American Spirits

From one of America's most celebrated storytellers come three dark, interlocking tales about the residents of a rural New York town, and the shocking headlines that become their local mythologies.

A husband sells property to a mysterious, temperamental stranger, and is hounded on social media when he publicly questions the man's character. A couple grows concerned when an enigmatic family moves next door, and the children start sneaking over to beg for help. Two dangerous criminals kidnap an elderly couple and begin blackmailing their grandson, demanding that he pay back what he owes.

Suspenseful, thrilling, and expertly crafted, American Spirits explores the hostile undercurrents of our communities and American politics at large, as well as the ways local tragedies can be both devastating and, somehow, everyday. Ushering the reader through the town of Sam Dent, Russell Banks has etched yet another brilliant entry into the bedrock of American fiction.

Author: Russell Banks
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: 03/05/2024
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.8lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.90w x 1.10d
ISBN: 9780593536773


Review Citation(s):
Library Journal Prepub Alert 10/01/2023 pg. 6
Publishers Weekly 11/27/2023
Kirkus Reviews 12/15/2023
Library Journal 01/01/2024 pg. 64
Booklist 02/01/2024 pg. 20
Shelf Awareness 03/08/2024

About the Author
RUSSELL BANKS, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, was one of America's most prestigious fiction writers, a past president of the International Parliament of Writers, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been translated into twenty languages and received numerous prizes and awards. He died in 2023.