Rating: 
Summary: So good it's criminal
Review: ...He's a modern day Ernest Hemingway, very simple but incrediblly complex. It's full of love, humour, mystery, tension, soul searching and double edged swords. It's big city meets small town and it's a clash of two different worlds.Billy Ansell is one of the most dynamic characters ever in the rpinted word. He suffers from the death of his wife, but has to add to that the death of his kids. He remains a champion of human decency when he deals with Mitchell Stephens, as complex a character can get without carrying his skeletons with him instead of leaving them in the closet. The story is simple and complex, thus comes the movie tagline, "There is no such thing as the simple truth." The simple truth is, however, that this is one of the greatest English language novels of the last 20 years. It receives my highest recommendation possible.
Rating:
Summary: Read this book twice.
Review: A heartbreakingly beautiful exploration of the space between light and dark, heat and fierce cold; that prolonged moment of unbearable, profound tragedy, what came before and the pale comparison of all that comes after. I could not put it down. I am certain these characters will live with me forever.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely and tragic
Review: First and foremost, I would like to say that I highly resent the comment about this being a book only for those who like Oprah. This is not because I'm not a huge fan of Oprah (for reasons I won't spew out here), it's just that her literary tastes tend to veer towards the weepy and transparently 'deep. 'The Sweet Hereafter', on the other hand, is a beautifully written and deeply affecting story that is not at all pretentious in the way it presents its themes.
Yes, it sounds mind-numbingly depressing, but it's a kind of story where you can just wallow comfortably in the sadness. I know that doesn't sound like a good thing, but it is.
Rating: 
Summary: A Question of Blame
Review: From the perspective of a college freshmen, the book "The Sweet Hereafter" told a very interesting story. Banks, the author, was able to keep my attention throughout the entire book. This is sometimes hard to do considering I would usually rathar be watching t.v. or taking a nap than reading. When something tragic happens, like that which happened in the book, the same question always arises; who is to blame? This is something that is expected these days. In this story, Banks, in my opinion, answers this lingering question indirectly. Most of the time the anwser is the same; no one is to blame, it was purely an accident. The people of this small town setting need a scapegoat in order to survive after the accident occurs. Through one of the most prominent characters, Banks, gives them what they need. Although it is not the truth of the matter, it will save the town from a lot of anguish and grief that could be avoided. Other characters think that the only way to survive this particular tragedy, and probably all other tragedies, is to get revenge against someone, anyone, meaning nasty, drawn out lawsuits. In the end, the story proves that life does go on after something terrible happens, and sometimes without so much as one word being uttered the vicitms of that tragedy come together in an unspoken bond. "The Sweet Hereafter" was a really good book. I reccommend this book for anyone who wishes to read it.
Rating:
Summary: Really Enjoyed
Review: I admit this book was hard to start for me but once i made it in about 60 pages it took off like a shot.
This is a story about a bus accident in a remote town in upstate NY and how the lives of all are altered. Russell Banks develops his characters so deeply. I will not go into the story because many have done that already below me, but I can say that if you read this book, there will be one character that you can relate to. I like how Banks, shows the darker side of life and doesn't rap it up in a need bundle (same as life) wounds heal but scars remain to remind us of the past.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I originally bought the book, not becuase I wanted to, but becuase I needed it for a school project. After opening it and forcing myself to read the first 3 paragraphs (I thought the book was going to be bad) I found myself unable to put it down. Banks is a GREAT novelest. I intend to read his works more often. Once I finished The Sweet Hereafter, I picked up Affliction (I haven't finished it... yet)
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Masterpiece
Review: I read this book a month ago, and have since read three other books, but this one still resonates with me. Every time I drive down a snowy Connecticut street, I think of Dolores and her bus full of kids. This work is brilliant. It's narrated from four points of view, each one utterly engrossing. I haven't seen the movie and have no interest in doing so. Russell Banks brings us to so many moral questions, so many human emotions, so many lives, that I feel enriched, saddened, and even transformed by his art. How could the movie match that? The overall theme of this work is loss and transformation, within a sparkling narrative of a terrible event. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Awful!!
Review: I was assigned to read this book over the summer by my school, and I had to unpleasantly plow my way through this book. I did not enjoy this book at all. The characters got on my nerves SO much; all they did was whine and complain about things not even related to the accident, and I hated the way they thought. I couldn't read this book for more than 30 minutes at a time; it bored me too much. I feel like this book had no point to it at all. I didn't learn any "lessons," nor did I find myself even relating to the characters at any point during the story. Sorry, this book was just really, really awful.
Rating: 
Summary: What's so "sweet" about it?
Review: It keeps you reading. I'll give it that. It's one of those books that you read from cover to cover in about 3 hours. But that's all i'll give it. Russell Banks's "The Sweet Hereafter" is a story about 4 main characters whose lives cave in after a bus accident. It's told from 4 different view points which you would think would make it more powerful - however, I wasn't fond of it. The way Banks writes the chapters gives you no closure with the characters whatsoever (especially Mitchell Stephens, which really bugged me). The book also reflects alot on the characters's pasts. What I don't understand is how SO many things can go wrong in this little town with a population of maybe 50 people. Death. Affairs. Sexual molestation. AIDS. Drugs. Alcohol abuse. Cancer. Marijuana and LOTS of it. Babies getting bitten by black widow spiders, for God's sake. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. But maybe that's because I'm a 16-year-old theater geek who likes to read Harry Potter and books that were made into musicals in her spare time. But really, unless you like Oprah Books (which many people do...), I don't think you'll enjoy this novel very much.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-written but poorly-researched
Review: Russell Banks's novel, The Sweet Hereafter, is extremely readable and fast-paced. Banks has put together a gripping story with characters that are strangely off-putting and likable at once. The plot involves some topics which are difficult and painful to consider and fairly unspeakable in nature. He has addressed these taboo topics tastefully. The characters in this book are very well-developed. Banks offers many insights through these intriguing characters. The plot centers around four main characters caught up in the aftermath of a school bus accident which has killed or maimed 15 children. These characters are Dolores, who drove the bus, Billy Ansel, the widowed father of twins killed in the accident, Mitchell Stephens, an angry, confrontational lawyer on the lookout for clients, and Nichole, the young cheerleader who is paralyzed as a result of the accident. All four tell their stories in their own ways. Each has a different perspective on guilt, grief and regret.
In contrast to his masterful character development, Banks's knowledge of civil litigation is pretty sketchy and often inaccurate. In particular, Banks lacks a basic understanding of deep pockets, sovereign immunity and damage capitation. The book's climax is completely meaningless for those who have an accurate understanding of civil liability and the valuation of cases.
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