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The Sweet Hereafter
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
8 posts | 16 read | 4 to read
In The Sweet Hereafter, Russell Banks tells a story that begins with a school bus accident. Using four different narrators, Banks creates a small-town morality play that addresses one of life's most agonizing questions: when the worst thing happens, who do you blame?
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The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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Blaire
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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Pickpick

I saw this movie ages ago and avoided the book because of the topic - a bus crash in the winter that kills more than a dozen children. Told from multiple perspectives - a parent, the driver, a survivor, and the attorney - it deals with the grief but also with the personal lives of the people impacted by the tragedy and the impact on the entire small town. Despite sadness it also captures the beauty of remote upstate ny. #bbrc #yeahbaby #snow #1991

Reagan I‘ve never seen the movie but I really enjoyed the book. I should watch the movie though, Sarah Polley is great! 4y
Tamra I never realized the movie was based on a novel - will stack! 1y
43 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Leftcoastzen
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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This is a book that made a few moves with me , glad I finally got to it.The novel begins with a tragic schoolbus accident, tragic in any case but magnified in its influence by happening in a very small town.Almost everyone is affected in some way.Told from 4 points of view,with great insight into how to cope ,or not.People react differently to the tragedy, the town will never be the same.Banks writing gives you deep characters,with distinct POVs.

Suet624 I love this author. Have you seen the movie they made of this book? 5y
Leftcoastzen @Suet624 I have not. Plan on seeking it out. 5y
Suet624 I liked Cloudsplitter a lot too. 5y
44 likes3 comments
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Leftcoastzen
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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Huzzah! The rest are just icing on the cake!If I finish any more this year , of course .

merelybookish Congrats! 🎉🎉 5y
youneverarrived Congrats! 👏 5y
JoScho 🎉💜🎉💜🎉💜🎉 5y
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Jas16 🙌🏽 (edited) 5y
Leftcoastzen @merelybookish @youneverarrived @JoScho @Jas16 As you can see, some graphic novels in the mix so that number not all dense classics! 😂Thank you all! 5y
Birdsong28 Congrats 🎉🎊📚📖 5y
CaitZ Congrats! 5y
batsy Yay! 👏🏽👏🏽🎉🎉 5y
Leftcoastzen @Birdsong28 @CaitZ @batsy Thanks, Enjoyed almost every minute of it. 5y
55 likes9 comments
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Amiable
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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Pickpick

A small (less than 300 pages) book that packs a big punch. The story begins with a horrible school bus accident, and unspools from the viewpoint of 4 narrators: the bus driver, the father of several of the victims, the lawyer from out of town, and a student who was on the bus. All points of view ask the question: when something goes wrong, who do you blame? 4 stars

55 likes2 stack adds
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BkClubCare
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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A sad book. A tremendously sad book but SO well written. Emotions and characters are so well explored and presented. This was my first book by this author and I welcome suggestions of his other books that I should read.

Libby1 Have you read any books by Kent Haruf? I loved Our Souls at Night. 7y
BkClubCare Yes, that is the only Haruf book I've read. 7y
18 likes2 comments
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BkClubCare
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
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I know NOTHING. Nothing! Don't tell me. #MyNextRead Have had it on my kindle for the amount of time it took to completely forget when/why I bought it...

(Have I mentioned that I refer to go blind into books? That that one time I started Where the Red Fern Grows and some one actually said to me ...
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-- don't read the next sentence --
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"I was bawling so hard when the dog died". Grrr - I had no idea what it was about. ?

xicanti That's terrible! 7y
dastevensish No!!! 7y
BkClubCare Ha ha IKR?! 7y
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BkClubCare @xicanti - I can and probably will always remember the moment. She was in my book club. If only someone had taken a pic of my reaction 7y
BkClubCare @dastevensish - I can laugh NOW 7y
BkClubCare Read in ONE day! 7y
16 likes1 stack add6 comments
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SistaPip
The Sweet Hereafter | Russell Banks
Pickpick

Lovely, tragic, simple story. Russell Banks reminds me of my Great Uncle Denny; detachedly telling a story for the sake of the telling. Some stories are sad, some scary, some hopeful. People are fallible, accidents happen, and all people strive not to suffer. Plus I'm from NH - & so relate to Cold