Russell Banks

The Reserve (Harper)

Russell Banks, one of the great living American novelists, uses the 1930's novel of passion and betrayal -- with its allied seductions, madness, and adultery -- to explore America's class system; the relationships between art, politics and wealth; and the despoiling of the American Landscape. Although these are classic Russell Banks themes, this novel explodes with a passionate intensity that is exceptional for him. (An abridged version of this interview will be heard live on KCRW due to our semi-annual subscription drive. It will be archived in its entirety online.)

Banner image: Ileana Florescu