The Sweet Hereafter written by Banks

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Of all the novels I've read, not that I've read a lot, but 'The Sweet Hereafter';, written by Banks, is by far the best. I especially enjoyed the first person narration used. The plot in this novel was dependent on three main events: the bus accident, Mitchell Stevens, Esq. (the lawyer), and the testimony of Nichole Burnell.
The bus accident is first mentioned by the bus driver, Dolores Dricsoll. She talks about he past for a while and then goes on to describe the accident, '…it was then that I saw the dog…. I am almost sure it was an optical illusion or a mirage…. I had made my choice, as I wrenched the steering wheel to the right….';(Banks, 33,34) It turns out that the choice she made killed ½ of the children on the bus. Dolores was let go from her job and alienated by her town, Sam Dent.
In come the lawyers. After the accident everyone in town was mourning, and looking for some way to get over the pain. For a lot of these people, the answer was money; at least they thought it was. Mitchell Stevens Esq. was the lawyer most of the people in town chose to trust. He felt that he had a good negligence case against the state. The more he talked to his clients, the more they believed that he did. However, this was all put to rest when Nichole Burnell testified. Nicole was sitting the closest to Dolores at the time of the accident, and could see all the gauges, including the speedometer. Her testimony went a little like this, 'Yes I understand. Dolores was driving too fast, and it scared me…It seemed to me that we were going very fast down the hill there. I was scared…I know she was going seventy-two miles an hour. The speedometer is large and easy to see…'; With that testimony, Nichole put the law suits to rest. She didn't do it out of selfishness, but more out of the benefit for everyone in Sam Dent.

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