Affliction: A PEN/Faulkner Finalist American Literature Thriller of Dysfunctional Family and Violence

by Russell Banks

Wade Whitehouse is an improbable protagonist for a tragedy. A well-digger and policeman in a bleak New Hampshire town, he is a former high-school star gone to beer fat, a loner with a mean streak. It is a mark of Russell Banks' artistry and understanding that Wade comes to loom in one's mind as a blue-collar American Everyman afflicted by the dark secret of the macho tradition. Told by his articulate, equally scarred younger brother, Wade's story becomes as spellbinding and inexorable as a fuse burning its way to the dynamite.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literature, Literary Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, American

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 1989

About the author

Russell Banks was a member of the International Parliament of Writers and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been translated into twenty languages and has received numerous international prizes and awards. He has written fiction, and more recently, non-fiction, with Dreaming up America. His main works include the novels Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter, The Sweet Hereafter, and Affliction. The latter two novels were each made into feature films in 1997.

Reviews

[Chris Gager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one off the shelves last night in a turn back to more serious stuff. New England family/alcoholic dysfunction. Sounds like Richard Russo w/o the laughs. Andre' Dubus territory ... This was made into a film a few years ago with Nick Nolte and James Coburn. My other Russell Banks read was "Continental Drift," and I wound up dissatisfied with that one. One more chance for Mr. Banks ...

I'll get deeper into this tonight. So far RB is doing a fine job of describing the dead-end town that is the setting for his story. In my 72 years I have lived in 4 of the 6 New England states. They each have unique cultural and geographical characteristics as well as similarities. The word picture that is being created here seems spot on to me. My family lived in Webster, New Hampshire(a truly dinky town NW of Concord) for several years in the mid-60's. I was only there off-and-on, but I know my mother didn't like it much. She and my step-father moved to Kittery, Maine in 1967. A much livelier place.

I've reached the midway point and can now conclude that this seems to be the same basic story as "Continental Drift": clueless early middle-aged white guy can't overcome the nastiness of his family past and make his life into something better than a constant bleep-storm. In other words, he's afflicted. Going forward it would seem that we'll be presented with another hard-to-believe scenario featuring murder-for-hire and local corruption. Meanwhile, Wade seems to think he has a chance of getting better custody of his daughter. That ain't gonna happen either. So, there's really not a lot of suspense to be had here, just the inevitable unfolding of a depressing reality. So far this is book two out of two from Banks that tells the story of a man trapped by his own family past and his own f'ed up character and judgement/decision-making. Some notes ...

- Wade sees state police cars and an ambulance screaming through town and doesn't immediately take steps to find out what's going on? He IS the town police officer!!!!

- Why would the ambulance go to Littleton. Isn't Hanover closer with it's big Dartmouth hospital????

- The cops at the crime scene don't secure the deceased's gun, the one he was killed with? Jack just drives away with it????

- Uh-oh, the author a "you-see"er and describes "steaming mugs" of coffee.

- How much affliction needs to be piled onto Wade's shoulders? Is the toothache necessary?

- "A Browning BAR"? Nope! It's either a "Browning Automatic Rifle" or a "BAR(bee-ay-are")(IMHO).

- Lilian's words are stagy, Joan Crawford-ish, when she refers to Jill as "the child" instead of just "Jill"

- Typical prose clunk from the author: "he was already tumescent" ... tumescent???? Does Wade know that word? How about "He already had a hard-on" or "he already had an erection"(if you want to sound more clinical)?

- Wade's disastrous encounter with Mel Gordon is laughably over-blown and TV-ish.

And so, in semi-conclusion, while there might be considerable payoff in reading the book and following its winding, complicated plot, I must conclude once again, on the basis of what I've read so far, that while Russell Banks may well be a writer with serious intent, he's just not that good of a writer. We'll see how the rest goes.

- Is "throve" a word, and even if it is why use it instead of thrived.

- Mentions Warner, a town near where my family used to live. Not a complimentary mention, either.

- RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BOOK! A page has been ripped out.

So, the endgame is approaching and it's going to be a disaster for Wade, the author's made no secret about that. One problem: is Wade REALLY so stupid as to assume that the conclusions he's reached(with little evidence other than suspicion) are lock-solid valid? Strains the cred of the plotting a bit.

Well ... I didn't get this finished last night, but tonight I will surely do it. Like the clueless and desperate Bob(?) in "Continental Drift," Wade is about to go bananas. Lovely ...

And so to the mysterious ending. Rolfe comes down on the side that Wade was guilty, guilty, guilty, but, because of a plot gimmick employed earlier in the book the reader's not so sure. If one version is to be believed, the worst thing that Wade did was slap his daughter. Not so good, but not murder. If the version Rolfe wants force on us is right, then Wade was indeed a murderer. One little bit of "evidence," which Rolfe fails to mention at the end, though he includes it in the story, might tip the balance in a particular direction, but I won't go there. In any case. it's a peculiar thing for an author to do. At the end of it all I have to wonder if Wade's meltdown isn't just a bit over the top operatic. It was certainly an anti-climax for me. Not a surprise, however. So ...

- Rolfe reminds of Del in "Canada"

- The truck in the pond = more overkill. A nice image, but really?

- "slubs"????? - is that a word?

- Lawford and Catamount are both fictional towns.

- "lumber" road? How about "logging" road.

- This book is not as mediocre as "Continental Drift," but it's not that good either. It has its merits, particular the descriptions of west-central New Hampshire's geography and small-town culture.

- 3.25* rounds down to 3*

- I realized that I had neglected to spend a few words on the purpose of the story, which I assume is to examine the negative effect an abusive childhood can have on an adult life. RB seems to imply that Wade was living under a psychic death sentence, doomed to sadness and failure, a chronic malfunctioning alcohol and violence addict. Or something... Point taken. Our social world has a LOT of people like Wade, mostly men, when it comes to violent outcomes. But... there is hope for those who find it. Hope in the form of useful, practical therapy and especially in 12-step recovery. Wade should have hauled his ass to AA and Alanon. But then I suppose there would've been no novel.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes this story stand out is its narrator. Younger brother to Wade, the protagonist, the narrator relates his sibling's story with keen precision. And his account touches on family violence, a potent topic. Such a topic can be overdone in fifty ways and gotten right in perhaps only one. Having a narrator mediate the risk provides just the right distance. Russell Banks has an author's instinct for the best approach.

In the background, too, lies poverty. Banks avoids the temptation to lay it on too thick or too thin. He also avoids slamming undereducated people with giveaway argot and Faulkner-like idiocy, and instead supplies his story with believably sensible characters. Measured prose and well balanced characterizations steer the narrative astutely around these several taboos.

That’s all good. But what really sets this book apart is the odd entanglement between the narrator and his brother Wade. Readers are invited to puzzle ever more closely over the younger brother. The plot details provoke questions: Who, exactly, is this narrator? How does he know what he knows? Readers who follow the clues will be surprised.

With evenness, precision, and a bizarre mystery, Affliction delivers more than I was expecting. A clever, engaging tale tinged with a palpable portrait of New England life makes this a book that belongs on the to-read list of discerning readers.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay...

I don't know if I can do Banks' novel any justice with a review. Just a few hours after finishing it, I'm still awe-struck and a little numb. All evening, I've felt myself digesting it. Felt it seeping from my brain into my blood. 'Affliction' is the kind of novel I would love to write. So, much of my adoration comes from a craft standpoint. I've read a few reviews complaining about Banks' style and I will say that it's challenging, but really only at the beginning. When I took Jonis Agee's novel writing class at UNL, she warned us repeatedly of "long front porch" openings. The novel is a house, she said, and "long front porch openings" spend too much time outside the house, afraid to go in and, instead, describe, at length, the walk up. 'Affliction' does this. A lot. I'll admit, I tried reading this book a few months back and couldn't get through the first two pages. But I saw Paul Schrader's film adaptation and found myself thinking about it nearly every day. I can honestly say that the story haunted me. It kept playing in the back of my head. And the last line...well, I won't spoil it for you. But, I thought: if the ending of the novel is even half as powerful as the ending to the movie, I'll force my way through the beginning. And it is. The ending is there, in all it's depressing, heartbreaking glory. Schrader's 'Affliction' is faithful to Banks' book in every detail; it speaks, I think, to Banks' talent that someone (me) can know what's coming and still be riveted on each page.

Sure, there is more than a little myth-building going on. And that may be Banks' downfall and, quite possibly, his voice. Shortly after watching Schrader's film, I borrowed a collection of Banks' short stories from my friend Gunter, and had the same problem with the openings to those stories. I couldn't get 'in.' It felt, at times, like Banks was trying to sum up the human condition with each and every line. I ended-up thinking he was probably more than a little pretentious. I still do. Looking through his work, his other novels, I'm more than a little overwhelmed at the idea of touching another one. But this story, the story of 'Affliction,'--not the rise, but the horrible fall of Wade Whitehouse--is too good to stop just because, sometimes, Banks' artistry gets in the way.

I also think the myth-building may be necessary, given Banks' choice of narrator--Wade's educated, history teacher of a little brother, Rolfe. I've read more than a few reviews of 'Affliction' labeling Rolfe's narration as dull and overly-detailed. And, to be honest, there were times when I thought that Rolfe could simply be Banks himself. But there is, I think, a point to Banks' choice of Rolfe as our storyteller. I'm not sure what the point is yet, but I know it's there. Rolfe, as a student and teacher of history, is trying to relate the history of a family he long ago (and justly) abandoned. And through Rolfe, Banks is trying to tell the history of violent men at large. Sure, this is heady stuff. It's more than a little ambitious; but that's what I like about 'Affliction.' It wears its bigness on its sleeve. You could probably label it "the great American novel," and I doubt you would be wrong, at least in regard to Banks' intentions for 'Affliction.' You might not agree with me, but I think he pulled it off. 'Affliction' is the best novel I've read in years, mainly because I was utterly and completely absorbed in it, in its characters and location and, particularly in the plight of Wade Whitehouse himself. I love (but also dread, because it ties my damn stomach in knots) when a character starts down a path that ultimately leads to bloody tragedy. Again, I knew what was coming but I still found myself biting my coffee stirrers, balling my napkins, chewing the insides of my mouth, hoping, praying that Wade would make it out somehow.

I felt the same way reading A.M. Homes' 'Music for Torching,' another great novel with a similar gosh-bang-wow of an ending; I think, though, that Banks has a lot more compassion for his characters than Homes does. WIth Homes, I'm always wondering if I'm not being let in on the entire joke (that fact that a novel like 'Music for Torching,' might be, to her, a satire instead of just dead serious kind of pisses me off--but I could just be an idiot). At least with Banks, pretension and all, you get serious treatment of complex characters. That's what I like about 'Affliction' the most--Banks never lets you think, even for a second, that the citizens of Lawford, New Hampshire, are anything but real people. And that's what makes Wade and his environs all the more terrifying. The characters, the story, how Banks' people speak, they are never trying to make a statement or represent a certain condition. In the act of being, though, they make broader statements about the human condition.

I feel like I'm writing in circles. I'm indulging in a little pretension myself. So I'll stop and just tell you, point-blank, go and read 'Affliction.' You won't regret it.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again, I have found myself listening to an audible book that I have read in the print version. Nearly exactly 10 years ago. Once again, I have no recollection of having previously read the book, and I had no flashes of recollection as I experienced it for the second time.

Pretty often in crime and mystery books you spend a good deal of time early in the book with details in preparation for the actual events later in the book. In this case, the first 95% of the book is all in preparation for you to understand the final 5%. I find that fascinating and it really shows how complex life and people actually are. There is rarely any obvious and direct correspondence between event a end event b. Except if you know enough, you would actually understand that sometimes discrete appearing events are actually directly related to each other. And what we do later in our life has everything to do with our experiences earlier in our life. When you read that you will probably say “well of course“ but the reality is that we really rarely know enough of the backstory of an individual to decide or understand what causes them to do something later on.


——————-


This us my second Russell Banks and it will not be my last. I read Lost Memory of Skin as my first and that encouraged me to move on to this one, albeit many months later. I have copies of Outer Banks Three Early Novels, The Angel on the Roof, Cloudsplitter, and The Sweet Hereafter on my shelf for future reads. Anyone have any suggestions from those books about where to head next with Banks?

The story Affliction is told by the younger brother of the protagonist, Wade Whitehouse. It is not complicated. Wade wanted his father dead.

… he imagined death as either absence or confinement or, in some cases, both. … He wanted the furious redheaded man gone to someplace else, and he wanted him imprisoned there, locked up, manacled, bound so that he could not ball those hard fists of his and could not lash out with them, could not swing his arms, kick his feet, grab and push and toss and kick a person.

With this as a background, Wade grew up and hit other people, including his wife.

Wade had simply hung his head and confessed that, yes, in the heat of a quarrel, he had hit her. People shook their heads sadly when they heard this, but they understood: Lillian was a hard case, a demanding intelligent woman with a lot of mouth on her, a woman who made most people feel that she thought she was somehow superior to them, and no doubt she made Wade feel that way too. A man should never hit a woman, but sometimes it is understandable. Right? It happens’ doesn’t it? It happens.

Much of the book is about Wade’s life: his life in turmoil, with his ex-wife, with his father, with his boss, with his daughter, with his girlfriend, with his job. He does not laugh or smile very much, in fact, hardly at all. And, as the book has promised from the beginning, Wade’s life begins to deteriorate as violence and paranoia take over. The presentation of these events by Russell Banks is so detailed as to put you right there with Wade. As the book jacket says, “Wade comes to loom in our minds as a good man beset by the dark side of the macho mentality.”

The macho mentality in Lawford, New Hampshire. His twice wife Lillian saved him from that once, twice.

Without Lillian, without her recognition and protection, Wade would have been forced to regard himself as no different than the boys and men who surrounded him …deliberately roughened and coarse, cultivating their violence for one another to admire and shrink from, growing up with a defensive willed stupidity and then encouraging their sons to follow. Without Lillian’s recognition and protection, Wade, who was very good at being male in this world, a hearty buff athletic sort of guy with a mean streak, would have been unable to resist the influence of the males who surrounded him.

Maybe this is just the story of a boy who grew up and became his father, a violent drunk. But you know how drunks can be sensitive? It balances out the violent part. But maybe balance is the wrong word. It was deer hunting season in the story. The time when men go into the woods to kill.

[Toby · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard work and not even that rewarding as I'd previously seen Paul Schrader's wonderful movie several times. Sure having the impressive and powerful performance from Nick Nolte in mind throughout added a little extra oomph to proceedings but beyond that my efforts in reading this depressing and slow moving novel were not rewarded. Disappointment rules OK.

Of course I should have done this the other way around, devouring the literary wonder of Russell Banks before embarking on the same journey filtered through the warped mind of Paul Schrader but I was a film student, what do you expect?

Affliction is the story of Wade Whitehouse and how he came to commit horrific crimes before disappearing in to the snowy wilderness of New Hampshire, USA. It is a story told retrospectively by his brother who has interviewed the townsfolk in an attempt to piece together the events surrounding the behaviour of Wade and perhaps find some closure in its telling.

It starts off slow, the narration occasionally repetitive, far too much time spent on discussing the history of the town and the townsfolk yet you are slowly becoming part of this world and as Wade Whitehouse falls apart you can't stop reading. Banks has written a powerful novel featuring remarkable characters and seemingly authentic dialogue. I highly recommend reading it if you are yet to see the movie, you're sure to enjoy this one a great deal without the prior knowledge. Of course you could skip the book and just revel in the award winning performances of Nick Nolte and James Coburn.

[Gerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, Russell Banks, thank you for your style. I had not read you before, and showing a masterful style is the first standard for my admission into the fan club of any novelist. Your style is intelligent, fluid, and rich. It is art. It is not USA Today, or even NY Times, not vanilla. Some readers who do not delight in its uniqueness will find it a rough go. Let 'em go.

This book should be required reading in high schools and colleges. I can think of no more relevant lesson than this, the intimate description of how an outwardly mild-mannered "nice guy" could suddenly brutally murder people close to him.

Violence begets violence. That much we should all be able to understand. But the ultimate frustration, the major compelling factor, turns out to be the loss of the expectation of happiness. Not the loss of happiness itself. No sane person is so greedy or so happy that a temporary reversal of fortunes will drive him over the edge. No, it's the dashing of hopes, the prospect of living without happiness indefinitely. That's the crushing blow.

Too often when an act of violence hits the news, the perpetrator is written off as a crazy, as if it's useless to even ask whatever could have motivated such a crime.

Repression cannot stand indefinitely. Whether it's personal within a small community, as this story describes, or socioeconomic in the larger scheme of things. Ignoring the aspirations of people who are in need--emotionally, monetarily, in any way that matters--will have its effect. So often, society pays dearly for ignoring its weaker members.

There's a narrative trick here worth noting. This is first-person narration from the main character's brother. First-person stories can fall into the trap of limited point of view. But this story is personal, yet objective. Omniscient because the narrator feels competent to guess the details he could not have observed. Because he is also a victim of abuse from the same parent, we grant him that privilege. Nice work.

[John Dispitto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Russell Banks è a mio avviso uno che sa scrivere e molto bene.
La storia, pur basandosi su elementi definibili "quotidiani", esprime al meglio le relazioni umane e le difficoltà nel porle in essere, rendendo la tensione del racconto sempre alta.
Uno dei più bei romanzi letti, dove le relazioni scandiscono e destano l'interesse alla storia. Bellissima anche la cornice dei luoghi e dell'ambiente dove ha luogo il racconto. Terra che indurisce gli animi e lascia poco spazio all'esternazione dei sentimenti, anche se di questi ultimi il libro ne è intriso.

Romanzo penso poco conosciuto, ma per me bellissimo!!

[Cyrus · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to review a Russell Banks book, because he is one of if not my favorite authors post the 1970s or so. I've read most of his books and I wont get into Affliction so much as to make this a review of the author, who to me stands in contrast to all the twee cutesy crap that everyone seems to wet themselves over these days. The characters are real people who have to live in the real world (not the real world of college professors or the idle rich) Events outside of their control collide with their internal natures and they deal with them or don't. Things don't get tied up neatly at the end. He doesn't eschew politics as vulgar or passe, but doesn't launch into polemics. Politics is the order that underlies all aspects of life and Banks realizes that simply by writing realistic accounts there will inevitably be a political undercurrent to the story.

Stylistically I've always felt that Banks writes in a sort of sweet spot that other authors are rarely able to locate. The prose isn't so sparse or so flowery as to seem dull. The dialog is effortlessly realistic and the characters are about as complex as they get, even most of the minor ones and the ones that are from groups that Banks is not included in himself (women, African Americans, immigrants). He's a master of setting as well, and the books always seem to move at a brisk pace, even when "not much happens" in the plot.

I guess if you like a lot of humor you might be disappointed and some of his books are more successful than others, but in my opinion he is way ahead of all the fashionable 2000s writers who seem to get a free ride if the identity politics in their novels is PC enough, or if they use enough postmodern parlor tricks. But anyway...The enraged Marxist has vented for the night.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sad and powerful story, this is one of the best novels I've read so far this year. Early on there's a sentence about the snow falling and gravity, and I can't help but think of it as a metaphor for Wade, the main character, who seems hellbent on a path to his inevitable ruin. Banks is somewhat of a fatalist, even though he draws a contrast with Wade's brother Rolfe, the narrator, who seems both through character and circumstance (he managed to avoid childhood beatings) to escape a life like Wade's. I felt an enormous sympathy for (almost) every character in this book. Banks does character and plot very well in my opinion and I read it with a kind of drooling dread, i.e. I knew everything would go wrong, I even guessed how they would go wrong, but still that was the medicine and I knew I had to swallow it.
In my opinion "Continental Drift" was superior to "Affliction," but I still ate this up like the pessimist I am. Banks has thus atoned for that let-down "Rule of the Bone."

[Michael Shilling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Affliction is magisterial, heartbreaking, deeply intelligent, compassionate, and often a nailbiter. Banks writes beautiful sentences and amazing physical descriptions. That said, the book is at least 50 (single-spaced) pages too long due to repetitious and near-constant over-explaining of the protagonist's confusions, as well as some narrative elements that needn't get the amount of space they are provided, and excessive backstory. But I still had to give it 5 stars because a year out I think about wade et al almost every day.

[Knut André Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Affliction" is an utterly devastating exploration of the consequences and effects of lingering trauma and abuse. Banks understands the human condition, he knows about violence, desolation and otherness and he knows about the dark, twisted seeds that can be planted in the hearts of men.

[CasualDebris · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Casual Debris.

Small town New Hampshire police officer and local well digger Wade Whitehouse is having a crummy week. A crummy week following a crummy life. Overall a powerful novel, with some great characters, dialogue and absolutely fine writing.

Then why did it take me three weeks to finish this novel?

Told through the point of view of Wade's youngest brother Rolfe, who has pieced the events together in so horribly an obsessive manner that he can imagine what Wade was eating, thinking and feeling throughout these tragic events. Rolfe's obsession came about as a result of wanting to understand the horrible tragedy that Wade's life had become, and to come to terms with those final hours leading to horrible acts of violence. An ingenuous method and wholly believable, yet what slows down the narrative is the vast amount of detail, often repetitive, that I felt were not only needless, but intrusive.

Reading through these details I found myself skimming, my thoughts drifting off, wondering why the narrator is so desperate to pound certain points across, as well as certain minor details. The more he pounded, the less I was inclined to buy into his theories, as though we were kids in the schoolyard and he wanted so badly for me to believe his incredibly tall tale that to help convince me he was being insistent, nodding his head aggressively and staring at me as though daring me to disbelieve. Yet because I trusted him at the beginning, this insistence was simply annoying, and I wanted to tell him to just go on with bloody story already. How exhausting, to the point that I was longing for the schoolyard bell to ring and quiet the little bugger.

And yet it is a powerful novel with some great moments. I just wonder if there's an abridged version available somewhere...

[Ubik 2.0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solido romanzo, molto ben costruito ed emotivamente coinvolgente, Tormenta fa tornare alla mente il dramma familiare di “A Thousand Acres” di Jane Smiley per molte analogie ma con una determinante differenza: mentre la vicenda di quel romanzo si svolgeva nelle fertili pianure rurali dell’Iowa, qui lo sfondo è dominato dai freddi boschi e dai picchi innevati del New Hampshire settentrionale quasi al confine col Canada.

In ambedue i libri tuttavia le incomprensioni e le rivalità familiari, la violenza di un capofamiglia despota e tirannico che incide profondamente sul carattere dei propri figli anche in età adulta, la comunità impegnata nelle occupazioni quotidiane del villaggio che può passare rapidamente dalla comprensione solidale all’emarginazione di uno dei suoi componenti, tutte queste caratteristiche segnano l’atmosfera e il ritmo della narrazione rappresentando in modo molto efficace lo spessore della vita dei personaggi. Questa caratteristica è accentuata dal fatto che è uno di essi a raccontare in prima persona e, per quanto si imponga e si sforzi di mantenere uno sguardo oggettivo, il coinvolgimento interiore con i suoi sensi di colpa e i suoi rimpianti non può essere compresso.

“Tormenta” è uno spaccato della realtà americana nei suoi territori più marginali che lascia il segno anche nel lettore europeo che sente il paesaggio e l’influenza di questo sul carattere delle persone come se lo avesse vissuto sulla propria pelle: basta l’immagine dello squallido “trailer” di Wade Whitehouse, fuori dal paese in un agglomerato di containers sulle sponde di un lago sul quale il vento spazza la superficie già ghiacciata in novembre per rendere tutta l’asprezza del luogo e la resistenza disperata e solitaria dell’uomo. In un clima del genere tutte le ingiustizie, vere o presunte, immotivate o causate dal suo stesso carattere, che Wade ha subìto e subisce nel corso degli avvenimenti rendono plausibile la sua reazione.

La violenza non più controllabile che egli scarica su un colpevole (il padre) e subito dopo su un innocente sembra l’unico inevitabile punto d’arrivo di una mente sicuramente fragile e minata dall’alcool ma allo stesso tempo sottoposta ad una pressione troppo grande: molto inquietanti e narrativamente efficacissimi sono gli istanti in cui il protagonista percepisce una sorta di scollamento fra sé stesso e le persone anche estranee che lo circondano: è un segnale che la mente comincia a perdere il pieno controllo della situazione esteriore e delle pulsioni interiori e va incontro ad una inevitabile deflagrazione.

La pietà del narratore – fratello che ripercorre le gesta di Wade e più ancora quella dello scrittore che non riserva al suo personaggio la sorte che ci si sarebbe potuta aspettare: lo scontro a fuoco o il suicidio, sembrano sottolineare una partecipazione ed una compassione verso un individuo oggettivamente deprecabile ma quasi impossibilitato a redimersi dalle circostanze che ne soffocano ogni speranza ed ogni sentimento positivo (l’amore per la figlia, l’eroismo nella difesa della madre, il tentativo di ricostruire con Margie, un’altra perdente, un rapporto stabile dopo il doppio fallimento del matrimonio).

[Carol Storm · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a powerful book, and I enjoyed reading it. The pain of Wade's childhood and the lasting damage caused by his father's abuse are absolutely convincing.

The trouble starts when Russell Banks tries to make larger points about the hopeless working class and the injustices of the American system. Banks is both a defeatist and a pessimist. His outlook is rigidly fatalistic. He tends to force symbolic meanings into the story based on the abuse the main character suffers. The problem is, Wade getting beat up by his father is not a metaphor for capitalism. It's just Wade getting beat up by his father. Not all working class kids are victims of abuse. And not all victims of abuse are doomed to working class poverty.

It's ironic that Banks, a leftist baby boomer if ever there was one, has never heard of the Beach Boys. The Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis, and Carl, grew up in a dingy blue-collar home and were raised by a savage brute much like Wade's father. Most certainly their lives were tragic, and their story is a sad one. But it also involves all the things Russell Banks can't write about -- such as triumph over tremendous odds, the redeeming power of music, and yes, the opportunities offered by the American Dream.

None of this is to say AFFLICTION is a bad book. It's just that the truth is often more complex, more exhilarating, and at the same time more tragic than Russell Banks' vision of America.

[Otto Zambrano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pura desolación invernal, que cava su propio hoyo para guarecerse.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dark, disturbing book but so compelling. Wade Whitehouse is caught up in a maelstrom of violence and self-destruction that is certain to end in a horrific last stand. The story is told with great care by his younger brother and is set in a New Hampshire town in the midst of a shrill winter. Banks once again holds me in the spell of his masterful prose.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wade Whitehouse. One of the most fleshed out characters in literature. At least in my opinion. A fleshed out form played out in the body and mind of Nick Nolte. Nick Nolte for me epitomizes Wade. That is why anyone who reads this book should definitely see the movie, "Affliction". I thought recently of who else could play Wade. Two other guys might have succeeded, Gary Busey and Jeff Conaway. Why? Because I believe it takes a broken, hardened man to play that role. Busey would probably have bordered on the buffoonish, Conaway may have faired a bit better. Nolte though captures the pain and brokenness of Wade completely.
This is my second time reading "Affliction". The first time I was completely blown away by it. I loved it! That and "The Sweet Hereafter" also written by Banks. This time around after having a bit more writing skill under my belt I could find the various points where Banks faltered a bit. The descriptions are weighty and dripping with symbolism. However, taken as a whole they are appropriate.
Wade's undoing is the greatest part of this book. The greatest and the most tragic. Tragic because I really felt for Wade, he tried so hard. However, as Banks' shows you, Wade simply does not know how to get beyond himself. Friends and family dub him as "becoming his father" which I don't think at all, but it is a label that Wade cannot escape and it eventually consumes him.
Spoiler alert: I read this story out loud to my husband and he was surprised that the final confrontation between Wade and his father happened so quickly and then it was over. It was not dragged out. But really? It can't be dragged out. What Wade did to his father would have happened in real life just as it happened in the book. It would have been that fast and I think Banks did that on purpose. He did this simply to show the strength that Wade's father had even though his body was weak and frail. The build up took so long that when the final act took place you knew it was going to be quick. An elderly man in no way could stand up to a physical powerhouse such as Wade.
My husband was also surprised that Wade did not take out more people such as Gordon LaRiviere. But I believe Wade was simply doing what he could from stopping the cycle from happening again. So he only took out his father and Jack, the closest person that resembled himself.
A brilliant book. Don't expect any happy endings for there are none. However, you will find yourself drawn to Wade and the rest of the town of Lawford. Sadly you will also realize at the end that Wade is the proverbial infection in the town and once he is gone the town thrives.

[Joey Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

I half-expected something like "Mystic River"; a manly tale of complex relationships against a gritty scenery.
This book, however, is different in the way it goes deep into Wade, the main character. Although the landscape is rough and bleak, the way Russell Banks explores Wade's psyche is anything but virile. "Affliction" is a sensitive and uncompromising character study; I can see why Paul Schrader, the man who wrote "Taxi Driver", adapted this book into a movie.
The atmosphere is pessimistic. Even when an occasional bright color beams its way in, such as the presence of Wade's joyful girlfriend Margie or that of a Halloween party, the tone and the rhythm of the language is always quite dour.
Self-pity is in my opinion the main venom that causes Wade's misfortunes. Throughout most of the book he tries to ignore an ongoing toothache. I think this pain symbolizes the sort-of "macho" modesty Wade is afflicted with.
I think there's a Walt Whitman element in this book, in the way Banks treats nothing as obvious or trivial. In other words, he "gets" into details; techniques of snow plowing, histories of statues, sudden brief biographies of minor characters. These passages add to the atmosphere but aren't strictly related to the storyline. The novel "Stoner" by John Williams is a great example of how to incorporate, or "sneak in" indirect details without distracting or overwhelming the reader.
Glenn Whitehouse, Wade's father, is a fantastic character. The violent, drunk dad is a cliché, but during the flashbacks describing Glenn's physical abuse Banks writes with clarity, with a Hemmingway-like visual style that is hypnotic. Along with Wade, Glenn is the most complete character in the book. Most of the supporting cast, such as Wade's younger brother (and the narrator), Lillian – his ex-wife, Jack – his workmate, etc., aren't really round characters despite being heavily featured. Glenn, on the other hand, hardly utters five sentences in the book (and maybe a dozen or so muttered curses and raging snarls), but leaves the biggest impression.
Needless to say, this is an imperfect yet powerful book. If it were a piece of music – maybe "Nebraska" by Bruce Springsteen or a great Neil Young song comes to mind. Something that is recorded with a rough, ragged sound but nevertheless has undeniable emotional energy. A dusty gem.

Joey Gold

[Alessandro Pontorno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quando avevo 12 o 13 anni provavo una sorta di oscura fascinazione mista a timore per quei compagni di scuola solitamente pluri-bocciati che erano sempre in prima linea quando si trattava di fare a botte, provocare, atteggiarsi da duro o millantare vere/presunte imprese che riguardassero ragazze, bravate o abusi di alcol. A quell'età non mi domandavo cosa ci fosse dietro quella maschera, dietro quel personaggio che veniva interpretato immancabilmente ogni mattina, né potevo sapere quale dolore l'avesse generato.
Leggendo il meraviglioso "Tormenta" di Russell Banks ho riprovato vividamente quella sensazione di inconfessabile ammirazione preadolescenziale, finalmente libera dal protetto perbenismo dell'educazione provinciale e rivisitata alla luce dell'esperienza di un adulto.
La disperata esistenza del protagonista Wade Whitehouse è figlia di un'infanzia difficile, dell'impossibilità di uscire da soli dal personaggio che ci si è costruiti e dai pre-giudizi che ne conseguono, da un desiderio/aspettativa di redenzione che passa attraverso l'immagine irraggiungibile di un sé ideale.
"Tormenta" è una tristemente reale discesa negli inferi di un uomo prigioniero del proprio passato, dei propri fallimenti, delle proprie frustrazioni; Russell Banks tiene in mano saldamente le redini della narrazione che, soprattutto nella prima parte, è spettacolare per come riesce a calare il lettore nel contesto geografico, sociale, climatico e relazionale di un piccolo paese del New Hampshire attraverso splendide e minuziose descrizioni dei protagonisti, del panorama, della ritualità.
Un unico appunto che mi sento di fare ad un libro altrimenti eccellente è l'eccessiva invadenza del narratore onniscente nell'ultima parte del libro: il ritmo ne risulta troppo frammentato e si perde un po' la tensione che Banks era riuscito a costruire nelle prime 300-350 pagine.
In ogni caso si tratta di un romanzo che consiglierei senza dubbi, probabilmente uno dei migliori letti in questo 2016.

[Marika · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad. So hopeless. Take a guy that wants to be good, wants the simple things most people want --home, family, job. Then watch as life beats him up. As spirals will do, this one starts out slow and gentle, but unrelentingly picks up speed and dumps its victim out in hell.

I guess it isn't a unique story. What sold it for me was the total believability of the main character, Wade. I don't actually know anyone like him, but I "know" him. I see him everywhere, just trying to keep it together but never quite managing to gain ground. For every success story, there are probably dozens of Wades who want to succeed but can't -- no means, no coping skills. Then layer on the depressed rural town in the book and outside my window, snow flying and wind blowing in the book and outside my window, rifles cracking in the book and outside my window.... You get the idea.

All in all, an excellently done character study.



SPOILER --

if any of my friends read this, tell me what you think about the significance of who he kills. Am I reading too much into it when I say I believe he chooses his victims carefully, if subconsciously? Of all the people in that town who would have made good targets, Wade only kills the man he once was and the man he was becoming.... Was he committing suicide in some "acceptable" manner? Or was he murdering himself? I've scanned a bunch of community reviews and I don't see anyone else suggesting this interpretation.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Affliction was the first novel I have read by Russell Banks. This is a difficult novel and a difficult author to which to describe my reactions. There is a realism here that some part of me feels that I should appreciate and should benefit from. In the back of my mind, though, I can’t help but think of Russell Banks as Richard Russo with a very negative world view. The setting for Russell Banks is New Hampshire versus Russo’s upper New York state. Similar small town trying to survive given the loss of the historical businesses that created it in the first place. Most inhabitants of the world that Russell Banks creates are just surviving. The story, though, is very well told for the most part, and there is depth and a richness to the characters.I enjoyed the writing; I found it simple, unpretentious and consistent with the story being told. I didn’t find myself really liking any of the main characters, but that isn’t a requirement as long as they are engaging. I think one of my GR friends said that she needed to see growth in the main characters. I didn’t see any character growth here. There are certainly some lessons that can be learned, but struggled to relate to them. So while I respected and admired the end result and found it somewhat engaging, I am not drawn to it and am not sure I will read more of Russell Banks. There is just too much more to enjoy.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banks' book starts off a bit slow with the overwhelming details of the town dwellers and the locale in NH. It helps but slows down the narrative before we're able to get to the heart of the story. Even the family conflict and addiction that becomes such a curse for Wade is presented almost halfway through the book culminating in a lot happening in the last few chapters.

I enjoyed Banks' writing and the details we get into this freezing, working class town that tends to break people down emotionally and physically over time considering many don't seem to leave unless pressed. The story is told by Wade's brother from what he considers to be Wade's POV considering they are almost one in the same on most counts. And with inserts of his interviewing people and how much information was gained a vivid picture is created of what would become Wade's downfall and a mystery that others don't want to dwell on, but that our narrator, Rolfe, needs to find answers to in the end.

Definitely a good book on addiction and how easily things can turn on a dime.

[Snotchocheez · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I sit here typing this, I recalled why I chose to re-read this book: It's 96 degrees today with 95% humidity and wanted something cool to think about...and this filled the bill...albeit in a depressing manner. "Affliction" is chilly all right...and not just the setting (the New Hampshire Mountains in the wintertime)...it's somber, totally depressing stuff...and yet...not so over the top that you can't get chills down the spine wondering what nadirs of depravity the protagonist (a small town cop and well-driller) will sink to. Mr. Banks seems to have cornered the "familial abuse fiction" market ("The Sweet Hereafter" also immediately comes to mind) but he does it so well and so thoughtfully that he doesn't bludgeon the reader over the head with the abusive relationships (well, on second thought, maybe he does, but he tempers it with well-thought-out musings on whence the abuse occurs).

[Monica Sanderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. But I was quite shocked to come across this passage from a book written in 1989 (bold and censoring mine):

"'Maybe we could sneak that through the budget next town meeting, a new car for Wade Whitehouse. Get you a full-sized Olds or something, or a Bronco, not one of them little K-cars that f*cking Lee Iacocca makes. That guy gets to me, you know?' he went on, swiveling his chair around and swinging his legs up onto the desktop. 'First he goes broke, then he gets the taxpayers to bail him out, then he comes on like Captain Capitalism, like he's running for f*cking president. Him and that guy Donald Trump. F*cking guys feed at the public trough, and when they get rich from it, they turn into Republicans. I always liked it that you're a Democrat, Wade. You and me,' he said smiling broadly and, to Wade, looking a whole lot like Lee Iacocca himself."

Looks like Russell Banks predicted the future!

[Ray Catellier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book. I remember how poignant the performances of the actors in the film version with Nick Nolte and James Coburn.

I can relate and sympathize with Wade Whitehouse, with his problem with anger, depression and alcohol issues, and how Wade can spiral out of control.

One could think of Wade as a 'monster' and a bad person, but I don't see him as this at all. I see Wade as a wonderful man, but who has suffered a great amount and given a raw deal in life.

Wade, just like all of us, needs someone to believe in him. I see him as the least egotistical character in this book, while his brother Rolfe, sister Lena and mother are selfish, turning a blind eye to their father's violence.

I also see Wade as a man who loves his daugther Jillian very much, but just was never given the tools to learn how to be a good father, which he desperately wants to be.

[Gina Rheault · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in small town New Hampshire, New York or Vermont, or Maine, this is the story of all the little humiliations that pile up over a working class white guy's lifetime until they burst out in the 'shocking' act: burning down the hated house, killing the dog, the cat, and whoever else is around. Russell Banks details all the invisible insults that are sucked in only to culminate in the shocking one inch column in the local paper only to disappear the next day into the accumulated lore of a small town.

Indignity to incendiary, the invisible man, so ordinary he's a rarely portrayed character, this book makes him visible in superb psychological detail that produces empathy. For that reason it is an important book.

[Julia Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am overwhelmed with awe at the perfection of this book. It is set just a few miles from my childhood home, with characters so finely drawn that I could see and hear them, though admittedly I am already familiar with this particular population. This concept of a life balanced on the fulcrum of time and circumstance is one that I agree with wholeheartedly. Watching this particular life as it sways and teeters, as a few random events, assumptions and reactions tip it over in a dizzying and dramatic manner, is fascinating and heartbreaking and completely believable. My favorite book of the year.

[Paul Statt · Rating 5 out of 5]

People have been recommending Russell Banks to me, probably since 1989, when Affliction was published. "Why," I used to ask, "just because I'm a middle-aged angry white man from New Hampshire, from a family of abusive and abused swamp Yankees?"

Well, yes. Amazing story of middle-aged white anger and abuse among the swamp Yankees. Extraordinary example of the unreliable narrator, as good as Nabokov. (Let's not forget that Lolita also took place in the Granite State.)

Also an amazing employment of geography in the narrative.

[Farhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth character study of a lonely small-town sheriff who is divorced from his wife and has very limited rights to visit his pre-teen daughter whom he adores. A series of unhappy events slowly leads him towards violence.

Banks uses this character-driven novel as a device to discuss themes such as the predictable and unambitious lives of people in small-town America, domestic violence, and far-reaching ramifications of a dysfunctional family on the lives of children even long after they have grown up and moved out.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Esta es la historia de la extraña conducta criminal de mi hermano mayor y de su desaparición."