Customer Reviews

Cloudsplitter

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Do you remember at school when there was something that you didn't quite understand - usually algebra for me - and everybody else seemingly did? The last thing to do was to put your hand up and ask the teacher for clarification, thus one would stay quiet rather than be viewed as the class dunce. The psychology of my school days apart, the reading of Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks has left me with a similar feeling. The book has received a great many plaudits and I don't quite understand why. So I think maybe it's just me, that maybe I'm just missing something. But unlike my algebra classes I like to put my hand up!

Described on its cover as `a splendid epic' and ` A great American novel' when I finished it's mammoth 758 pages I agreed with some of these assessments and indeed still do. However, with the reflection of a couple of weeks maybe rather than the pleasure of completion what I actually was feeling the relief of completion.

Written from the perspective of Owen Brown, son of John Brown there is a great deal within the pages of Cloudsplitter that can be admired. It is in many instances well written, evocative, moving and extremely powerful. But the flip side is that it is also repetitive, boring, difficult to read and at times sleep inducing. The strength of the novel is in its depth of description both in terms of events and environments. The reader gains an understanding of the hardships of existing in certain parts of 19th century America. However, for this reader there is a vast difference between depth of description and length of description. On occasions I felt length replaced depth and furthermore became frustrated at attempts to flood me with language rather than lead me with it. The second half of the book - after Owen and his brother Fred head off to Kansas - picked up pace and I felt that I had more invested in the story. I do wish however that this could have happened before page 549!

Narrating his recollections via written correspondence to a researcher the melodramatic older Owen Brown suggests that he has become "nothing but paper.... a great disheveled heap of words" and for me coming to the end of the novel that's how I was beginning to feel.

I gave this book three stars because that's right in the middle of what I could have given. I suppose this is because Cloudsplitter for me hangs in the balance, one side represented by fine writing and the other by over indulgence. Ultimately I'm glad I read the book but for me it isn't an epic or the great American novel (living in England I'm never quite sure what the great American novel actually is!).

A measure for me of how much I've enjoyed a book is how many times I'll loan it out to friends and family - Cloudsplitter I regret to say will spend some time of my bookcase.

Now about that algebra!

I do not like the idea of heros; but Banks is able to humanize his characters so deeply and movingly that there is nothing else to call them. Instead of a vacuous glory like that ascribed to the so-caled founding fathers of the United States in American high school history classrooms, Banks presents us with Owen and John Brown, full of doubts and weaknesses, yet able to achieve amazing ends regardless. For these characters, bravery and integrity means something. For example, much confusion has surrounded the Pottawatomie Massacre carried out by John and Owen; it was a horrible deed, cold, ruthless, and terrorist. It is to Banks' credit that he develops his characters so well that this incident can be dealt with clearly. Reading Cloudsplitter, we can get a picture of how the real occurence might have happened.

Nearly everything about this book hits the mark. It is well-researched (although if you want to know the true history of these stories, you should look elsewhere, since Banks at times diverges from the record). The language Banks uses is appropriate to the subject, as is the epic length and scope of the work. The issues of racism are handled in their unresolved complexity, making the novel eminently useful for those living in the US today. The novel integrates broad, important ideas about spirituality, identity, and power with the emotional and psychological eruptions of all-too human beings in a way that will perhaps make it a classic statement about the human condition.

A thoroughly meticulously and hugely ambitious telling of John Brown's life, culminating in the bloody rebellion at Harper's Ferry.

Russell Banks strays from his normal storytelling formula in Cloudsplitter; this novel reads like a well researched piece of historical fiction. Banks concentrates not only on capturing the characters with accuracy and depth (which he accomplishes here as in his other novels) but also on painting the mood and character of the time itself. This is the story not only of Owen and John Brown, but of pre-Civil War America itself.

At 758 pages it isn't a quick read, and the characters develop more slowly than they do in his other novels, but I never found the book to be needlessly verbose. We get a picture of John Brown that is comprehensive and complete, warts and all. And we also get an interesting look at the institution of chattel slavery in the United States, its crushing effectiveness, and the racial norms of the time.

Brown is painted as a man of principle, but a fanatic nonetheless. His power over his small band of followers is based largely on his overwhelming charisma, not on his vision or his doomed mission. The novel is based on actual events and therefore the reader knows how the action will end before it even begins, but Banks manages to keep the suspense building.

Banks employs some strange tactics in this novel, including a risky "out of body" experience that mixes an element of fantastic into his otherwise literal and meticulous storytelling (you might think you've wandered into a Rushdie or Gabrial Marquez novel). But somehow it all works. In summary: an interesting and challenging novel.

Russell Banks' Cloudsplitter is an important and engaging work of historical fiction, bringing John Brown and his family to life and exploring a period in American history in which the fate of the young nation truly hung in the balance. Many novels have been written of the Civil War years, by writers such as Jeffrey and Michael Shaara, as well as Charles Frazier. Banks instead brings the turbulent 1850's to life, complete with New England abolitionists, the Underground Railroad, and the political struggles culminating in some dubious "compromises" as more states entered the sharply-divided Union.

The structure of the book is unique, as the novel is comprised of a long narrative by surviving son Owen Brown, his father's right hand man during the years leading up to the deadly raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Owen is supposedly gathering his papers and setting forth his story to a fictional "Miss Mayo", who, along with her boss, is working on a definitive biography of John Brown several decades after his death. Owen feels that his father has traditionally been misunderstood, branded an insane terrorist by some and a holy martyr by others, while Owen attempts to humanize him and the rest of the family.

Russell Banks apparently spent years in painstaking research on this book, and you wonder how much of the story is pure fiction, and how much of Owen's narrative is based on historical fact. Of course Banks would likely tell you that such inquiries are besides the point, although I will wonder whether John Brown really did write a Horatio Alger-like pamphlet for African Americans titled "Sambo's Mistakes". I absolutely loved the scene in which John Brown realizes his son Owen has stolen something, and rather than whip the boy the elder Brown makes Owen whip him, as punishment for John Brown's failings as a father which would lead his son to commit such an offense. Heavy stuff indeed.

Many reviewers have commented upon the length of the book, and while the language was never too difficult or tedious to get through, I must admit the Banks takes his time setting up the story, as the pace does not really pick up considerably until about page 400. There are meaningful episodes earlier, including John Brown's efforts to escort espaped slaves to Canada on the Underground Railroad, his family tragedies, and his land speculations and failures. We also see glimpses of other historical figures including Frederick Douglass and Ralph Waldo Emerson, who probably did interact with Brown in some fashion in real life.

Banks moves skillfully toward the climax of the book, throwing in references to future events in "Bloody Kansas" or Harpers Ferry to give the whole book a sense of foreboding. However the ultimate payoff was a little light to me, which is my reservation about giving the book 5 stars. By making surviving son Owen Brown his narrator, and by telling us that Owen's job is not to chronicle historical events (about which much has supposedly been written) but instead to concentrate on personal reminisces, Banks limits himself a bit. By the end, at Harpers Ferry, the reader (at least this reader) wants a little more historical detail than Owen can provide, due to his location and status during the culminating raid. Everybody knows John Brown's fate, but after 740 pages leading up to the great showdown, I wanted a little more than I got, (maybe words to his captors or specific details as to the fates of other members of the party). Ultimately what made the novel effective for the first 7/8ths of the book was the thing that brought the ending down a peg in my estimation.

Anyway, for those like myself who enjoy historical novels and who want to learn more about one of the most notorious and fascinating figures in American history, this is a monumental work. In reading Cloudsplitter, you understand the family dynamics which led Brown's sons to follow him into a maelstrom, you get a glimpse into the belief system of John Brown and his atheist son, and you wait with him for the great slave uprising which he thought would accompany his raid on the federal weapons arsenal at Harpers Ferry, as part of his campaign to rid the nation of the scourge of slavery. I am glad I read Cloudsplitter, but unlike some of my co-reviewers here I sure don't plan on doing it again.

This review refers to "Cloudsplitter" by Russell Banks - audio cassette edition read by George DelHoyo....

If you are looking for a fabulous Historical novel for a great read on a long trip, this audio edition will keep you enthralled for the entire 6 hours.

John Brown who's fierce and violent attempts to free all the slaves is the focus of this story set on the eve of the Civil War. His life and the building of his utter contempt for slave owners and catchers is told through the eyes and participation in events by his son Owen. From the early beginnings of the "Underground Railroad" system,Banks builds on the tense situations, to murderous raids on those who opposed Brown to the heart pounding climax of the raid at Harper's Ferry. He also delves deep into the psyche of Owen Brown and his battle of conscience.Descriptions of the old South, the countrysides, the secret moving of Slaves and subsequent events,puts the reader right into the story. My Walkman was practically attached to me, I couldn't find a place I wanted to pause it.

The reading by George DelHoyo is magnificent as he finds all the emotional turmoil of Owen, the wrath of the controversial John Brown, the wisdom of Frederick Douglas and the horrors surrounding the events. I have never heard a reading by him before,but will be looking for more.I likened his voice to Nick Nolte's. Raspy and masculine.

There are 4 tapes for a total of 6 hours with quality sound. My only reason for 4 stars(instead of 5) is that this tape is an abridgement.It is recorded by Audio Literature.

An enthralling historical fiction read for audio book fans
enjoy the read....Laurie

I enjoyed this book thoroughly, despite some historical inaccuracies. As Banks plainly states, the book is a novel. It is not meant to be painfully accurate history as to detail. However, it is certainly accurate history as to spirit. Another excellent book for people interested in John Brown, a non-fiction work that reads like a novel, is Ed Renehan's THE SECRET SIX: THE TRUE TALE OF THE MEN WHO CONSPIRED WITH JOHN BROWN. As Allen D. Boyer wrote in the Sunday New York Times Book Review, THE SECRET SIX "is a spellbinding study in revolution from the top down -- gaslit opulence with tense whispers from the sidelines." I note that the Amazon.com URL for this title is -- Sam Blankenship

An Adirondack mountain known as the Cloudsplitter stretches toward the heavens above North Elba, New York, dominating the landscape. In its shadow lives John Brown, a fiery abolitionist who also reaches toward God--a man who will eventually dominate the political landscape. Telling John Brown's story is Owen Brown, the only son of John Brown to survive the calamitous raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, a prelude to the Civil War. As Owen Brown, now an old man, looks back on the events leading to this attack, he reveals his deep commitment to his father and to abolition, though he always lacked his father's religious fervor and longed instead to have a life of his own.

In North Elba in 1841, the Browns, aided by a small community of freedmen, are a stop on the Underground Railroad, facing daily threats to their lives and those of their "cargo." John Brown, believing that God has anointed him to eliminate slavery by whatever means are necessary, views himself as the Old Testament incarnations of both Abraham and Job. Eventually, John Brown's religious fervor and view of his mission lead to violence and murder, and Brown, called a "terrorist" by his opponents, gradually becomes isolated, even from the black community.

Owen, committed to his father's vision of a free society, is drawn into the maelstrom, and when Brown and five sons go to Kansas to fight pro-slavery vigilantes in 1855, it is Owen who (literally) takes up the sword and initiates the cold-blooded murder of five settlers. The raid on the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, in which Brown had hoped to be aided by Frederick Douglass, proves a failure, though it ultimately galvanizes the country on the issue of slavery.

Exhaustively researched by author Russell Banks, the novel is filled with fascinating historical detail that sheds light on Brown and his actions. The major black characters with whom the Browns work, are fully drawn and sympathetic, and the book is vibrantly descriptive--with images from nature vying with gruesome, savage scenes. Symbolism abounds, from the Cloudsplitter to the characters from the Old Testament with whom John Brown identifies. The novel, nearly eight hundred pages long, is challenging to read, however. The reader develops little empathy for John Brown because he is too single-minded to be "round," and while Owen's adolescent confusions regarding sexuality make him seem more human, his evolution into a murderous butcher is not effectively developed. The almost total absence of women in the novel and its lack of warmth limit its appeal. A terrific historical achievement, the book is less effective as a novel. n Mary Whipple

Initially intimidated by the size of this book, I nevertheless became quickly engrossed in it's detailed characterizations of the famous and the unknown people involved in the abolition movement prior to the Civil War. Even more interesting is the father-son conflict that drives the novel to it's conclusion at Harper's Ferry. This book will have me checking out more stuff on John Brown. Banks' insight on the problems of race relations in this country are amazing. This is the kind of book that you can recommend to someone not just for the history. Although long, it's a compelling read and one not soon forgotten.

When my father gave me this lengthy book for Christmas (yes, I did request it), he said, "This should keep you busy until NEXT Christmas!" I feared he might be right. He wasn't. If you are interested in the history (somewhat doctored, but this IS a novel) of the abolitionist movement, then you will not be able to put this book down. If you are an admirer of the awesome power of some writer to capture emotions, senses of place, pain, joy, or horror, this (again) is not a book to put down.

As most of you will know by now, Russell Banks has written a huge work on the life of John Brown as seen through the eyes and life of his son, Owen. Admittedly, Owen was not a highly educated man, although he seemingly was a highly principled one. Some readers have criticized Banks for allowing Owen to speak and write to eloquently. How could an uneducated man speak thusly? To which I would reply (as a reader, not an author) that the monumental events of that time could not be expressed with pedestrian prose. Banks' gift is to bring us into those times of life, death, murder, cruelty, and ultimately, madness. How can we live it with him and the Browns in any other way?

After reading this work, I feel like I know the Browns intimately. Whether the facts as presented are all true, is grist for another mill. However, Banks has achieved something great here. He has not just given us a taste of the history (as any ordinary historical novel might), but has given us some insight into the psyche of its characters. Why did John Brown take on the establishment in this way? Why did some of his sons and friends sacrifice themselves in the fight against slavery? Banks paints some very interested psychological profiles, but does it so deftly through Owen's first person narrative (actually, Owen's voluminous letter to a historian in NY), that it was a natural part of the story.

Ultimately, we are left to marvel at John and Owen Brown, and to wonder if they really were mad. For me, their madness was their gift. Who else in their right mind would have taken the risks that these men did? And without their madness, would the fight against slavery have been so successful?

This issue of madness is visited in another incredible and true story, "The Professor and the Madman," which recounts the making of the Oxford English Dictionary (speaking of pedestrian!). It it entirely likely that in today's society, the protagonists in each of these magnificent works would be "treated" in some manner.

Had that been the case, the world would be a worse place for it. And had that been the case, we would not have this incredible work of Russell Bank's to celebrate.

Russell Banks manages a wonderful conclusion for CLOUDSPLITTER, his novel about the life and times of the abolitionist John Brown. In this conclusion, narrator Owen Brown, the 35 year old bachelor son of John Brown, heads west in a cloak of darkness, finally "alone and free" following the debacle at Harpers Ferry. "I had no plan," he says. "I barely had thoughts. I had spent my entire life following Father's plans, thinking his thoughts. And at that moment, as I sat up on the wagon...I did not know what to do or think." Then, the often poetic Owen clucks to his horse, turns left onto a rough country road, and observes: "The sky had cleared, and a belt of stars shone directly overhead, and a bright quarter moon had risen in the east. The trees were blue-black and flattened in the moonlight, and the fields seemed to be covered with a skin of powdery snow."

Interestingly, Banks allocates only two short chapters in his long novel to the raid at Harpers Ferry. In fact, Banks, through Owen Brown, indicates he has little to add to the already rich historical work on this momentous event. I'm certainly no expert. But those seeking a lucid and detailed presentation of the raid at Harpers Ferry might instead read the entertaining Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, where G. M. Fraser gives voice to all sides of the slavery issue, as well as moves his readers through all phases of this fantastical raid, which was supposed to begin a slave insurrection.

In CLOUDSPLITTER, Banks is primarily interested in exploring the character of a tormented son, who is overwhelmed by his overbearing and charismatic father, confused by his sexual impulses, and afflicted with guilt, following his acquiescence to his father's fanciful raid. This, in other words, is prime Russell Banks territory, since his fiction often features protagonists who are lonely and tormented men, caught in destructive relationships, and suffering from spiritual confusion.

My reaction to Owen Brown is mixed. On the one hand, he sometimes has a lovely and poetic voice, especially as he describes nature and the rugged terrain of the Adirondacks. IMHO, this voice reaches its peak in the amazing Chapter 5, when the Brown clan moves, clop by clop, from Ohio to North Elba, a town with a view of high-peak Mt. Marcy. This, as well as John Brown, is the Cloudsplitter of the title.

On the other, Owen, an unreliable narrator, can be melodramatic. And for much of this long novel, he lacks insight. As a result, he continually returns to his emotional issue of an overwhelming father, when the actual source of his loneliness and rage lies elsewhere. Sadly, a fraught repetitiveness is not a small element of Owen's voice.

Nonetheless, this is a major and often lovely work of fiction with interesting ideas about the roots of idealism, the question of sanity, and the perils of emotional enslavement. Recommended.