of the most beautiful writing I've read, on what it means to be human, I picked it up to examine its unusual point of viewthe story is told by the protagonist's brother, not actually present for the events, Also admired its use of setting, The book moves slowly, in the way literary fiction often does, but the rewards are rich characters and a true world, Affliction was the first novel I have read by Russell Banks, This is a difficult novel and a difficult author to which to describe my reactions, There is a realism here that some part of me feels that I should appreciate and should
benefit from, In the back of my mind, though, I cant help but think of Russell Banks as Richard Russo with a very negative world view, The setting for Russell Banks is New Hampshire versus Russos upper New York state, Similar small town trying to survive given the loss of the historical businesses that created it in the first place, Most inhabitants of the world that Russell Banks creates are just surviving, The story, though, is very well told for the most part, and there is depth and a richness to the characters, I enjoyed the writing I found it simple, unpretentious and consistent with the story being told, I didnt find myself really liking any of the main characters, but that isnt a requirement as long as they are engaging, I think one of my GR friends said that she needed to see growth in the main characters, I didnt see any character growth here, There are certainly some lessons that can be learned, but struggled to relate to them, So while I respected and admired the end result and found it somewhat engaging, I am not drawn to it and am not sure I will read more of Russell Banks.
There is just too much more to enjoy, Set in small town New Hampshire, New York or Vermont, or Maine, this is the story of all the little humiliations that pile up over a working class white guy's lifetime until they burst out in the 'shocking' act: burning down the hated house, killing the dog, the cat, and whoever else is around.
Russell Banks details all the invisible insults that are sucked in only to culminate in the shocking one inch column in the local paper only to disappear the next day into the accumulated lore of a small town.
Indignity to incendiary, the invisible man, so ordinary he's a rarely portrayed character, this book makes him visible in superb psychological detail that produces empathy, For that reason it is an important book, I am overwhelmed with awe at the perfection of this book, It is set just a few miles from my childhood home, with characters so finely drawn that I could see and hear them, though admittedly I am already familiar with this particular population.
This concept of a life balanced on the fulcrum of time and circumstance is one that I agree with wholeheartedly, Watching this particular life as it sways and teeters, as a few random events, assumptions and reactions tip it over in a dizzying and dramatic manner, is fascinating and heartbreaking and completely believable.
My favorite book of the year, This book was hard work and not even that rewarding as I'd previously seen Paul Schrader's wonderful movie several times, Sure having the impressive and powerful performance from Nick Nolte in mind throughout added a little extra oomph to proceedings but beyond that my efforts in reading this depressing and slow moving novel were not rewarded.
Disappointment rules OK.
Of course I should have done this the other way around, devouring the literary wonder of Russell Banks before embarking on the same journey filtered through the warped mind of Paul Schrader but I was a film student, what do you expect
Affliction is the story of Wade Whitehouse and how he came to commit horrific crimes before disappearing in to the snowy wilderness of New Hampshire, USA.
It is a story told retrospectively by his brother who has interviewed the townsfolk in an attempt to piece together the events surrounding the behaviour of Wade and perhaps find some closure in its telling.
It starts off slow, the narration occasionally repetitive, far too much time spent on discussing the history of the town and the townsfolk yet you are slowly becoming part of this world and as Wade Whitehouse falls apart you can't stop reading.
Banks has written a powerful novel featuring remarkable characters and seemingly authentic dialogue, I highly recommend reading it if you are yet to see the movie, you're sure to enjoy this one a great deal without the prior knowledge, Of course you could skip the book and just revel in the award winning performances of Nick Nolte and James Coburn, I liked this book. But I was quite shocked to come across this passage from a book written inbold and censoring mine:
"'Maybe we could sneak that through the budget next town meeting, a new car for Wade Whitehouse.
Get you a fullsized Olds or something, or a Bronco, not one of them little Kcars that fcking Lee Iacocca makes, That guy gets to me, you know' he went on, swiveling his chair around and swinging his legs up onto the desktop, 'First he goes broke, then he gets the taxpayers to bail him out, then he comes on like Captain Capitalism, like he's running for fcking president, Him and that guy Donald Trump, Fcking guys feed at the public trough, and when they get rich from it, they turn into Republicans, I always liked it that you're a Democrat, Wade, You and me,' he said smiling broadly and, to Wade, looking a whole lot like Lee Iacocca himself, "
Looks like Russell Banks predicted the future! Quando avevooanni provavo una sorta di oscura fascinazione mista a timore per quei compagni di scuola solitamente pluribocciati che erano sempre in prima linea quando si trattava di fare a botte, provocare, atteggiarsi da duro o millantare vere/presunte imprese che riguardassero ragazze, bravate o abusi di alcol.
A quell'età non mi domandavo cosa ci fosse dietro quella maschera, dietro quel personaggio che veniva interpretato immancabilmente ogni mattina, né potevo sapere quale dolore l'avesse generato,
Leggendo il meraviglioso "Tormenta" di Russell Banks ho riprovato vividamente quella sensazione di inconfessabile ammirazione preadolescenziale, finalmente libera dal protetto perbenismo dell'educazione provinciale e rivisitata alla luce dell'esperienza di un adulto.
La disperata esistenza del protagonista Wade Whitehouse è figlia di un'infanzia difficile, dell'impossibilità di uscire da soli dal personaggio che ci si è costruiti e dai pregiudizi che ne conseguono, da un desiderio/aspettativa di redenzione che passa attraverso l'immagine irraggiungibile di un sé ideale.
"Tormenta" è una tristemente reale discesa negli inferi di un uomo prigioniero del proprio passato, dei propri fallimenti, delle proprie frustrazioni Russell Banks tiene in mano saldamente le redini della narrazione che, soprattutto nella prima parte, è spettacolare per come riesce a calare il lettore nel contesto geografico, sociale, climatico e relazionale di un piccolo paese del New Hampshire attraverso splendide e minuziose descrizioni dei protagonisti, del panorama, della ritualità.
Un unico appunto che mi sento di fare ad un libro altrimenti eccellente è l'eccessiva invadenza del narratore onniscente nell'ultima parte del libro: il ritmo ne risulta troppo frammentato e si perde un po' la tensione che Banks era riuscito a costruire nelle primepagine.
In ogni caso si tratta di un romanzo che consiglierei senza dubbi, probabilmente uno dei migliori letti in questo, Wade Whitehouse. One of the most fleshed out characters in literature, At least in my opinion, A fleshed out form played out in the body and mind of Nick Nolte, Nick Nolte for me epitomizes Wade, That is why anyone who reads this book should definitely see the movie, "Affliction", I thought recently of who else could play Wade, Two other guys might have succeeded, Gary Busey and Jeff Conaway, Why Because I believe it takes a broken, hardened man to play that role, Busey would probably have bordered on the buffoonish, Conaway may have faired a bit better, Nolte though captures the pain and brokenness of Wade completely,
This is my second time reading "Affliction", The first time I was completely blown away by it, I loved it! That and "The Sweet Hereafter" also written by Banks, This time around after having a bit more writing skill under my belt I could find the various points where Banks faltered a bit, The descriptions are weighty and dripping with symbolism, However, taken as a whole they are appropriate,
Wade's undoing is the greatest part of this book, The greatest and the most tragic, Tragic because I really felt for Wade, he tried so hard, However, as Banks' shows you, Wade simply does not know how to get beyond himself, Friends and family dub him as "becoming his father" which I don't think at all, but it is a label that Wade cannot escape and it eventually consumes him.
Spoiler alert: I read this story out loud to my husband and he was surprised that the final confrontation between Wade and his father happened so quickly and then it was over.
It was not dragged out, But really It can't be dragged out, What Wade did to his father would have happened in real life just as it happened in the book, It would have been that fast and I think Banks did that on purpose, He did this simply to show the strength that Wade's father had even though his body was weak and frail, The build up took so long that when the final act took place you knew it was going to be quick, An elderly man in no way could stand up to a physical powerhouse such as Wade,
My husband was also surprised that Wade did not take out more people such as Gordon LaRiviere, But I believe Wade was simply doing what he could from stopping the cycle from happening again, So he only took out his father and Jack, the closest person that resembled himself,
A brilliant book. Don't expect any happy endings for there are none, However, you will find yourself drawn to Wade and the rest of the town of Lawford, Sadly you will also realize at the end that Wade is the proverbial infection in the town and once he is gone the town thrives, .