Posted on 19/07/08
'Exporter of democracy' could use some itself
DREAMING UP AMERICABy Russell BanksSeven Stories Press,127 pages, $24.95As a novelist, one of Russell Banks's greatest skills is his ability to arouse empathy for the "bad guy." His finest works are his most frightening; they shimmer with tension and inevitability. In Affliction and Cloudsplitter, he breaks down his characters' personal histories into their infinitesimal parts and contexts, revealing the horrific logic behind the actions of murderers and madmen. His books are bad dreams well written; reading them is like watching a sleep-walker head for a cliff and knowing there's nothing you can do about it.
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