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davenash's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Couldn’t put it down
courtandspark's review against another edition
3.0
A book exploring the meaning of the American Dream from the perspective of Haitian immigrants and Bob Dubois, an unhappy, unfulfilled mix of Willy Loman and Holden Caufield. The novel touched on some interesting themes, albeit heavy handedly.
sloatsj's review against another edition
5.0
This is the first Russell Banks book I've read, and it is devastating in its cynicism. Still, it is a true portrayal of underdog America. I felt sorry for the characters, but then again everything that befell them seemed inevitable.
mimooo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“go, my book, and help destroy the world as is” again russell banks the only white man willing to take a risk to expose the depraved condition of whiteness in this country
bese199's review against another edition
4.0
I couldn't relate to the characters, but the story was well told. I mostly liked the way he writes the action and the place and the time.
snutedute's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kinddog2073's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read in anticipation of reading Cloudsplitter with a friend.
Fascinatin read. Banks's narrator is captivating and their lucidity and awareness is so welcome. I feel like a lot of books I've read recently had entirely unreliable narrators (Kavan's Ice, Ishiguro's The Unconsoled), but reading this right after Nightbitch, which has a similarly lucid and relfective narrator, was great. Excited to read Cloudsplitter where the narrator is also a character in the story rather than only observer/interpreter.
Much is challening in this story. There are very dark scenes in both Vanise and Bob's lives, though the agent of violence and chaos can appear and often is flipped in each. For Vanise, the world and people around her, Claude, and her baby are the butchers in the pass that kill the Afghans at the start. Bob, on the other hand, seems to have it from both sides. He trusts the wrong people and is screwed over deeply, but he unleashes verbal at and physical violence around his partner(s) and children. This makes Bob harder to empathise with. Which is fascinating because the narrator goes to great lengths to demonstrate why Vanise makes the decisions she does (and Claude too, at times). The narrator does not lend this charity to Bob and usually undermimes the moments when Bob is most sympathetic by revealing underlying, self-centred motivations for his thoughts and choices.
The book is compliated and there's a lot to critique and be wary of in it. But I absolutely loved it regardless and will keep reading Banks.
Fascinatin read. Banks's narrator is captivating and their lucidity and awareness is so welcome. I feel like a lot of books I've read recently had entirely unreliable narrators (Kavan's Ice, Ishiguro's The Unconsoled), but reading this right after Nightbitch, which has a similarly lucid and relfective narrator, was great. Excited to read Cloudsplitter where the narrator is also a character in the story rather than only observer/interpreter.
Much is challening in this story. There are very dark scenes in both Vanise and Bob's lives, though the agent of violence and chaos can appear and often is flipped in each. For Vanise, the world and people around her, Claude, and her baby are the butchers in the pass that kill the Afghans at the start. Bob, on the other hand, seems to have it from both sides. He trusts the wrong people and is screwed over deeply, but he unleashes verbal at and physical violence around his partner(s) and children. This makes Bob harder to empathise with. Which is fascinating because the narrator goes to great lengths to demonstrate why Vanise makes the decisions she does (and Claude too, at times). The narrator does not lend this charity to Bob and usually undermimes the moments when Bob is most sympathetic by revealing underlying, self-centred motivations for his thoughts and choices.
The book is compliated and there's a lot to critique and be wary of in it. But I absolutely loved it regardless and will keep reading Banks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, Confinement, Rape, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, and Trafficking
Minor: Deportation and War
Banks generally handles these topics and related scenes well. There are scenes of violent repeated rape and confinement, however, but they can be anticipated (it is never sudden) and pretty safely skipped without losing too much story context. The exception iskatecurry's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75