With "American Spirits," Russell Banks, who died in 2023, delivers his literary testament, a sensitive critique of a white, armed America

Russell Banks, who passed away in 2023, leaves behind a literary and political testament with his posthumously published collection of three novellas, "American Spirits." Published in the United States in 2024, the book offers a sensitive critique of a white, armed America, particularly focusing on areas that voted for Donald Trump.

The stories are set in the fictional town of Sam Dent, located in upstate New York near the Canadian border. Common elements in these family and neighborhood tales, which often turn tragic, include MAGA (Make America Great Again) red hats, numerous firearms, and oversized pickup trucks. Banks masterfully depicts the transition from mundane daily life to the sudden eruption of violence, skillfully igniting the underlying tensions beneath a seemingly peaceful surface.

Banks, known for his memorable novels, also excels in the short form, creating suspenseful narratives with characters who gain depth quickly. Without resorting to caricature or black-and-white portrayals, and maintaining his characteristic humanism and empathy, he paints a nuanced portrait of a white, conservative America. This is an America that is religious, heavily armed, often hostile to differences, and united by values that stand in stark contrast to his own.

As is often the case in his work, Banks challenges the foundational myths of the United States, particularly the myth of the pioneer who, through sheer courage and hard work, supposedly transformed wild, unoccupied land. In Sam Dent, the "rot in the fruit" has been present since the beginning. The celebrated founder acquired the vast territory, once common land for indigenous peoples, through trickery and plunder. The text highlights a character's pride in his lineage, despite acknowledging that his ancestor's actions were "tainted by original sins, war booty, embezzlement, counterfeiting, outright theft, self-glorification, selfishness, and greed."