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The DarlingA good friend of mine is writing her thesis on Russell Banks. I can't remember why, or what exactly she's discussing, but the fact that someone I consider intelligent would spend so much time thinking about the guy was enough to convince me to pick up The Darling, his most recent book.
I read it in four days, sneaking time to read it in between metro stops and waits at the eye doctor's. Usually, this kind of behavior means I REALLY love a book. But now, several weeks down the line, I still don't know what to make of The Darling.
The premise: Hannah Musgrave/Dawn Carrington is our protaganist. She spent a large portion of her life as the latter, even though she was born the former. Her identity was changed after/during her time with the Weather Underground - where she was lead to believe that she was on the FBI's Most Wanted list. From there, she is convinced to flee America with another Undergrounder, and the two of them set up shop in Ghana. After a short while, she heads out to Liberia, where she meets the man who will become her husband and she falls in love with some chimpanzees. Somewhere in there, you realize she's a cruel, heartless bitch, but you also hope she doesn't die when Liberia goes to pot.
Yes, the story really is as convoluted and hard to relay as it seems. Although there are moments where the writing is great and the book trucks along nicely, I had two issues with this novel:
1. I'm getting really tired of the story of white-(wo)man-discovers Africa. But what's worse, however, was that I felt this representation was just off somehow. Banks apparently spent quite a lot of time in Liberia researching for the book, but when it turned out that Hannah/Dawn was rubbing elbows with Charles Taylor and made privy to top-secret plans, I found the whole thing to be rubbish. And when she helped him escape from a US prison, I just... well... it was one step to far.
2. I generally appreciate when a man can write appropriately from a female perspective. I would most likely not put Banks in this camp. Although there are moments when he exhibits a fair amount of skill, the coldness of the protaganist in this book was just not convincing. She was an American woman, alone and isolated, in Liberia for much of the novel. Even after she had two sons, she remained cold and distant from them. The basic idea for Banks was to place her cunning above her emotions, but I have a hard time believing anyone can be so heartless.
Overall, I'm not upset I read it. I made it through the book and even found myself enjoying it at times. I just found it, well, a little bit too much. Somewhat OTT, I suppose. There was even a moment where I thought it bordered on trashy romance, but it quickly recovered. Still, I can't say I recommend it, even though I'm glad I read it myself. If you're into historical fiction, and into Africa, you might enjoy it. I took issue with some of the liberties he took with the story itself, but the fact of the matter is that the book is still well-researched and a pretty entertaining way to get a look inside recent Liberian politics - or at least get you familiar with the main players, if you weren't already.
Buy it, if you have read this far: The Darling by Russell Banks
