In the epic novel, Child of God, Lolita Files unveils the hidden lives of three generations of the Boten family. The family's past begins to rise after the mysterious fire that takes the life of young Ophelia Boten's infant son. The fire then sets the family on a journey of self discovery, which leads them to the inner-city of Detroit, the University of Michigan, the jungles of Vietnam, and back to the home town of Downtown, Tennessee. Ophelia sets her own course, by getting an education and moving away from Tennessee. Before she can embrace any type of new life she must fully understand the hidden life of her past legacy. The family's mistakes echo unforgettably through each successive generation. The novel Child of God and the tragedy "Hamlet" are two stories of forbidden love, family bonds, and revenge.
             The love between a brother and sister is something sanctified, tight and never ending and has certain boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. The love between a brother-in-law and his sister-in-law should also be sacred and has its very own boundaries. In the novel Child of God, the line between a sister and brother being close was crossed over many times. A brother and sister being intimate together is something looked down upon. In the Boten family, incest was something wrong but not ever put to rest through the generations. Grace had a relationship with her brother, Walter, which led to the birth of Ophelia. Amalie, their mother watched it but never put an end to the whole thing.
             "In the shadow of the woods, Amalie watched her grown children naked on the bank. Christian outrage and shame churned inside of her as she witnessed Walter clutching the hair in his hands, moving on top of Grace. She began to cry, cursing and spitting upon the ground. She thought of Benny''. (Files 94)
             In stead of stopping the fiasco she instead killed herself and asked god to forgive he
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