Sweet Hereafter: A Novel by Russell Banks Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Sweet Hereafter: A Novel
Book Review: It is a little sad, a little twisted, but a good book.
Summary: 3 Stars
As soon as I started reading the "Billy Ansel" portion of the book, I knew why my teacher had us read it. His goal was for us was to understand the diversity of the characters and the perception of each by different people in the novel. He couldn't have picked a better book. When I first started the book, Dolores was just a lady driving a school bus. Her knowledge of the others in her town was your basic gossip. She knew enough to fill you in on the people. And then Billy, "...at the moment it [the accident] occured I was thinking about f***ing Risa Walker"(37). Needless to say, my jaw dropped. That was the last thing I expected. I enjoyed the chance to look into the characters' minds and to see things from their point of view. I got to see how they reacted to their surroundings and to each other. Each believed that they knew everything about each other when no one really knew the truths. Each character had his or her own secrets that no one knew about. I liked the way Banks worked in Zoe, Stephins daughter. Stephins had lost his daughter to drugs. He felt helpless just like the parents of Sam Dent. Over all, I enjoyed the book. It was a little sad, a little twisted, but good.Book Review: An excellent outline of the effects tragedy has on a town.
Summary: 5 Stars
I felt that the story was very well presented and quite touching. I think Banks was able to comminicate the details of the accident without being objective. I feel that accidents help people understand themselves better. They need to be opened and explored by the people involved to better see the porblems. I think that Banks did this and was able to prove that accidents are accidents and no one should be blamed.Book Review: An excellent outline of the effects tragedy has on a town.
Summary: 5 Stars
I felt that the story was very well presented and quite touching. I think Banks was able to comminicate the details of the accident without being objective. I feel that accidents help people understand themselves better. They need to be opened and explored by the people involved to better see the porblems. I think that Banks did this and was able to prove that accidents are accidents and no one should be blamed.Book Review: This book has an issue for everyone-a must read!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The Sweet Hereafter is a compelling novel of a small town in America that has to overcome a devasating tragedy.The novel is written from the perspective of four completely different narrators which is what makes the story so interesting. The way Russel Banks portrays each character can make even the most insensitive reader identify with them. The language he uses can make you almost hear the character speaking and makes them seem more realistic. A reader from any cultural background can read this book and get the feeling of a small town in America and sympathize with the characters in it. The novel is written so well that every point of view can be clearly seen even when the characters are expressing some of their negative attributes.
The way the people deal with the accident is what is so compelling because their lives can be altered in a positive or very negative way depending on how they deal with the influx of big city lawyers and media.This novel gives you an in depth look at how ordinary people deal with pain and loss. We see how certain relationships deteriorate and others develop after the tragedy. The way they see each other and the way the reader sees the characters will change drastically from beginning to end.
There are themes in this novel for everyone from secret affairs, loss of loved ones, alcoholism, selfishness, divorce and the need to blame others are just a few. Anyone can get involved in this book and will most probably see some aspects of their own lives in it.
The outcome of the novel was pleasantly surprising but it is inevitable to have a slight feeling of sadness for some of the characters. It is very realistic but not at all dull, everyone has to read this book!
Book Review: A close look at small town tragedy,from eyes of four people.
Summary: 4 Stars
The Sweet Hereafter is a realistic tale about the small town of Sam Dent through the eyes and minds of four people. Sam Dent is shattered by a tragic school bus accident were many children die or are injured. Four people are now fatally linked by this tragedy:
We experience the accident first hand through the eyes of the bus driver, Dolores Driscoll. Banks lets us peek into her psyche as she contemplates her part in the accident. She questions herself and is quite willing to accept her fate, yet she lacks the courage to declare her innocence.
Behind the bus at the time of the accident is Billy Ansel, a Marine Vietnam veteran. He not only witnesses the crash but also the deaths of his two children, the only thing he had to live for. We delve into his mind and explore his thoughts and feelings. Billy Ansel has a tragic story of his own: once a war hero, now little more than broken man with a heart of stone. Ansel becomes a mentor for Nichole Burnell, and though he is a tragic hero gone to alcoholism we can not help but admire his morals that help inspire Nichole Burnell to rebel against parasitic lawyer types.
Mitchell Stephens is one of those big city lawyers that plagues Sam Dent in a time of tragedy. Banks allows us to see that he is not just one of those big city lawyers, Mitchell Stephens is a human as well. We experience life through his eyes, and we learn that even a lawyer has his own morals.
Nichole Burnell is the queen of her class. Her destiny to become a rising star is given a violent turn as she is maimed by the accident. The heroine of the story comes to terms with herself and other darker conflicts of her past; and by doing this she is able to save the town from itself.
Russell Banks has allowed us to experience the strife created in a small town. This could of happened to anybody in any town. His characters could of been us or they could of been somebody we know-- that is how realistically he portrays them. The story is so realistic you must remind yourself that you got this book from the FICTION section of the bookstore. And by reading this we realize that there is no such thing as a villain in true life, just people trying to make their way in the world.