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mimooo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
absolutely should be canonical american literature
i get why white studies doesn't need to be a thing because basically this book contains all you need to know about the meaning and what must be the final thesis and reckoning of whiteness in this country, that is, to struggle and die to atone for all the lives stolen across the Atlantic and to struggle to the death against the pure satanic evil at the core of this country's wealth and history.
but in all seriousness one of the best books i have ever read. psychological fiction grounded in the sublime landscape of the Adirondacks, the Kansan plains, wooded small towns, and the festering cities of Boston and London AND also a crazy depiction of the violence of can I say premodern times and the rhythm of labor.....
and also at the center of it all a ghost story. owen brown as the occulted shadow of john brown-- by his own admission the Iago whispering the downfall of john brown but also by his own admission Isaac the sacrifice of Abraham but also an Isaac who had no god but John Brown, who was saved by nothing but the sheer abrasive violent clarity of john brown from suicide. but who, from lack of belief, ended up alive, as a ghost, alone, occulted, devoid of meaning, unable to live and unable to die but to tell this story. someone who was chasing death and could not live like the others but who loved someone so much, or can we say lived so fully from the light of one sole God, that when that one died, death also became meaningless. ... Owen Brown a fully real character, someone who became an avatar of violence when Lyman died and Died again at harper's Ferry when he lost his God but Owen brown the narrator as no one at all.......
the bulk of the book is this amazing riveting depiction of a family's struggle to stay alive while refusing to abide by the pure evil that surrounds them in many forms including liberals' fantasy of a "gradual" "nonviolent" end to slavery and the vultures that are eastern seaboard creditors driving a yeoman farming family to ruin. but the last hundred or so pages are an account of the jokerfication of owen after blaming himself for the death of the love of his life (spoiler: he's a very very sad introspective gay man) and throwing himself and his loved ones into a righteous path of violence (which is only an emotional outlet for him and which possibility his father created for him in the first place), only he himself doesn't even believe in the righteousness and it leads many brave and innocent souls to death because they do believe that this is a stand against satan.....Whooooo boy.... how much of this was true of owen brown? I hope none, it would be too much to handle.
regardless in real life john brown is one of the truly heroic white american martyrs alongside the rosenbergs, rachel corrie, gary webb, maybe some others.... but may his soul go marching on.
i get why white studies doesn't need to be a thing because basically this book contains all you need to know about the meaning and what must be the final thesis and reckoning of whiteness in this country, that is, to struggle and die to atone for all the lives stolen across the Atlantic and to struggle to the death against the pure satanic evil at the core of this country's wealth and history.
but in all seriousness one of the best books i have ever read. psychological fiction grounded in the sublime landscape of the Adirondacks, the Kansan plains, wooded small towns, and the festering cities of Boston and London AND also a crazy depiction of the violence of can I say premodern times and the rhythm of labor.....
and also at the center of it all a ghost story. owen brown as the occulted shadow of john brown-- by his own admission the Iago whispering the downfall of john brown but also by his own admission Isaac the sacrifice of Abraham but also an Isaac who had no god but John Brown, who was saved by nothing but the sheer abrasive violent clarity of john brown from suicide. but who, from lack of belief, ended up alive, as a ghost, alone, occulted, devoid of meaning, unable to live and unable to die but to tell this story. someone who was chasing death and could not live like the others but who loved someone so much, or can we say lived so fully from the light of one sole God, that when that one died, death also became meaningless. ... Owen Brown a fully real character, someone who became an avatar of violence when Lyman died and Died again at harper's Ferry when he lost his God but Owen brown the narrator as no one at all.......
the bulk of the book is this amazing riveting depiction of a family's struggle to stay alive while refusing to abide by the pure evil that surrounds them in many forms including liberals' fantasy of a "gradual" "nonviolent" end to slavery and the vultures that are eastern seaboard creditors driving a yeoman farming family to ruin. but the last hundred or so pages are an account of the jokerfication of owen after blaming himself for the death of the love of his life (spoiler: he's a very very sad introspective gay man) and throwing himself and his loved ones into a righteous path of violence (which is only an emotional outlet for him and which possibility his father created for him in the first place), only he himself doesn't even believe in the righteousness and it leads many brave and innocent souls to death because they do believe that this is a stand against satan.....Whooooo boy.... how much of this was true of owen brown? I hope none, it would be too much to handle.
regardless in real life john brown is one of the truly heroic white american martyrs alongside the rosenbergs, rachel corrie, gary webb, maybe some others.... but may his soul go marching on.
smoralesjr's review against another edition
5.0
It took me three months to get through it but it was worth it. An inspiring and enjoyable read.
utopologist's review against another edition
4.0
There's a lot to like here if you're willing to go along with a sometimes meandering and very long journey. The prose is lush, both in describing the day to day of life in the mid-19th century and also in the innermost feelings that we have and never admit to anyone, even ourselves most of the time. I felt like I had known John Brown all my life, even with the unreliable and contradictory narration of Owen. By the end I had a portrait of a deeply flawed but even more deeply noble and principled man who felt the injustice of slavery in the marrow of his bones.
This is a fictional account, even if much of it is based off of information we know is true, and where it loses a star is in the subtle shift around halfway or two-thirds through where Owen reveals that he is the one who pushed Brown into actually taking up arms and going through with his most audacious actions. Owen becomes this calculating and experienced tactician very suddenly, and I never felt like he had "earned" that shift.
Beautiful book, though, even if Banks ultimately comes away seeming a little conflicted about whether or not John Brown was an insane religious zealot with noble goals or if he was a fervently religious but morally committed and consistent fighter.
This is a fictional account, even if much of it is based off of information we know is true, and where it loses a star is in the subtle shift around halfway or two-thirds through where Owen reveals that he is the one who pushed Brown into actually taking up arms and going through with his most audacious actions. Owen becomes this calculating and experienced tactician very suddenly, and I never felt like he had "earned" that shift.
Beautiful book, though, even if Banks ultimately comes away seeming a little conflicted about whether or not John Brown was an insane religious zealot with noble goals or if he was a fervently religious but morally committed and consistent fighter.
pattieod's review against another edition
4.0
On one hand, it's a bit of a slog, but on the other hand, it's Russell Banks, so you're always in good hands.
carly_they_themsen's review against another edition
4.5
it took me like a year to finish reading this book but it has some of the best prose ive ever read, also owen brown was an egg lol
ecari's review against another edition
1.0
I technically haven't read this book - I stopped about 200 pages in (which is only about halfway). I just couldn't make it - it was too long and too detailed somehow, to the point that I was just losing the string. It was recommended to me highly so I've put it aside to try again some other time - perhaps I just wasn't in the right frame of mind/time of life/whatever with this first attempt!?
misslezlee's review against another edition
3.0
I didn’t realize when I bought this kindle edition that it was a veritable tome - some 700 pages long. I didn’t really know what the subject matter was either ( I didn’t intend to read two books about the Underground Railway in the same month). I must have been swayed by the magnificent photograph on the cover and by the fact that Russell Banks is the author. Of course I knew the song, “John Brown’s body ....” but I didn’t know who he was as he didn’t figure in my English high school history lessons. Now I know.
I’m surprised I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. The story is pretty dry, there are long passages of speeches (could do with some editing as suggested by other reviewers), and there’s not really a lot happens until Harpers Ferry at the very end. But there are whole episodes of lovely writing and the main character, Brown’s son, Owen, is very interesting.
I’m surprised I enjoyed this novel as much as I did. The story is pretty dry, there are long passages of speeches (could do with some editing as suggested by other reviewers), and there’s not really a lot happens until Harpers Ferry at the very end. But there are whole episodes of lovely writing and the main character, Brown’s son, Owen, is very interesting.
kingfan30's review against another edition
3.0
I started off enjoying this book, the underground rail road helping slaves north to freedom was not something I had read or heard about before and I found it interesting. But about half way through the book describes the family's financial problems and a trip to England with their wool to try and make their fortune. It could have been covered over a few pages not the amount of space it was given, it did not really ad anything to the story and was not that interesting. Also the religious aspects were getting more and more often with passages quoted from the bible, not my sort of thing I'm afraid.
The characters are not particularly likeable, John is quite frankly barking mad, which becomes more and more evident as the book goes on. Owen the son and narrater is quite winy, would this book have been better from johns perspective?
The scenes of domesticated life were at times shocking, so many people on so little room. So many babies lost to child birth or illness. And how the wife felt at being left so often while her husband and eldest sons went off to rescue slaves / fight for the cause, I have no idea.
The book is building up the whole time to a big battle at harpers ferry, so I was surprised that so few pages were dedicated to this in the end. And although it was all in a good cause there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary blood letting.
Worth a read but quite a bit if skimming was done over the religious passages.
The characters are not particularly likeable, John is quite frankly barking mad, which becomes more and more evident as the book goes on. Owen the son and narrater is quite winy, would this book have been better from johns perspective?
The scenes of domesticated life were at times shocking, so many people on so little room. So many babies lost to child birth or illness. And how the wife felt at being left so often while her husband and eldest sons went off to rescue slaves / fight for the cause, I have no idea.
The book is building up the whole time to a big battle at harpers ferry, so I was surprised that so few pages were dedicated to this in the end. And although it was all in a good cause there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary blood letting.
Worth a read but quite a bit if skimming was done over the religious passages.