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dannb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.25
Yowza!
Fascinating and definitely research. Pulitzer winner
Sooooo much detail... especially if you want to know about 1/2 of the OT Bible
A solid look into family, farming, scholarly, race-relations life in the 1830s-1859.
If you want a Harper's Ferry focused book, this might not be the one... only the last 5% or so of this one.
Fascinating and definitely research. Pulitzer winner
Sooooo much detail... especially if you want to know about 1/2 of the OT Bible
A solid look into family, farming, scholarly, race-relations life in the 1830s-1859.
If you want a Harper's Ferry focused book, this might not be the one... only the last 5% or so of this one.
katzreads's review against another edition
2.0
I gave this 750+ bestseller 135 pages to engage me. And while it was interesting, it was dense and slow and I just couldn't do it.
lelandbuck's review against another edition
2.0
This was a long slog. An exercise in perseverance that sadly never delivered a suitable reward.
mcrammal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A beautifully and poetically written tale about a man who never left his fathers shadow or learned how to live without him. Going beyond the showcasing of life before the Civil War in the United States as well as our complicated relationship with race, this novel also explores the existential angst that comes with struggling to figure out who you are and a lifetime of regret.
rachelsbooks23's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sheltoneezer's review against another edition
5.0
“Father believed that the universe was a gigantic clockwork, brilliantly lit. But it’s not. It’s an endless sea of darkness moving beneath a dark sky, between which, isolate bits of light, we constantly rise and fall.”
One of the best books I’ve read in long while. It’s a doozy, but the payoff is well worth the effort. Highly recommend.
One of the best books I’ve read in long while. It’s a doozy, but the payoff is well worth the effort. Highly recommend.
aegisnyc's review against another edition
5.0
Disturbing, enlightening, beautiful. Fought the impulse to read some of Banks' lyrical passages aloud.
taigh's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
jessby's review against another edition
5.0
An epic novel relating the life and times of John Brown, American abolitionist, told through the eyes of his son Owen. It was long, but thoroughly immersive, and I savoured every page.
Brown was a very interesting man. A committed Christian and thoroughly opposed to black slavery, he becomes more and more unhinged as the novel progresses. It is a study of the descent into the madness that is extremism, albeit for a moral and just cause.
Owen carries a lot of guilt for surviving the Harpers Ferry siege, which resulted in the deaths of many family members and friends. It is interesting to consider whether this is typical "survivors guilt" or whether he ultimately had such influence over his father that what began as a relatively peaceful process to protect black slaves, was overrun by Owen's desire for "action, action, action", and was what ultimately morphed the crusade into murder by negligence.
Also of interest was the religious extremism theme. Of course the cause was a worthy and admirable one, and some causes may be worth the cost of your life. However the turning point for me was the cold blooded murder of 3 pro-slavery men, together with the idea that God was speaking directly and exclusively to Old Brown himself. From this point on there was complete rejection of negotiation and martyrdom seemed inevitable.
At what point do we stop talking and become people of decision and action?
Can we pull back to conversation from there or does it have to be a one way street?
Does the end justify the means? And most importantly, how can you decide that when cost is unknown at the beginning?
Brown was a very interesting man. A committed Christian and thoroughly opposed to black slavery, he becomes more and more unhinged as the novel progresses. It is a study of the descent into the madness that is extremism, albeit for a moral and just cause.
Owen carries a lot of guilt for surviving the Harpers Ferry siege, which resulted in the deaths of many family members and friends. It is interesting to consider whether this is typical "survivors guilt" or whether he ultimately had such influence over his father that what began as a relatively peaceful process to protect black slaves, was overrun by Owen's desire for "action, action, action", and was what ultimately morphed the crusade into murder by negligence.
Also of interest was the religious extremism theme. Of course the cause was a worthy and admirable one, and some causes may be worth the cost of your life. However the turning point for me was the cold blooded murder of 3 pro-slavery men, together with the idea that God was speaking directly and exclusively to Old Brown himself. From this point on there was complete rejection of negotiation and martyrdom seemed inevitable.
At what point do we stop talking and become people of decision and action?
Can we pull back to conversation from there or does it have to be a one way street?
Does the end justify the means? And most importantly, how can you decide that when cost is unknown at the beginning?
jkbartlett's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant. Now one of my favorites and what I think is the best of Russell Banks (which is saying something after Affliction and The Sweet Hereafter).
There are few more fascinating enigmas in American history than John Brown and this very lengthy novel, the story of the Browns by John’s son Owen paints, even with many liberties taken, the beauty and tragedy of an abolitionist movement and the beauty and tragedy of a father and son.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Put aside the worries about its length. There are no dull pages and perhaps you will find, as I need, a small bit of hope I’m the darkest hours of American history.
Wonderful.
There are few more fascinating enigmas in American history than John Brown and this very lengthy novel, the story of the Browns by John’s son Owen paints, even with many liberties taken, the beauty and tragedy of an abolitionist movement and the beauty and tragedy of a father and son.
I cannot recommend this book enough. Put aside the worries about its length. There are no dull pages and perhaps you will find, as I need, a small bit of hope I’m the darkest hours of American history.
Wonderful.