Destroy the World?
“Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is.” Russell Banks, Continental Drift (1985)
Do not be surprised to find a resurgence of interest in Russell Banks’ work. His early work blends well with the racially “woke” folks of today. I confess to not having read him (only reviews and brief bios), but I saw the line above in a “best of” collection and it struck me.
My first work was not trying to change the world. I just wanted to tell a good story. My magazine work was like that: light, fun, different than much of the boating magazine genre. (See my Oct 29 Snippet) But once I got deep into Ballad of the Blacksmith’s Son, I realized novels about people should consciously reflect my world view. I didn’t just want to create characters with distinctive faces and voices and skills, I wanted to develop characters with values. Huck Finn shows values when he feels for Jim’s plight. We see Jem and Scout Finch develop values in To Kill A Mockingbird. Likewise, Charles Darnay in Tale of Two Cities.
If you put positive values in your characters, and you sell books, you may put positive values in your readers. We could use some positive values these days to “destroy the world as it is.”
