Father

Are the sins of the father visited upon their children? This is one of the questions addressed in Victoria Falls, and it is at least partially answered in the subplot.

Charlie Benjamin's father is James Monroe, the central protagonist of the novel. Charlie has grown up believing his real father to be Richard Benjamin, but Charlie was fathered by James Monroe in a late night tryst with his mother, Teresa Benjamin. On her deathbed, Teresa reveals Charlie's true paternity to him, and he sets out to western Canada to find his real father.

During his journey we find that the same restlessness that plagued James Monroe also plagues his son. Despite being married and having a son of his own, Charlie becomes infatuated with his half sister, Annie, and like his father makes one wrong decision that lands him in prison. James Monroe, as a much older man, is also in this subplot, and in a poignant scene he visits his son to tell him that he too had been behind bars and that there is life beyond incarceration. 

Do you think that the fault line of our personalities runs from one generation to the next?