Synopses & Reviews
A thriller from the Heartland,
Sins of Our Fathers follows John White, aka J.W., who has just been caught stealing from his employer to support his gambling addiction. On the verge of losing everything, J.W. must choose between prison and his bosss twisted plan: the sabotage of a competing, Native American banker named Johnny Eagle. But when J.W. moves onto the reservation to carry out this scheme, he forms an unexpected bond with Eagle's delinquent son, a relationship that gives him both the access to do Eagle in, and a reason not to proceed. A stunning debut from veteran screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto,
Sins of Our Fathers "is a fine depiction of how all the best intentions canand dogo very, very wrong." (Urban Waite).
Synopsis
Set in the backwoods of Northern Minnesota's Iron Range, a gripping tale of power, loss, and the ultimate price of the American Dream A thriller from the Heartland, Sins of Our Fathers follows John White, aka J.W., who has just been caught stealing from his employer to support his gambling addiction. On the verge of losing everything, J.W. must choose between prison and his boss's twisted plan: the sabotage of a competing, Native American banker named Johnny Eagle. But when J.W. moves onto the reservation to carry out this scheme, he forms an unexpected bond with Eagle's delinquent son, a relationship that gives him both the access to do Eagle in, and a reason not to proceed. A stunning debut from veteran screenwriter Shawn Lawrence Otto, Sins of Our Fathers is a fine depiction of how all the best intentions can--and do--go very, very wrong. (Urban Waite).
Synopsis
From the screenwriter of the Oscar-nominated House of Sand and Fog, a fierce, elegant, page-turning novel about race, money, and the American Dream
***Finalist for the 2015 Los Angeles Times Book Prize***
Sins of Our Fathers follows small-town banker J.W., who has been caught embezzling funds to support his gambling addiction. J.W. is on the verge of losing everything when his boss offers him a scoundrel's path to redemption: sabotage a competing, Native banker named Johnny Eagle.
A single father, Eagle recently returned to the reservation, leaving a high-powered job in the hope of simultaneously empowering his community and saving his troubled son.
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.
About the Author
Shawn Lawrence Otto is the writer and co-producer of the Oscar-nominated film
House of Sand and Fog. He also writes for top studios like DreamWorks and Lions Gate. His nonfiction book,
Fool Me Twice, garnered praise from the likes of Bill McKibben, Bill Nye, and Steven Pinker, and his writing has also appeared in
Rolling Stone, Science, and
Salon, among other publications. He lives in Minneapolis, MN.