Rating: 
Summary: Another Bank's great
Review: Why do bad things happen to good people? Because their parents (stink). At least that's one of the messages that Russell Banks conveys in this dark tale of past abuses causing irrepriable emotional scars. Banks, once again, clearly illustrates that we are, at times, a product of our parents' emotional well being. Wade Whitehouse is a drinker, a loser and a clown. He makes his daughter miserable through his misguided ability to show her love. Yet, through it all, Banks makes you understand and feel empathy for Whitehouse. Most frightening, is that in Banks' writing(Continental Drift, The Sweet Hereafter) the alienation and loneliness he describes is frequently part of all of our lives. He is perhaps our best writer for our times.
Rating:
Summary: Banks is the master at writing men at moments of decision
Review: You're not going to like any of the men in Affliction, but you will care about them nonetheless. This is an excellent book that's not afraid to show real relationships and embarass its protagonist in the process. It is an easy read because the points are not subtle--a legacy of violence is the theme and it is discussed on every page. You'll zip through this.
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