Reading Response: “The Child Screams Back at You” by Russel Banks

The breathless opening reminded me immediately of Luke O’Neil https://luke.substack.com/, where the hurried stream of consciousness implies an overwhelmed sensibility. I read Luke’s blog when I want to feel shittier about the world, and it usually works. I think he would approve. 

There was a nearly constant sense of tension, a foreboding, a waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop that kept me reading Banks straight through. The dream passage that includes the title (p. 68) really illustrates this sentiment. This sense of impending doom was rewarded, as expected.

Here is the main reason I go to the doctor: “Information is useful only insofar as it provides peace of mind, release from the horrifying visions of dead children, an end to this dream” (p. 67). I love how the doctor starts with mild possible sicknesses and then ratchets up the severity as more proof emerges. I had a discussion of this nature when my son broke his arm. (A Spiderman costume was involved.) The doctor said he didn’t think it was broken, and I said, “I heard it snap” and insisted on an x-ray, revealing a badly broken forearm.