Russell Banks's sixth novel, The Sweet Hereafter tells the tragic story of a school bus accident, revealing how it impacts the lives of individuals as well as the community as a whole. In The Reading List, Contemporary Fiction, Banks is quoted as saying, "I wanted to write a novel in which the community was the hero, rather than a single individual." Although the story is told from the perspectives of four individual narrators, the importance of the community emerges as a strong unifying element.
The Sweet Hereafter has been embraced by critics and readers alike for its unique narrative structure.
Banks's intention in writing the novel this way was to avoid what he considers the artifice of omniscient narration and the somewhat preachy tone that often accompanies it. Instead, Banks chose to tell the story four times, each time from a different perspective that is unique, realistic, and limited. The result is a more intimate tone that allows the reader to understand how a single incident can create such different feelings in different individuals. The narration reveals varied threads of guilt, blame, and recovery, and places them in the larger fabric of a community's reaction to a tragedy.
This complete Introduction contains 198 words. This
study guide contains 19,749 words (approx. 66 pages at 300
words per page).
Read the rest of this Literature Guide with our The Sweet Hereafter Access Pass.
