Sweet Hereafter: A Novel by Russell Banks
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Book Reviews of Sweet Hereafter: A Novel
Book Review: A Tragedy and Its Aftermath
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautifully written book about the aftermath of a tragedy in a small New England town. A school bus accident kills many of the town's children and the novel examines the complexity of grief, hope, and the need for assignment of blame - - blame to make sense of and sort out the unfathomable. It examines how people withdraw into themselves, uniting only in the commonality of their shared tragedy. Each person deals with the tragedy deeply and we are given witness to the strength and resilience of some vs. the fragility and hopelessness of others.
The novel is told from the vantage point of three townspeople - - the bus driver, a 14 year-old survivor and the parent of 2 dead children - - and a lawyer. The lawyer has come to town to find clients in order to build a case and help assign blame.
This is an incredible book, multi-layered, beautifully written, and one that you will not soon forget.
Book Review: Infinitely sad and yet almost therapeutic
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the story of a town that lost many of its children in a schoolbus accident. I read this book a long time ago after suffering a great loss of my own, but rather than making me sadder strangely it made me feel better. Banks communicates the terrible loneliness and isolation that surrounds and overwhelms the parents, the surviving victim, and even an attorney who is planning to sue for damages (who has himself lost a daughter to drugs). Banks' chacters have feelings that are genuine and human rather than stereotypically "bad" or "good." Because the characters are flawed and struggling with those faults, it avoids sentimentality. I identified with many of them.
If you have avoided this book because of its tragic story, I urge you, "Don't". I can think of no other author who can convey the emotions of ordinary people as well as Banks.
I would not have believed it, but it made me feel better.
Book Review: Perhaps the most haunting story I have ever read
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Sweet Hereafter" startled me as, I guess, all books which you're not expecting to be as good as they are do. It is an amazing story, with lines that made me have to put the book down and say to myself, "Wow." Its depiction of a town trying to rebuild itself after a bus crash kills 14 of its children and the themes it presents, such as the human need to blame, are haunting. I find myself seeing its themes in my everyday life--that's how well Russell Banks depicts who we are and why we are. There are so many things I could say about the book, but that would take up more lines than would probably be appropriate. I simply recommend this wonderful story to everyone, and suggest that they read the book before they see the movie--the movie is also beautifully done with right-on performances, but it misses things that only can be found in the book that are worth knowing.Book Review: Definitely A Good Read
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sweet Hereafter is a definate must read. The plot gets you interested and keeps you there, it flows extremely well, and it is very easy to relate to. The different viewpoints of the book work well together to show you an all-around view of what happens to a small, poor town when the unthinkable happens. Russel Banks portrays every sort of stand, from guilt, to mourning, to anger, to helplessness, by looking at the tragedy from the viewpoints of the driver who blames herself, the mourning father, the anger-filled lawyer, and a survivor of the wreck who will be crippled for life. The reader feels a certain connection to the characters in the novel, likes them, dislikes them, feels their pain and their sorrow. But all around it is a lesson in viewing with an open mind a situation and the way people react to not only this tragedy, but everyday life.Book Review: So good it's criminal
Summary: 5 Stars
...He's a modern day Ernest Hemingway, very simple but incrediblly complex. It's full of love, humour, mystery, tension, soul searching and double edged swords. It's big city meets small town and it's a clash of two different worlds.Billy Ansell is one of the most dynamic characters ever in the rpinted word. He suffers from the death of his wife, but has to add to that the death of his kids. He remains a champion of human decency when he deals with Mitchell Stephens, as complex a character can get without carrying his skeletons with him instead of leaving them in the closet.
The story is simple and complex, thus comes the movie tagline, "There is no such thing as the simple truth." The simple truth is, however, that this is one of the greatest English language novels of the last 20 years. It receives my highest recommendation possible.