Wade Whitehouse, divorced, estranged from his young daughter, spends his days as a well-driller, snow-plow operator, and policeman, his nights in a wind-swept trailer park. But when a union boss is killed in an apparent hunting accident near Wade's home, and he is convinced that it is murder, he seizes the event as a chance to right many wrongs—unaware that as he unravels the mystery he himself will become unravelled. Soon his hunger for justice and self-respect become inseparable from a desperate violence.

Russell Banks' profile page

RUSSELL BANKS is the author of numerous works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. He has received many awards, including the Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the O'Henry Award, the Dos Passos Award and the American Book Award. He was named an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture. He lives in upstate New York.

"Everything about Affliction is impressive . . . [It] will not let go of you, I swear, until you turn the last page." —Elmore Leonard

"With Affliction, Banks has become the most important white male American on the official literary map, a writer we can actually learn from, whose books help and urge us to change." —The Village Voice
"A powerful and often astonishing novel of which it can safely be said that it should be read over and over for many years to come." —The Waterloo Region Record