- Hardcover: 257 pages
- Publisher: Harpercollins; First Edition edition (Sep 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0060167033
- ISBN-13: 978-0060167035
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 13.2 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,808,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Written by the author of "Continental Drift", this novel explores a small town's response to the inexplicable loss of its children in a school bus accident.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
After a bus accident kills several children in a small town, everyone needs someone to blame. Russell Banks tells this story well by focussing on only a few characters and letting us get into their heads by way of switching narrators, among whom are parents of the dead children, a teenager who survived the accident, the bus driver, and a lawyer in town to get rich off of the accident. Banks is unwavering in his portrayal of immense grief and you feel by the end as though you personally know the characters. I read this only after seeing the movie and was not disappointed
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On the surface, The Sweet Hereafter, by Russell Banks, seems to be a story about how the small town of Sam Dent in upper New York state deals with the accidental deaths of several of its children. However, the novel more deeply examines the way different members of the community deal with the tragedy. Four characters each narrate a portion of the story, and each narrator has a unique way of viewing and interpreting the events that have taken place. Each narrator brings his or her own life experiences into the description of the events surrounding the accident. The combination of each narrator's version of the truth allows the reader to come to his or her own conclusion about who, if anyone, is responsible for the suffering that this small town has experienced. People believe what they want to believe, and, as a result, the truth (or the most sensible version of the truth) often becomes clouded. The bus accident that killed several of the children of Sam Dent had very different effects on each of the citizens of the town. While some feel like their lives have been torn apart by the accident; others, like the character of Nichole Burnell, a survivor of the crash, feel that they have been liberated by it. Most lives were changed by the accident, but Nichole's life actually improved because of the accident. After the crash, Nichole had the emotional strength to deal with the problems that had been present in her family for years. The author's use of different writing styles for each of the different characters makes the novel truly believeable. Each narrator is given his or her own individual voice. No character is similar to any of the others, and it is this distinct voice that makes each character's account of the accident worth reading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Meaning beyond blame
Mitchell Stephens, the admittedly angry New York City negligence lawyer from Banks' "The Sweet Hereafter" runs through a litany of societal problems that have caused a... Read more
Published on 27 Jun 2002
The Sweet Hereafter was very entertaining and realistic.
The Sweet Hereafter was a book that I chose to read after I saw the movie. I liked the movie a lot and decided to give the book a try. Read more
Published on 1 Jun 1999
Great book
A lot of other people have reviewed this book, probably better than I could do. I'll just add my two cents, it's a terrific book.
Published on 14 April 1999
A Quick Lesson in Objectivity
Russell Banks has written a strange book that tells the tale ofa terrible school bus accident which kills 17 children from four different perspectives including: the bus driver, a... Read more
Published on 14 Feb 1999
thought provoking
This book caused me to put myself in many different people's shoes in a tragic situation. It made me think about what I would do in a situation like that and how I would feel. Read more
Published on 12 Nov 1998
This book was insightful, but a bit... blah.
The Sweet Hereafter draws you into a small town in upstate New York, Sam Dent, giving you insigt to a tragedy of immense porportions. Read more
Published on 30 Oct 1998
Extremely captivating and wonderfully written book!
The Sweet Here After By Russell Banks
This was an amazing and captivating story of a small town and how they survived a tragic experience. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 1998
It's a good book of understandng different points of view.
I found The Sweet Hereafter by Russell Banks to be a really good book on the differences in peoples character. Read more
Published on 26 Oct 1998
This is a great book. Everyone should read it.
The Sweet Hereafter is an imperious novel about how a small town in upper New York responds to the loss of many of their children in a school bus accident. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 1998
This is a great book. Everyone should read it.
The Sweet Hereafter is an imperious novel about how a small town in upper New York responds to the loss of many of their children in a school bus accident. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 1998
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