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Continental Drift

Russell Banks is a prolific writer of fiction and poetry. He was raised in the New England area, living with his parents and four younger siblings. Banks, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was the first in his family to go to college. After graduation Banks found that writing was not enough to maintain economic stability and therefore pursued additional jobs of plumbing and selling shoes. More recently Banks has taught at a variety of colleges and universities (http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1065).
The American author has lived in a variety of places from Massachusetts to Jamaica. His global experiences have contributed to the richness of his writings. The works of Russell Banks have been translated into twenty different languages and he has received numerous international prizes and awards
(http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1065).
Growing up in a working-class world has played a major role in shaping Bank's novels. He has made a life's work of logging causes and effects of the terrible things "normal" men can and will do. He also portrays an interest in the lives of characters, struggling to achieve the American Dream, who are at odds with economic and social forces (http://www.bookbrowse.com/biographies/index.cfm?author_number=1065).
The American Dream was once solely based on the desire to achieve freedom and individuality. This simplicity has been replaced by an intense hunger for money, at the cost of ones liberty and integrity. Continental Drift is Bank's representation of modern America. He focuses on the two complex lives of Bob Dubois and Vanise Dorsinville. The characters are from two different worlds slowly migrating towards one another in search of an escape to a better life. The distractions of greed, economic differences, and racial prejudice block their way to achieving the American Dream. The novel begins with Bob Dubois; an oil repairman from Catamount,...