Cloudsplitter in Reading 1001

Nov 16, 2020 Kallie rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Russell Banks is one of the best American fiction writers ever, and he did a thorough job of narrating the thoughts and feelings of Owen Brown, John Brown's ambivalent, dour 'soldier' son. Seen through his questioning lens -- that of a fanatic whose cause and motives remain ambiguous though he can pin his injuries on slaveholding -- I got a psychological profiling that could be applied to any such character. Owen's narrative also prompts a question: do the motives of such a person, fighting the ...more

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Feb 15, 2016 Kristel rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-challenge, 1001-books, historical-fiction, us-literature, racism, american-literature

A work of fiction that tells the story of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. The story is told by his Owen Brown. It was interesting, good work of prose but it was a bit of work to get through. It was a refresher of history that I did not have much recall. The author is pretty adamant that it was a work of fiction, but if this is anywhere near the truth, this family suffered from mental illness. Another thought I have on this book is that while John Brown may have been passionate about antislave A work of fiction that tells the story of John Brown of Harper's Ferry fame. The story is told by his Owen Brown. It was interesting, good work of prose but it was a bit of work to get through. It was a refresher of history that I did not have much recall. The author is pretty adamant that it was a work of fiction, but if this is anywhere near the truth, this family suffered from mental illness. Another thought I have on this book is that while John Brown may have been passionate about antislavery, and claimed to be hearing from God, he was twisting scripture to fit his need and another point is he may have been fighting for blacks, he did not understand blacks. This may this be the John Brown of the book and not the real John Brown but he was violent and judgmental and did not follow the scriptures commandment to love others.

I do think this is a work of prose and not one of plot. Characters were developed in general. The story goes back in history as it is being told in the present old age of Owen who is the narrator. As the narrator, I mostly found Owen to be unlikeable. He had a lot of issues. The son seems to think everything is about him and that his dad liked a black man more than he liked his son (Owen).

Famous people mentioned in the book include Frederick Douglas, Nathanial Hawthorn (the sister-in-law in the book was not a real person), Grimke Sisters.

Quotes: "Ameria is a Christian nation. She is indeed, he said, or ought to be. It was surely meant to be." Pg 383
"negroes did not need white people to love them" page 413
"The matter of deference and sameness", "If you yourself are not a victim, you cannot claim to see the world as the victim does", "Amongst negroes, a white man is always white. Page 420

The author writes about people on the fringe of society, marginalized people. The Brown family especially Owen was such a person. Owen Brown was the third son of John Brown. He managed to escape from Harper's Ferry and according to info on line he served in the Civil War for the Union Army. He died at 64 of pneumonia and was living in California. ...more

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