dismiss. As part of the average bunch, I find the narrative annoyingly clever and unnecessarily erratic. All the characters are un-relatable and need psychological treatment. The conclusion is loose ended. There are some funny bits here and there, but the story is told in too weird of a style to get much out of it.

[Tammy V · Rating 1 out of 5]

As it turns out, this is the first book Ellis wrote, and while it has elements of Inn at the Edge of the World, her ability to wrap it all into a compelling story is greatly missing. Enough so that it is hard for me to believe it is the same writer!

[Sia Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such gorgeous writing, such deep themes, such compelling characters. I will certainly go on to read her other novels. Thanks to The Common Reader for introducing me to this writer. I wish both were still with us.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure exactly what this book was about. Family insanity? The fall of a Catholic? The strangeness of humans? No idea. It was interesting because I kept waiting to figure out what was going on. The last paragraph was a hoot, so I am glad I finished it. I am pretty sure.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creepy modern tale turning a twist on a selfish legalism.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written. Bit deeper than chick lit!

[Ruth E. R.]

Weird modern Welsh story based on Welsh mythology.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb on the back is perfect: Ellis writes like a "disgruntled Welch witch."

A used bookstore miracle, strongly recommend.

[Lisa Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not school book, although consider for older high school students.

This book is very hard to navigate, and more a long short story than a novel. It absolutely comes together at the very end, but it is not easy to understand what is happening as it is told through the viewpoints of people who are self-deceiving and who have fractured and incomplete perspectives.

It does take a while to figure out the cast of characters, so in case it helps I finally figured out (I think):

The Captain is the dying father.
Henry and Michael are his sons. Ermyn is his daughter. Her mother has been dead since she was an infant.
Rose is Henry's wife, from a Catholic local family instead of ruling class. She and Henry live with the Captain in the family home.
They have two young sons, twins, that are visiting elsewhere during the book.
Angela is Michael's wife, they live elsewhere and are home for the illness.
They have kids, not in the story, back at their own home.
Phyllis is the long-term housekeeper.
Jack is her husband.
Gomer is her grandson, grown.
Edward is a friend of Michael and Angela's who has been in trouble with his wife so is traveling with them, is a famous columnist.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Thomas Ellis's book "Unexplained Laughter" was the book that helped pull me out of a post-breakup depression as a young woman. Reading The Sin Eater, I realized much of that has to do with the vivid interior lives of Ellis's characters and how their internal strengths prevail, or fail them. She's also extraordinarily good at "white space", as if this book was once thousands of pages, pared down to only a few hundred - so much can be filled in by the reader. The Sin Eater is set in Wales in the 70's where I have my earliest memories of visiting grandparents who were so much warmer, but just as strong, as the characters is this book.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rose is brutal and Ermyn is going to learn quite a bit from her. Angela and her husband are two sinners visiting what is to become Rose's place after the death of her father-in-law, The Captain. Phyllis, the house help, is ready to protect her vicious grandson Gomer fiercely, even if she has to commit a crime. Finally, the house pet, Virginia Woolf the goat roams freely making several key appearances. I didn't enjoy the book, plus it felt like I was missing out because of English being my second language. To quote Jeffrey Eugenides, I wanted out of that decorating scheme.