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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
This is my second time reading this book, I read it last year. I enjoyed the book as much as I did the first time. This time I read it for a class and hence, analyzing the characters and their stories was fun and required closer reading. The characters were well etched- layered, complex, and specific in all their flaws and virtues. Some of the narratives, like that of Nichole's were resolved more cleanly than seemed realistic. Overall, this is a wonderful achievement in the novel-in-stories category, anyone writing something along those lines will definitely learn a lot from this book. As a reader too, it is absolutely worth your time because even on the second read, I gained so much pleasure from the storytelling and the world he'd created with Sam dent.
If you are impatient, don't read this book. I was pretty bored for the first 80 pages. Somewhere in the middle, though, I got hooked and needed to know the fate of this town and how folks would recover from a fatal school bus accident.
The multiple narrators made me cranky at first. Seriously, bus driver, I don't need to know the exact surface area of everyone's front porch. I get it, lawyer, you are a rage-driven superhero. But then Banks introduced a teenager who survived the accident but was permanently crippled. I loved her voice, and she added a twist to make the story interesting. I then grew to like the annoying lawyer and sentimental bus driver and actually had feelings for the town, which is what Banks was getting at from the beginning.
Banks writes about weird things, and that's why I like him. There's just always a little something missing. I plan to read a couple more of his books; maybe what's missing has something to do with me and I'll get it more as I keep reading him.
The multiple narrators made me cranky at first. Seriously, bus driver, I don't need to know the exact surface area of everyone's front porch. I get it, lawyer, you are a rage-driven superhero. But then Banks introduced a teenager who survived the accident but was permanently crippled. I loved her voice, and she added a twist to make the story interesting. I then grew to like the annoying lawyer and sentimental bus driver and actually had feelings for the town, which is what Banks was getting at from the beginning.
Banks writes about weird things, and that's why I like him. There's just always a little something missing. I plan to read a couple more of his books; maybe what's missing has something to do with me and I'll get it more as I keep reading him.
Banks creates a powerful commentary on loss and the interconnected nature of small town life. The characters are so rich and have such strong voices that I got caught up in this every time I picked it up. Gorgeous and far more uplifting than it sounds.
Captivating from the first word to the last. Banks really did a good job leading me in to this small town and getting to know and love its unique characters. Only lost a star for me because the plot was so damn sad. I was hoping for some kind of healing in the conclusion, but it was too bleak for my taste.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great example of how people's reactions to the same event can vary so widely, both from person to person and within one person over the course of time. A deeply sad novel with wonderfully rendered characters that makes you long for the heavy snow and deep hush of the Adirondacks, until the hush is proven to be made of muffled screams.
What a depressing book! It wasn't written in a particularly tragic way but the subject matter was slightly horrifying and definitely shocking. My favorite section was probably Nichole's because I liked the young voice fitting in with the adults but her chapter creeped me out for obvious reasons. I'm going to go hear Russell Banks speak about this book tomorrow so hopefully he sheds some light on the entire thing.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes