The Sweet Hereafter | Literary Criticism & Book Review

The Sweet Hereafter Critical Overview

From tone to theme to style, critics applaud Banks's accomplishment in this novel.

Many find The Sweet Hereafter to be a moving novel about how tragedy affects individuals and a community. Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times finds that The Sweet Hereafter is "often grip- ping, consistently engaging, and from time to time genuinely affecting." In Booklist, Joanne Wilkinson describes the novel as "haunting" in its portrayal of grief and guilt.

Banks's ability to move in and out of different personae impresses critics, who find this style compelling and artful. They generally agree that this approach to the subject gives a true portrayal of the complicated reactions to tragedy. Kakutani observes that Banks's narrative technique "creates a mosaic-like study of the ways in which a community copes with tragedy."

Reviewers are drawn to Banks's realistic handling of the theme of accidents as unlucky and uncontrollable events...
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