Official Review: The Wronged Sons by John Marrs

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sblake
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Official Review: The Wronged Sons by John Marrs

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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Wronged Sons" by John Marrs.]

The Wronged Sons is the debut novel of John Marrs, a freelance journalist in London.

The Wronged Sons is the story of the aftermath of the disappearance of Simon, Catherine’s husband and father of their three children. From the outset, the reader knows that Simon has left by choice, Catherine, however, has no inkling what has happened to him and is not destined to find out until he shows up at her door 25 years after leaving.

The beginning of the novel was a bit disorienting. There are three distinct points of view used to present the story, Catherine’s, Simon’s and the narrator, along with major jumps in the location and timeline. Each section is delineated by a place and time, but does not indicate the person talking. However, once I started to get into the story, I thought it worked really well.

I would classify this story as a psychological thriller more than anything else. The story is masterfully told in a slow build of layer after layer until the entire nature and history of the two main characters is fully revealed. From the opening pages of the book when Simon disappears, I felt compelled to read on. Simon is an immensely complex character. I started out feeling strong empathy for him, and even at the end of the book, there is still that feeling of sadness for how things might have been.

I thought the element of nature vs. nurture was well defined in the characters as well. Simon had a terrible childhood, and a pitiful role model in his parents, and that certainly shaped the man he became. Catherine also had a harsh childhood, and her children were definitely scarred by the disappearance of their father, however, she was able to nurture them to become the opposite of their father.

Without giving anything away, there are some very strong parallels in the two stories that superbly juxtapose the two characters. Simon and Catherine respond in ways that are polar opposite of one another. Simon’s break with reality drives his actions for much of the novel, but even while watching his descent into depravity, there is still that core of humanity to him.

I give The Wronged Sons 4 out of 4 stars and highly recommend it. The book is one that will stay with the reader for a long time. There is so much depth to the characters; so many layers to their story. It is an extremely impressive first novel and I look forward to reading more by John Marrs.

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