Russell Banks's Cloudsplitter is a novel that dives into the historical and political life and times of the abolitionist martyr John Brown. The heart-wrenching and brilliant novel is told through the eyes of Owen Brown, a son of the controversial abolitionist.

Cloudsplitter is a modern masterpiece of thoroughly researched storytelling. Banks incorporates a unique combination of suspense, intrigue, violence and even romance to entice readers into the complicated domestic life and struggles of the Brown family.

Cloudsplitter gives the reader a look into the Brown family.

The novel begins as a historian inquiring about the Brown family contacts Owen. Owen, now an aging sheepherder in the isolated foothills of California, hesitantly recalls his life and complicated relationship with his influential father. Until now, Owen had considered “the long, savage war between the white race and the black race,” to be a personal family matter.

Cloudsplitter is more than a historical account of events, rather it tells the complex tale of the domestic adventures of the Brown family as they fight to overcome the injustices many slaves were facing.

The story follows the Brown family and their journey across America, as they followed their father's footsteps in his search for wealth and his mission to cleanse the land of the poison of “racialism.” His business drive and fanatic religious beliefs were absolute and seemed extreme to many, including his own family.

In the novel Owens describes his father; “the man [John Brown] had read every word of his Bible hundreds of times: nothing human beings did with or to one another or themselves shocked him. Only slavery shocked him.” The Brown family follows a profound ideal: to rid the nation of the sins of slavery and create a nation of eternal harmony.

The novel follows the Brown family's journey across country, including to the Adirondacks. The Browns relocate near Timbuktu, the homestead and village to many free black farmers, where Brown had jumped into the secret and dangerous life of smuggling fugitive slaves north.

Cloudsplitter builds in emotion and momentum as it follows their influential domestic life and finally climaxes at Brown's famous raid on Harpers Ferry, where he attempts to provoke a massive riot among slaves by capturing a federal arsenal. As history and Banks recall, the attempted uprising fails miserably and ultimately leads to the capture and execution of John Brown and sparked the initial flame that led to the American Civil War.

Rather than focus on the influential life of Brown, Banks placed the intrigue on Owen and his personal conflict with his aging memories and the legacy of his fanatic father. Cloudsplitter is about someone living in the shadows of slavery and the profound and passionate martyr who tried to end it.

Cloudsplitter is a powerful story that will make readers appreciate the unique relationship between families and the costs of fanatic beliefs. It draws readers into the complex time of swiftly changing social and political views, and make most appreciate the richness of our history.

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Cloudsplitter

By Russell Banks
Publisher: Harper Collins Publishing