Continental Drift

by Russell Banks

Book Overview

"The most convincing portrait I know of contemporary America . . . a great American novel." -- James Atlas, The Atlantic MonthlyFrom acclaimed author Russell Banks, a masterful novel of hope lost and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060956739
• ISBN13: 9780060956738
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Harpperenm
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.3" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Almost Too deep

This book was suggested to me by a professor (Preston Allen, author of the fine novel Hoochie Mama), whose opinion I respect very much; and thus, I continued reading even when I felt overwhelmed with emotion and was ultimately rewarded with a story that is really two stories. Mr. Banks is perhaps the finest writer I have ever read, his prose refined to the point of being almost too self-conscious. He is a master at making the reader FEEL for his characters. So I followed the main character from the Northeast to Miami, as he fled his boring life and found himself in more trouble than he knew was possible. That first story, surface story, works because of rich writing and some semblance of plot. As a Haitian American, I had a serious problem with the second main story (especially because of Banks' fine style), Claude and Vanise's story. I wept. It was fiction, but I wept. I remembered how I came here as a small boy. I remembered what happened to my mother, but I won't go into that. And I was angry because Mr. Banks is not Haitian. I kept waiting for him to get it wrong--there were some stereotypical things, but they were minor. This is the story I kept wishing someone would write. Both Haitians and Cubans see Miami as a haven from poverty and political oppression in their countries, but America usually sees only the Cubans as deserving of refuge. I am still a bit bothered that Banks is not Haitian, but for selfish reasons I wish every American would read this book. I number it among my favorites of all time.

Morally adrift in contemporary America

Truly a great book of the past few decades. Continental Drift parallels the lives of two individuals co-existing in North America. The main character, Bob Dubois, is a mediciocre, who flees his drab life in New Hampshire for the riches of Florida. In the process, Banks comments on racism, sex and materialism. In contrast, is the tragic story of a young Haitian woman seeking the American dream. Bob Dubois is a ghost of man morally; adrift in a society that rewards greed, consumerism and de-emphasizes love and committment. The Haitian story reflects on poverty and the moral bankrupcy it extracts. Russell Banks is one of our best writers today. Don't miss this book.

Excellent

This is Banks' finest novel.Bob Dubois, is a powerful and well developed protagonist; a blue-collar worker in snowy New Hampshire who tries to escape the hopelessness of his dead-end existence and fizzling marriage by traveling south to Florida. But Bob loses control of his situation, and his predestined path is dictated by forces outside of his control, just as plate tectonics dictates the drift of our wayward continents. Dubois is a beautifully written character. He's a moral man who tries to do the right thing, and in the end it's his morality that brings the tragedy to its conclusion. On the other side of this collision course are two Hatian immigrants with which Bob shares everything and nothing. Banks once again shows his knowledge of Caribbean cultures - a reoccurring theme in his novels. Love, sex, desperation, hope, good vs. evil, racism, free-will versus destiny, these are all elements interwoven into a tightly written story. An excellent novel.

Making it Easier to Move Around

Continental Drift is a difficult book. Emotionally astute and patient in its details, it drives us through the grim particulars of lives in migration. These characters travel with poorly imagined maps and limited scope of expectation, and we (with the benefit of an aerial perspective) see their mistakes and imminent misfortunes long before they do. The book succeeds because its grimness is redeemed at the story's beginning and its end. Early in the book Banks claims that human migration is an effort to mimic larger forces, and therefore it is heroic. Then, after the trials of the migration--when you're weeping for the misfotune of characters you've gotten to know quite well and asking "why didn't they just stay home?"--Banks steps outside of his long story once more. In this epilogue he refers to the celebration and grief that accompany the close of a book and he hopes that, through caring for the lives of his characters, the greed and distrust that makes it so difficult for us to move amongst each other will be weakened.

Incredibly thought provoking,beautifully written

This was one of the best books I've ever read. I learned alot from this book,alot about my own life and the lives of the people around me.Russell Banks hits quite a few nerves in his depiction of the American Dream and all the trappings of our overly materialistic,shallow lives. Banks beautifully blends two seperate lives on a collision course with destiny.Human nature at its best and its worst.Everyone should be able to identify with the main character Bob Dubois, a tragic figure who doesnt know who he is or what he wants.Life just happens to him. On the other side is Vanise Dorsinville and her nephew Claude two poor Haitians who seek a new life in America.The misery they endure will haunt you.Banks' knowledge of the Haitian culture was phenominal.What a remarkable book!