The Angel on the Roof audiobook

I picked up this collection never intending to finish it – nearly 500 pages, of short stories! But I did, trapped as I was in the middle of the ice storm, and was glad for the experience.I was reminded of Raymond Carver and John Steinbeck when reading these stories, many of which are located in a town called Catamount, New Hampshire. The characters are mostly blue collar workers, often plumbers, leading hard scrabble lives, hanging at the edges of penury. They are scarred individuals, prone to alcohol, adultery, violence, racism, sexism, greed, and vanishing jobs, but with a strong homing call toward their roots in this small state that seems to be fond of Canadian Club whiskey. Children of broken marriages feature prominently and I wondered whether the 12-year old boy in the ‘50’s with a younger brother and sister, whose father abandons the family, a scenario occurring in more than one story (“Queen for a Day” and “The Visit”), is a reflection on the author’s life. However, adult children of broken families should never question their aging parents about what happened those many years ago to disrupt the family unit, as we discover in “Assisted Living.” Plain but strong women are entwined with younger and attractive men, leading to disastrous results (“Sarah Cole: A Type of Love Story”). Some of the shorter stories are told in parable form such as “The Fish,” and “The Neighbour.” Communist leanings come out in “With Che in New Hampshire” and in the dramatic recreation of Simon Bolivar’s last hours in “The Rise of the Middle Class.” An unexpected event can lead a man to question the new direction he is taking with his life after the collapse of a long term marriage (“Xmas”). And the final story “Lobster Night” is a dramatic exploration into what happens when individual breaking points are breached, for both men and women. The most moving story for me was “The Moor,” where a 50-something local thespian (also in the plumbing business for his day job, and divorced) meets his 80- year old former lover from 30 years ago, in a restaurant, and escorts her home.Banks is a slow burn on the longer stories where he takes time and lengthy sentences (some of which are clumsy and pretentious) to build character, but you have to stay the course to gain the benefit. Two of the stories, “The Fisherman” and “The Guinea Pig Lady” run 120 pages between them, and take place in the same trailer park (there are other stories too from this trailer park, pulled from his 1981 collection, aptly named Trailerpark) and are similar in construct; they portray the outsider who goes against the norms of society for altruistic reasons; there is even a section in both stories where the individual judgements of the trailer park denizens (aka society) on these outcasts who dare to go against the grain are laid out candidly and embarrassingly, for we too could be one of those people casting those judgements. The opening story, Djinn, set in a fictitious African state, is similar in theme, where those who rise to the top and look beyond are pulled down by the dictates of a conformist society.The unfortunate aspect of throwing a writer’s entire body of short fiction into a one mammoth collection is that there will be unevenness between stories, and there is in this one too given the 37 year span over which they were written. Styles vary from 1st person to 2nd person to 3rd person. In fact, the 2nd person constructs are very effectively rendered.All that said, if you have the time and patience to let Banks conjure up his scenes and characters in his deliberate and methodical fashion, this is a very enjoyable and memorable read.

Russell Banks. I am incapable of doing an honest review about Banks' work because I will only say good things. Because that's all there is. Banks tells stories of everyday life that permeate and disappear into the mundane backdrop of normalcy. Nobody really cares about these people. Except us, those that are those people. Meaning: everyone. But most people just don't care about stories like this. Most people want to read over-the-top action, fictional retellings of history, or tales of magic and sorcery. I love all stories and that stuff is wonderful and serves as a suitable necessity in our current world bereft of fantasy, but sometimes entering another life as mundane as our own can help give us perspective that we wouldn't normally have access to. Some readers might be angry with the mundane. That's fine. It's not for everyone. But if you're willing to dive deep into the dirty, regularity of life in the Northeastern U.S. Then by all means, dig in and discover the angel on the roof.

Russell Banks continues to be an author who makes me regret not having found him earlier in my life. On the other hand, I wonder if I would have been able to truly appreciate him before now, or if his particular blend of melancholy and regret are only suited to the man I've become.This is a great co

Semplici scene di famiglie: uomini, donne, giovani e vecchi. Semplicemente la bravura di usare le parole giuste, non una di più, nel modo migliore per costruire un’atmosfera, una sensazione.Tra i migliori racconti: Il pescatore – Le pianure di Abramo – Mucca-mucca – Il moro – Sarah Cole: un certo tipo di storia d’amore – Regina per un giorno.

Banks is another Hale Award winner I had not read previously. I started reading this collection of his short stories just to get a sense of his writing but ended up reading every one of them. They are unforgettable. Many of the characters live in a trailer park in a town n central New Hampshire and they weave in and out of these stories written over thirty years. Unlike Banks who has written himself out of a miserable childhood, most of these people are still struggling. Almost all of them have been married multiple times, abandoned their children, and work at unsatisfying jobs. Alcohol plays a major role in their lives. They take out their anger on wives and children and regret the terrible life mistakes they’ve made. The women left behind to raise kids on their own aren’t any happier. Sad as this all sounds, Banks give us glimpses of souls that each deserve so much more. His pitch perfect descriptions of these New Hampshire men and women ring with truth and the big questions of life.

This guy could write like nobody’s business. He very recently died. A master of the short story. He’s now on my TRY TO READ ANYTHING THEY EVER WROTE list..

Not all the stories are amazing, but the four stars (I only reserve 5 for those rare classic stand the test of all time reads) are alone for all the stories collected from an earlier book, Trailerpark. That book, from its collection of stories assembled here, reads like a slightly more depressing Cannery Row - which to me, is fantastic. Banks' short stories have a Hemmingway influence but also Carver and Cheever too. Anyway, he is certainly on of the better short story writers I have read and I highly recommend this collection.

Russell Banks is an exceptional writer! I got lost in these stories and characters. They gave me the same feeling I get from viewing Caspar David Freidrich paintings -- Complex themes and characters (the crux of who we are as human beings) in landscapes that make your jaw drop. Wow!

best collection of short stories I've read since Raymond Carver

as people say some excellent stories here.

I've never come across a writer who can tell the story of a plumber or an HVAC guy. So, this alone is reason to jump headlong into anything he ever wrote. He bridges dark, hopeless and hearbreaking sensitivity with economy and beauty.

It's on the nightstand to read again.

Each story is a gem. Many of the characters overlap in various stories, even whole families, and characters from a trailer park. By interweaving tales, Banks keeps you engaged in this collection from beginning to the "last shot."