Russell Banks doesn't write about people per se; he write about what they do and leaves you to determine why they do it. Reading his prose is sort of like touring the human psyche by the light of a sputtering sparkler. Banks will never cheat or dupe you, and that's what makes his subjects and their lives so wonderfully human.

The Sarah Cole story is worth the price of the book, and The Fish is an amazingly incisive parable about righteousness and the tragedy of good intentions.

A book about contradiction and moral mistakes, Success Stories did something for me that literature sometimes can: it helped me understand myself and my relationships with the people I love a little more usefully.

Several of the stories follow the fortunes of Earl Painter and his broken family with a distinctness and sympathetic humanity that forgives these sad characters who do the best they can with what they have and who they are, but does not blind itself or romanticize the truths of their lives. The other stories read like morality fables, reminding us that our own good and evil, our own conscious and unconscious intentions can be subverted and pushed down paths we don't have the foresight to predict when they leave us and go into the world.

A deeply moving and satisfying book.

America's post-Civil War years brought a renewed interest in the European scene. Journeys
known as Grand Tours led tourists to take ship to the Continent. They fanned out across the
landscape with the intent to "know Europe." Their return home resulted in a flurry of
published accounts. Twain satirizes both the tourists and their writings with delicious
wit. Ever a man to play with words, his "tramp" refers to both himself and the walking tour
of Europe he purports to have made. By the time you've reached the end of the account of the
"walking tour" incorporating trains, carriages and barges, you realize that the longest "walk"
Twain took occurred in dark hotel room while trying to find his bed. He claims to have
covered 47 miles wandering around the room.

Twain was interested in everything, probing into both well-known and obscure topics. His
judgments are vividly conveyed in this book, standing in marked contrast to his more
reserved approach in Innocents Abroad. A delightful overview of mid-19th Century Europe,
Tramp is also interlaced with entertaining asides. Twain was deeply interested in people, and
various "types" are drawn from his piercing gaze, rendered with acerbic wit. Some of these
are contemporary, while others are dredged from his memories of the California mines and
other journeys. He also relished Nature's marvels, recounting his observations. A favourite
essay is "What Stumped the Blue-jays." A nearly universal bird in North America, Twain's
description of the jay's curiosity and expressive ability stands unmatched. He observes such
humble creatures as ants, Alpine chamois, and the American tourist. Few escape his
perception or his scathing wit. This book remains valuable for its timeless rendering of
characters and the universality of its view. It can be read repeatedly for education or
entertainment.

All these volumes are self-recommending except, perhaps, to those poor, misguided people who continue to pigeon-hole one of the world's great writers. Yes, Twain was a humorist who virtually invented modern American English as a literary language. But the sheer range of his achievement is staggering. And the best way to experience it is altogether. And the best "altogether" is this magnificent 29 volume set from Oxford. Other people can speak with more authority about Twain the author. I want to speak a little about how delicious it is to encounter him in these books. They are reproductions of the original American editions and the facsimiles are beautifully rendered. But this isn't important in itself; we're not about to spend [...] for a little bit of nostalgia. Rather, just open any one of these 29 volumes and see what a difference its admittedly antique printing style makes. White spacing between the printed lines is generous to an unbelievable degree, as are the page margins. Your eyes don't tire. You can savour each page at whatever pace you want to set for yourself. Worlds open and invite. This is how people read books a hundred years ago. This is the way to read books!

I have not read Twain since High School twenty five plus years ago but a friend on a newspapers book forums got me to read him again and A Tramp Abroad is the first book I picked. For the current generation this book may drag but for those of us who grew up reading books instead of playing computer games this is Twain at his best. One has to actually read into his writing to appreciate a lot of the irony but when this book is really on like the mountain climbing near the Matterhorn ,Twain makes Seinfeld seem like he's talking about something. A brilliant travel essay and by the way the Penguin Classics edition of this book in paperback is 411 pages long, not 670 pages .

Finally! A "coffee table" book that has top-quality photos and an excellent text.

MARK TWAIN: AN ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY is a companion to a two-part, four-hour documentary film, directed by Ken Burns, on the life and work of Samuel Langhorne Clemens and his "famously, irrepressibly rambunctious alter ego Mark Twain."

Ernest Hemingway once said that Twain is "the headwater of American fiction" and called THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN "the best book we've ever had. There was nothing before. There's been nothing as good since."

George Bernard Shaw referred to Twain as "America's Voltaire."

William Dean Howells described Twain as "incomparable, the Lincoln of our literature."

Susy Clemens once wrote of her father: "He is known to the public as a humorist, but he has much more in him that is earnest than that is humorous. He is as much of a Philosopher as anything, I think."

In this reviewer's considered judgment, Twain is the greatest literary genius America has produced, a thinker of remarkable depth and substance.

Twain's life was filled with many travels, adventures ... and tragedies. Born in 1835, when Halley's comet made its appearance, he lived for 75 years, until 1910, when Halley's comet returned. He survived, and suffered, the death of his beloved wife "Livy" (Olivia Louise Langdon), and three of their children: Langdon, who died in infancy; Susy, who died of spinal meningitis at age 24; and Jean, who died of a heart attack evidently brought on by an epileptic seizure.

"The secret source of humor itself," wrote Twain, "is not joy, but sorrow. There is no humor in heaven. ... [Our] race, in its poverty, has unquestionably one really effective weapon--laughter. Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand."

Laughter and sorrow: Twain was well acquainted with both. Known superficially to many admirers as merely a humorist or funny man, Twain was essentially, as he described himself, "a moralist in disguise" who preached sermons to "the damned human race."

Twain's literary corpus abounds with excoriating criticisms of racism, anti-Semitism, religious hypocrisy, governmental arrogance and imperialism, petty tyrants, and Philistine culture. His often deadpan humor bristles with barbed satire and withering sarcasm.

In addition to its narrative text, this volume includes five bonus essays: "Hannibal's Sam Clemens," by Ron Powers; "Hartford's Mark Twain," by John Boyer; "The Six-Letter Word," by Jocelyn Chadwick; "Out at the Edges," by Russell Banks; and an interview with Hal Holbrook, "Aren't We Funny Animals?"

MARK TWAIN: AN ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY is a rich and rewarding book.

This illustrated biography of one of America's most memorable and beloved authors holds quite a few surprises for the unsuspecting reader. Anticipating anecdotes from Mark Twain's life that would portray him as a kind, altruistic, and loving man, I was shocked to learn he was also an irrascible, guilt-ridden, tight-fisted lover of alcohol and cigars who was often looking for ways to get rich.

He was born in 19th century Missouri and raised during a time when major political, economic, social, and cultural issues were forging America's identity. The rugged 19th century also molded Twain into an outspoken critic of those forces, providing him with an unending stream of material for his cogent and waggish observations.

Amid a collection of excerpts from his novels and speeches, articles and essays, as well as numerous pictures and illustrations, the authors present an insightful analysis of the man best known for writing TOM SAWYER and HUCKLEBERRY FINN. What becomes obvious is the relevance, creativity and importance of all his work, not just the books we were assigned in high school.

This book is a treasure; the kind of book that can be referred to often. It can give food for thought for hours of reflection. It is Highly Recommended.

I wonder how many people could have led the life that Samuel Clemens did and kept their sanity. He went from riches to rags (even though it was his own fault...he spent money like it was going out of style and made some horrendous investments), which forced him, at the age of 60, into making a 10 month long physically and mentally draining around-the-world lecture tour. The tour enabled him to pay off his debts and regain his financial footing. Unfortunately, money was the least of his problems. The authors do not specifically state it, but it is clear (to me anyway) that Clemens suffered from manic-depression. At various times, and not coinciding with anything bad going on his life, he considered suicide. He had lifelong moodswings, as well as a volatile temper. (His daughters were afraid to be alone with him, as his behavior was so unpredictable. They made sure to visit him as a group.) The authors recount one incident where Clemens, angry over a missing button, opened an upstairs window and tossed all of his shirts out into the street. Saddest of all, Clemens outlived almost all of his loved ones. His beloved wife, Livy, who was almost 10 years younger than him, predeceased him, as did 3 of his 4 children. His one surviving child, his daughter Clara, suffered a nervous breakdown when Clemens was almost 70. A heavy load to bear, indeed, but somehow Clemens bore it and carried on. One thing that helped was his worldwide fame. Clemens was hungry for fame, even as a young man. He became well-known early in life, and remained famous and popular right up until he died. (He was a bit of a "ham." He would purposely time his walks for when people were emerging from church, and would then saunter past in his trademark- pun intended- white suits.) This book is an absolutely perfect blend of narrative by the authors, liberal excerpts from Clemens's many writings, "guest essays," and page after page of terrific period photographs. (The research done for the photographs, alone, must have been backbreaking.) The narrative and essays made this a good book. The addition of the excerpts and the photos turned it into a great book. The excerpts are not just from Clemens's well-known works, either. He was once asked to address an organization which consisted of descendants of the Puritans. The written text is reproduced in the book. Twain skewered the original Puritans for killing Native Americans and for kicking everyone who wasn't a Puritan out of Massachusetts, even though, as Clemens makes sure to emphasize, they left England under the banner of religious freedom. (You have to think that when the organization invited Clemens to speak, this wasn't quite what they had in mind.) One of the many interesting items included in the book is a list of the famous sayings "Mark Twain" supposedly uttered....but didn't. (He was so famous that it was assumed that anything clever originated with him.) Unfortunately, one of my all-time favorites was included in this list: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." On the bright side, he DID say "The rumor of my death has been greatly exaggerated." One caution: the excerpts will make you want to read or re-read all of Twain. I've already ordered a copy of "The Innocents Abroad" as somehow, in my youth, I missed that one. Hats off to Geoffrey Ward, Dayton Duncan, and Ken Burns for this wonderful book!

This was one of the best books I've ever read. I learned alot from this book,alot about my own life and the lives of the people around me.Russell Banks hits quite a few nerves in his depiction of the American Dream and all the trappings of our overly materialistic,shallow lives. Banks beautifully blends two seperate lives on a collision course with destiny.Human nature at its best and its worst.Everyone should be able to identify with the main character Bob Dubois, a tragic figure who doesnt know who he is or what he wants.Life just happens to him. On the other side is Vanise Dorsinville and her nephew Claude two poor Haitians who seek a new life in America.The misery they endure will haunt you.Banks' knowledge of the Haitian culture was phenominal.What a remarkable book!

Truly a great book of the past few decades. Continental Drift parallels the lives of two individuals co-existing in North America. The main character, Bob Dubois, is a mediciocre, who flees his drab life in New Hampshire for the riches of Florida. In the process, Banks comments on racism, sex and materialism. In contrast, is the tragic story of a young Haitian woman seeking the American dream. Bob Dubois is a ghost of man morally; adrift in a society that rewards greed, consumerism and de-emphasizes love and committment. The Haitian story reflects on poverty and the moral bankrupcy it extracts. Russell Banks is one of our best writers today. Don't miss this book.

This book was suggested to me by a professor (Preston Allen, author of the fine novel Hoochie Mama), whose opinion I respect very much; and thus, I continued reading even when I felt overwhelmed with emotion and was ultimately rewarded with a story that is really two stories. Mr. Banks is perhaps the finest writer I have ever read, his prose refined to the point of being almost too self-conscious. He is a master at making the reader FEEL for his characters. So I followed the main character from the Northeast to Miami, as he fled his boring life and found himself in more trouble than he knew was possible. That first story, surface story, works because of rich writing and some semblance of plot. As a Haitian American, I had a serious problem with the second main story (especially because of Banks' fine style), Claude and Vanise's story. I wept. It was fiction, but I wept. I remembered how I came here as a small boy. I remembered what happened to my mother, but I won't go into that. And I was angry because Mr. Banks is not Haitian. I kept waiting for him to get it wrong--there were some stereotypical things, but they were minor. This is the story I kept wishing someone would write. Both Haitians and Cubans see Miami as a haven from poverty and political oppression in their countries, but America usually sees only the Cubans as deserving of refuge. I am still a bit bothered that Banks is not Haitian, but for selfish reasons I wish every American would read this book. I number it among my favorites of all time.

Affliction is apparently a somewhat autobiographical novel about Wade Whitehouse, a crude & somewhat brutal son of a truly barbarous father. Wade is now in his forties, lives in the Mountains of Central New Hampshire and works as a well driller, snow plower and town constable. His high school sweetheart wife has left him and taken their daughter. Now Wade is reduced to living alone in a wind swept trailer and drinking way too much. Over the course of the novel, this is apparently a common theme for Banks, he realizes how desolate and desperate his life has become and he begins to lash out at his abusive father, shrewish ex-wife, his tyrannical boss and the towns uppity part time residents, the idle rich in their ski chalets. In particular, he becomes obsessed with regaining custody of his daughter and with proving that a seeming hunting accident was actually murder.

These twin compulsions turn out to be a lever with which Wade can pry open his hemmed in life and assert power for once. But the exercise of power and the awakening of self carry dangers which Wade is ill equipped to confront and tragedy lurks around the corner.

I liked this book much better than I expected to; the movie ads seem to promise merely another domestic abuse fiesta, but that story line is really somewhat peripheral. Wade's struggle to gain some control over his life is nearly heroic and we root for him top succeed. But Banks piles on such melodramatics that we anticipate that he is doomed.

There's also another weakness, and a more significant one. The story is narrated by Wade's brother in such an omniscient manner that it becomes distracting. You continually find yourself saying, how does he know that fact or know how that person felt. Also, the tone of his narration is so portentous that we know early on that Wade is headed for disaster; too early.

In the end, I recommend the book, but less whole heartedly than Ernest Hebert's similar cycle of New Hampshire novels.

GRADE: B-

In Affliction, Banks tells a page turning story that seems more and more realistic as the story progresses. Banks effectively relates the message that those who have been afflicted by family violence find it nearly impossible to form sustainable relationships with others. Wade Whitehouse unfortunately represents a common character in our world, one who has been plagued by the sins of his father and cannot find a way to move on with his life. The ending is climactic and does not leave the reader with any regrets. The movie does a good job of sticking with the book, however the book is more haunting and real. Read the book first before seeing the movie.

Affliction is for anyone who picks up their newspaper, scans hurredly through the usual blaring headlines concerning this shooting death and that domestic disturbance, then turns away quick, to the business page or maybe the local weather forecast. But author Banks considers these brutal events, which are usually given shortthrift in our mind's eye and discounted with a shrug and a cold "just another nut." This entrancing work chronicles how one small man's world turns desperate and craven without his consent, or even his knowledge. Wade Whitehouse is living the nightmare of lower class, "white trash" America, but is smart enough to know he wants better. Or at least different. After digesting Affliction, one may not be so quick to discount the person who pumps your gas at the local filling station as just another peripheral obstacle to avoid during the daily rush of life. Because he may have a story to tell you. And it may sound a lot like Wade Whitehouse's story, as told in the great book by Russell Banks.

The story begins in Au Sable as Chappie is kicked onto the street for buying marijuana with his moms money. He stays with his friend in an apartment shared with a gang of drug addicted bikers and becomes their weed dealer. Many strange characters are introduced and many misadventures take place. Chappie eventually meets a Rastafarian and goes to Jamaica with him to find his long lost father. Over all on a scale of one to ten I would give this novel a 6.5. This novel was a quick read and I enjoyed it as I went through even though it had little substance and left me unsatisfied at the end of it. The author, Russell Banks made the everyday things he described seem interesting and had a way of making it hard to put the book down as he would wind up these long descriptive sentences. His writing style made it easy to read through pages quickly because he used no quotation marks and wrote in long sentences but it was burdening as he tried to have the voice of the modern teenager by using excessive "likes" and "whatevers''. His attempt at a youthful voice would seem hard to decipher for the older reading audience. An asset that plagued this book was its use of pure coincidence as old characters are reintroduced in random places as if Russell Banks doesn't know how to introduce brand new characters, he also had a hard time keeping the whole story realistic. This novel mainly reminds me of Catcher in the Rye only in the modern world. It holds some realism's that were not common during the time Catcher in the Rye was written and is much more outrageous and less realistic but overall it is the story of a lost and misdirected youth. I believe this novel is mainly directed towards teenagers and would be hard to interpret for the older audience. "We were like free, free to just be ourselves, driving fast with the windows down and the heater blasting, smoking cigarettes and eating junk food and drinking beer..." This sentence really sums up how the novel was written, it shows the youthful tone and the run on sentences and the tragedy of a young man fallen into the slums of homelessness drugs and alcohol.

I must say, I've never been much of a 'bookworm' -- but Rule of the Bone had me hooked. I couldn't put it down: my math teacher even scolded me... The coming of age story of Bone was surprisingly captivating and truthful -- Bank's skill to capture human behaviour is spellbinding. The main character, Bone, who is troubled teen who escapes in the 'wrong ways' is truly a role model for young people everywhere. Adult critics of this book have labelled him as a bad example, but they have failed to look past the literal level of Bone's actions. Bank's paints a truthful, and somewhat frightening picture of what happens to a person under pressure; a boy who has a goodness in him, he's just been through some hard times. Rule of the Bone is a definate read, and I would reccomend it to anyone who would like a taste of literature that is uniquely different. Bank's book challenges the more conservative literary techniques with an amazingly truthful and contemporary tale of humanity.

The story begins with Chappie (later known as Bone) speaking directly to the reader saying that his story is true. One of my biggest difficulties with this novel was that, at times, it was hard for me to believe him. First of all, let me say that I like Rule of the Bone a lot. Banks has captured the voice of a 14 year-old homeless, pot-smoking, rule-breaking, lost, but genuinely good kid. At times this voice can be annoying, a bit hard to follow or redundant, but most 14 year-olds tend to be from time to time.

Chappie has a crappy life. He's all alone, and when he's not, for the most part, he'd probably be better off by himself because the kid tends to fall in with the wrong crowd- he's got a nasty, abusive drunk for a stepdad, a missing real dad, a bestfriend who's a dropout and thief; he lives with a gang of bikers, meets a child molester, hangs with two crackheads, and then finally finds a pseudo-family with an old rastafarian and a zombee-like orphan girl. It's a book of journies, but of course the real journey is internal...Chappie repeatedly ditching the identity that is forced on him by the neglect and/or actions of others and somehow forging his own. Bone tries to figure out who he is and why the hell he's on this planet, and by the end has a much clearer idea than at the beginning.

The problem I have is that this book, while at times shockingly real and beautifully written, just has too many coincidences. Bone tries to take new paths, but keeps on running into the same old faces. Things just work out too neatly for him sometimes...and "neatly" isn't necessarially "cleanly" because there is a lot of dirty stuff in this kid's life. I personally think the ending's a bit cheesy, too. But, this is a book that has made a lot of teenage boys I know who think "reading is stupid" actually sit down and read to the last page. They all tend to love it a lot, because for the most part, Bone's struggle and his story, feel authentic. So, in the desperate cry of Bone himself, "Bone Rules!!!" (most of the time).

I just finished this book; it is a fast read that provides really good descriptions of the human condition. It is insightful, and in places, quite eloquent. The depictions are so real that you will recognize the people in the story, but have to change their names.

This collection of short stories can be read as a novel. Most of the action takes place in the late 1970s in a trailer park in the Northeastern part of the USA. There is good character development of the individuals who live in the park, a little sex and very little violence.

Not sure if there's a certain "order" one should read Banks' books in, but I started with "Rule of the Bone" which I enjoyed so much I immediately bought "Trailerpark" and then "Book of Jamaica" (which I have not yet read). In this collection of short stories, we see a cast of characters that, at first glance, could be from Anytown USA. As the stories develop, at first humourous then getting progressively more bleak, we begin to realize that what makes the characters unique, as in "Rule of the Bone," is their life in the rural northeast. I love the way the lives of the tenants of the Granite State Trailerpark are intertwined; it's just a fabulous read.

Cloudsplitter, Russell Banks' new novel about famed abolitionist John Brown, as narrated by his third son, Owen, presents vividly the increasing frustration and desperation of the grassroots anti-slavery movement of the era; while giving a beautifully bittersweet portrait of American domestic life in the early-to-mid part of the 19th century. Brown is alternately the stern, domineering Old Testament authoritarian and the nurturing family patriarch. He is chronically torn between the financial demands of raising his ever growing flock of children, and his devotion to the heroic principle of eradicating the scourge of slavery through any means possible-as soon as possible.

After working variously as a tanner of animal hides, then in land speculation, and as a purveyor in the wool trade, Brown's internal conflict between his desire to succeed in business and his commitment to social activism eventually comes to a head with his failure to realize a much anticipated great profit from the sale of American wool while on an overseas journey to England with son Owen. This trip also takes them to the Continent, to Waterloo, accompanied by an interesting analysis by Brown of Napoleon's strategic mistakes and legendarily humiliating defeat-obviously not something Brown ever expected for himself. On the home front, Brown's life is both blessed by his many children and cursed by the sorrowfully premature deaths of some--no doubt a common occurrence in 19th century rural life. Through all of this however, Brown maintains his absolute faith in the God, while Owen, though denying this faith in his own life, nevertheless becomes his father's greatest family ally in the fight to free the slaves.

Banks authoritatively makes key historic figures in the anti-slavery movement come to life, from the sublime philosophizing of Ralph Waldo Emerson to the formidable leadership of Frederick Douglass (according to Banks, Douglass was a close friend and confidante to Brown, "abandoning" him just weeks p! rior to the Harpers Ferry debacle, judging his proposed insurrection to be the unworkable scheme it turned out to be). Along the way, he courts the wealthy Beacon Hill dilettantes, accepting their sizable donations while denouncing their lip service, though sincere, to the cause.

This book, criticized as a little overly long (not entirely unfairly), is best appreciated for the attention given to the small details: the day-to-day existence among homesteaders on the American frontier-both whites and freed slaves; the heated passions of abolitionists and pro-slavers alike; and the treacherous paths of those escaping slavery to Canada; and how the forces of nature, both brutal and serene-shaped their various journeys by land and by sea.

Russell Banks' Cloudsplitter is an important and engaging work of historical fiction, bringing John Brown and his family to life and exploring a period in American history in which the fate of the young nation truly hung in the balance. Many novels have been written of the Civil War years, by writers such as Jeffrey and Michael Shaara, as well as Charles Frazier. Banks instead brings the turbulent 1850's to life, complete with New England abolitionists, the Underground Railroad, and the political struggles culminating in some dubious "compromises" as more states entered the sharply-divided Union.

The structure of the book is unique, as the novel is comprised of a long narrative by surviving son Owen Brown, his father's right hand man during the years leading up to the deadly raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Owen is supposedly gathering his papers and setting forth his story to a fictional "Miss Mayo", who, along with her boss, is working on a definitive biography of John Brown several decades after his death. Owen feels that his father has traditionally been misunderstood, branded an insane terrorist by some and a holy martyr by others, while Owen attempts to humanize him and the rest of the family.

Russell Banks apparently spent years in painstaking research on this book, and you wonder how much of the story is pure fiction, and how much of Owen's narrative is based on historical fact. Of course Banks would likely tell you that such inquiries are besides the point, although I will wonder whether John Brown really did write a Horatio Alger-like pamphlet for African Americans titled "Sambo's Mistakes". I absolutely loved the scene in which John Brown realizes his son Owen has stolen something, and rather than whip the boy the elder Brown makes Owen whip him, as punishment for John Brown's failings as a father which would lead his son to commit such an offense. Heavy stuff indeed.

Many reviewers have commented upon the length of the book, and while the language was never too difficult or tedious to get through, I must admit the Banks takes his time setting up the story, as the pace does not really pick up considerably until about page 400. There are meaningful episodes earlier, including John Brown's efforts to escort espaped slaves to Canada on the Underground Railroad, his family tragedies, and his land speculations and failures. We also see glimpses of other historical figures including Frederick Douglass and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who probably did interact with Brown in some fashion in real life.

Banks moves skillfully toward the climax of the book, throwing in references to future events in "Bloody Kansas" or Harpers Ferry to give the whole book a sense of foreboding. However the ultimate payoff was a little light to me, which is my reservation about giving the book 5 stars. By making surviving son Owen Brown his narrator, and by telling us that Owen's job is not to chronicle historical events (about which much has supposedly been written) but instead to concentrate on personal reminisces, Banks limits himself a bit. By the end, at Harpers Ferry, the reader (at least this reader) wants a little more historical detail than Owen can provide, due to his location and status during the culminating raid. Everybody knows John Brown's fate, but after 740 pages leading up to the great showdown, I wanted a little more than I got, (maybe words to his captors or specific details as to the fates of other members of the party). Ultimately what made the novel effective for the first 7/8ths of the book was the thing that brought the ending down a peg in my estimation.

Anyway, for those like myself who enjoy historical novels and who want to learn more about one of the most notorious and fascinating figures in American history, this is a monumental work. In reading Cloudsplitter, you understand the family dynamics which led Brown's sons to follow him into a maelstrom, you get a glimpse into the belief system of John Brown and his atheist son, and you wait with him for the great slave uprising which he thought would accompany his raid on the federal weapons arsenal at Harpers Ferry, as part of his campaign to rid the nation of the scourge of slavery. I am glad I read Cloudsplitter, but unlike some of my co-reviewers here I sure don't plan on doing it again.

A thoroughly meticulously and hugely ambitious telling of John Brown's life, culminating in the bloody rebellion at Harper's Ferry.

Russell Banks strays from his normal storytelling formula in Cloudsplitter; this novel reads like a well researched piece of historical fiction. Banks concentrates not only on capturing the characters with accuracy and depth (which he accomplishes here as in his other novels) but also on painting the mood and character of the time itself. This is the story not only of Owen and John Brown, but of pre-Civil War America itself.

At 758 pages it isn't a quick read, and the characters develop more slowly than they do in his other novels, but I never found the book to be needlessly verbose. We get a picture of John Brown that is comprehensive and complete, warts and all. And we also get an interesting look at the institution of chattel slavery in the United States, its crushing effectiveness, and the racial norms of the time.

Brown is painted as a man of principle, but a fanatic nonetheless. His power over his small band of followers is based largely on his overwhelming charisma, not on his vision or his doomed mission. The novel is based on actual events and therefore the reader knows how the action will end before it even begins, but Banks manages to keep the suspense building.

Banks employs some strange tactics in this novel, including a risky "out of body" experience that mixes an element of fantastic into his otherwise literal and meticulous storytelling (you might think you've wandered into a Rushdie or Gabrial Marquez novel). But somehow it all works. In summary: an interesting and challenging novel.

I've read this book twice now. First in college for a literature class, and again 8 years later. Both times it depressed me. Granted, that is the book's purpose. To provide a realistic and tragic glimpse into the lives of some of America's least fortunate during the depression. Though it is interesting and well written, I can't say that I would tell my best friend to read it.

This book is about people who have nothing to lose, so they can afford to take chances.

It's funny, sad and provocative. Yes, I know that some parts have been lifted from "Neon Wilderness" but it works for me.

My advice to anyone who's read the book but not seen the movie that's "supposedly" based on this book: DON'T.

You will be disappointed. The story is not the same. It's so different from Algren's book that Algren himself didn't even attend the premiere.

If you haven't read this book and are a fan of stories about marganalized people, then by all means, read it.

It shows the "downtrodden" as complex and real people.

Don't be misled by the title. A walk on the wild side? Sounds like fun, hey? Well, you can walk the walk, but you can't go home again, or if you do, you may be a little the worse for wear. Algren is a poet of pain. Highly recommended.

It keeps you reading. I'll give it that. It's one of those books that you read from cover to cover in about 3 hours. But that's all i'll give it.

Russell Banks's "The Sweet Hereafter" is a story about 4 main characters whose lives cave in after a bus accident. It's told from 4 different view points which you would think would make it more powerful - however, I wasn't fond of it. The way Banks writes the chapters gives you no closure with the characters whatsoever (especially Mitchell Stephens, which really bugged me).

The book also reflects alot on the characters's pasts. What I don't understand is how SO many things can go wrong in this little town with a population of maybe 50 people. Death. Affairs. Sexual molestation. AIDS. Drugs. Alcohol abuse. Cancer. Marijuana and LOTS of it. Babies getting bitten by black widow spiders, for God's sake.

I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. But maybe that's because I'm a 16-year-old theater geek who likes to read Harry Potter and books that were made into musicals in her spare time. But really, unless you like Oprah Books (which many people do...), I don't think you'll enjoy this novel very much.

From the perspective of a college freshmen, the book "The Sweet Hereafter" told a very interesting story. Banks, the author, was able to keep my attention throughout the entire book. This is sometimes hard to do considering I would usually rathar be watching t.v. or taking a nap than reading. When something tragic happens, like that which happened in the book, the same question always arises; who is to blame? This is something that is expected these days. In this story, Banks, in my opinion, answers this lingering question indirectly. Most of the time the anwser is the same; no one is to blame, it was purely an accident. The people of this small town setting need a scapegoat in order to survive after the accident occurs. Through one of the most prominent characters, Banks, gives them what they need. Although it is not the truth of the matter, it will save the town from a lot of anguish and grief that could be avoided. Other characters think that the only way to survive this particular tragedy, and probably all other tragedies, is to get revenge against someone, anyone, meaning nasty, drawn out lawsuits. In the end, the story proves that life does go on after something terrible happens, and sometimes without so much as one word being uttered the vicitms of that tragedy come together in an unspoken bond. "The Sweet Hereafter" was a really good book. I reccommend this book for anyone who wishes to read it.

The Sweet Hereafter is a compelling novel of a small town in America that has to overcome a devasating tragedy.

The novel is written from the perspective of four completely different narrators which is what makes the story so interesting. The way Russel Banks portrays each character can make even the most insensitive reader identify with them. The language he uses can make you almost hear the character speaking and makes them seem more realistic. A reader from any cultural background can read this book and get the feeling of a small town in America and sympathize with the characters in it. The novel is written so well that every point of view can be clearly seen even when the characters are expressing some of their negative attributes.

The way the people deal with the accident is what is so compelling because their lives can be altered in a positive or very negative way depending on how they deal with the influx of big city lawyers and media.This novel gives you an in depth look at how ordinary people deal with pain and loss. We see how certain relationships deteriorate and others develop after the tragedy. The way they see each other and the way the reader sees the characters will change drastically from beginning to end.

There are themes in this novel for everyone from secret affairs, loss of loved ones, alcoholism, selfishness, divorce and the need to blame others are just a few. Anyone can get involved in this book and will most probably see some aspects of their own lives in it.

The outcome of the novel was pleasantly surprising but it is inevitable to have a slight feeling of sadness for some of the characters. It is very realistic but not at all dull, everyone has to read this book!