Written by an author whose
reputation precedes him, Sidney Sheldon enraptures the audience with a
captivating tale of a father with two very well concealed personalities: A public face that is one of a relentless enigma with a sharp business acumen,
and a private face – someone who is egoistic and a bully to his children. The
plot is centered around the aftermath of the events following his mysterious
death and how his children are impacted. His death is investigated, as is the
backgrounds of each of the characters which show why each of them are the way they
are. I feel what the book teaches stands out the most with its beautifully illustrated character sketches. It shows how wide the spectrum is of parental influence towards their children in their upbringing. This book shows that Harry Stanford was an extremely negative influence who neither acknowledged nor valued his children in the slightest except when using them for his personal gain whilst solely inflicting malevolent behaviour towards them, which resulted in pure hatred from both sides. It further highlights that childhood mental trauma is something that can manifest in the behaviour of the child as an adult, the worst of which is perhaps that they grow up to be precisely the person they despised.
Fun fact for all my bookworms out there: Sidney Sheldon is one of Dan Brown's writing influences. (what? we enjoy trivia about authors too ya know)
- N
ツ ❤
Disclaimer: Image is blog author's own.
Disclaimer: Image is blog author's own.