Чарівне королівство

by Russell Banks, Наталя Сліпенко (Translator), Ольга Лисовська (Illustrator)

1971 року спекулянт нерухомістю Гарлі Манн починає записувати історію свого життя на магнітофон. Після раптової смерті батька його сім’я переїхала до болотистої місцевості Флориди — на землю, що згодом стане Світом Діснея, — аби приєднатися до спільноти шейкерів. Очолювана старійшиною Джоном, щедрою людиною із загадковим минулим, колонія присвятила себе праці, вірі та милосердю, відкидаючи всі матеріальні спокуси. Спочатку такий спосіб життя врятував Гарлі та його сім’ю від пожиттєвого рабства, та коли хлопець почав закохуватися у Сейді Пратт, пацієнтку з туберкульозом, що жила на території колонії, його вірність шейкерам похитнулася і, зрештою, зламалася.
Поки Гарлі диктує свою історію у понад пів століття — розмірковуючи про молодість, постійні зміни ландшафту Флориди та пошуки американської утопії, — правда про Сейді, старійшину Джона та шейкерів випливає на світло, прояснюючи минуле і сьогодення.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Book Club, Religion

432 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2022

About the author

Russell Banks was a member of the International Parliament of Writers and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been translated into twenty languages and has received numerous international prizes and awards. He has written fiction, and more recently, non-fiction, with Dreaming up America. His main works include the novels Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter, The Sweet Hereafter, and Affliction. The latter two novels were each made into feature films in 1997.

Reviews

[Ron Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1998, Russell Banks published an incendiary epic called “Cloudsplitter” about John Brown and his abolition cause. A finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, the novel felt like thunder in print. It remains the pinnacle — but certainly not the end — of Banks’s remarkable efforts to capture the moral complications of a radical life.

His new novel, “The Magic Kingdom,” returns again to that theme but in an entirely different register. The violent fury of the abolitionists’ principles has been replaced by the quiet intensity of the Shakers’ faith. Both groups looked aghast at a world intolerably corrupted, and both pursued strategies to utterly transform the status quo. But the Shakers, following the inspiration of Mother Ann Lee, withdrew into their egalitarian, celibate communities. And by setting his story among these outwardly peaceful, inwardly passionate believers, Banks has created another fascinating volume in his exploration of the American experience.

“The Magic Kingdom” is framed as a transcript of old reel-to-reel audiotapes discovered by Banks in the moldy basement of a public library in St. Cloud, Fla. The recordings, we’re told, were made in 1971 in the days after Walt Disney opened his gigantic amusement park in Orlando. The voice on the tapes is that of an elderly....

To read the rest of this review, go to The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/...

[vicki honeyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the 2nd paragraph, I was sucked in to this "is it a memoir or is it fiction?" new Russell Banks book. It's up to the reader to decide, but along the way you will be treated to an incredible tale from the voice of an incredibly fascinating man.

[AndiReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Russell Banks. Rule of the Bone is an all-time favorite book of mine! I jumped at the chance to review this novel and didn't take a moment to even read the synopsis.

Thus, it took me longer than it will you, to understand the title! But what an amazing story....

In The Magic Kingdom, fictional author Russell Banks comes across a set of old tapes, a series of recordings made by a man in the 70's. Harley Mann tells an amazing tale of early servitude to living with Shakers near where Disney World will be built. His early years were spent as a Ruskins (utopian socialist sect) and that seemed to have formed his comfort with cult like living throughout his life.

After a young life of pain and suffering, Harley grows to love his life with the Shakers in Florida. He doesn't question it at all until he encounters a young woman that is convalescing in the settlement.

Banks writes an enthralling novel, based on actual events. His characters are complex and interesting and Florida itself evolves as a major plot point as humans begin to overdevelop the land. If you love Russell Banks, American History, autobiographical style stories or just want an enthralling story, The Magic Kingdom is for you!
#TheMagicKingdom #RussellBanks #NetGalley #PenguinRandomHouse

[Desiree Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

OVERVIEW:
This is one of those fictional novels that is done so well that the reader often forgets it’s not real. There really were Shakers in Florida. They did live south of what is now Orlando. There was a real woman named Sadie. As the author notes, however, the book is fictional, only loosely based on actual events. It’s both a love letter to, and a condemnation of, the wonderful and unique state of Florida.

THE GOOD:
Well written, with lovely language, and beautiful description of the wild Central Florida landscape; immense foliage, water water everywhere, and majestic birds and animals.

It is ultimately the story of hardship, of finding your way and where you belong, and of the human desire for peace, beauty, and happiness.

It explores how our formative years have such a profound influence on the rest of our lives. (Our hero, Harley, never was able to unshackle himself from his past; but at least he comes to his end in spectacular Florida style.)

But more truly than the above, it is the story of Harley and his obsessive love for Sadie. It is beautiful and it is heart-rending.

THE BAD:
I struggle with the book title, as this tale is not Disney World related at all, but it does take place on the (fictional) land that will become Disney World. That said, in a way, I can’t separate that title from the story.

I do object, also, to the characterization that Disney cheated people. His future work to make the land valuable had no bearing in what it was worth at the time of purchase.

A tad bit of Florida bashing as well, including the state flag, which is eye-rolling.

Content alerts: One use of the “F” word; fornication (but not descriptive - soft, tender scenes in the fade to black style).

CONCLUSION:
A bit uncomfortable at first, but wholly absorbing. Recommended. Bring your tissues and guard your heart.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE MAGIC KINGDOM by Russell Banks is a novel about belief, betrayal, and the transformation of one small corner of the USA.
A tapestry of love and faith, memory and imagination, The Magic Kingdom questions what it means to look back and accept one's place in history.
The narrator, Harvey, is 81 years old, and we learn his life story starting from when he was a young boy.
I enjoyed learning about the Shakers and their way of life. "Hands to work and hearts to God."
The Shakers twelve principles were:
honestly, continence, faith, hope, charity, innocence, meekness, humility, prudence, thankfulness, patience and simplicity.

I was compelled to copy the first and second verse of the following poem. "Advice to Children on Behaviour at Table by Elder Daniel Offord

"First, in the morning when you rise
Give thanks to God who well supplies
Our many wants and gives us food,
Wholesome, nutritious, sweet, and good.
Then to some proper place repair
And wash your hands and face with care,
And ne'er the table once disgrace
With dirty hands or dirty face.

"Then straightly from the table walk,
Nor stop to handle things, nor talk.
If we mean never to offend,
To every gift we must attend.
Respecting meetings, work, or food,
And doing all the things we should.
Then joy and comfort we shall find,
Love, quietness, and peace of mind.
Pure heavenly union will increase,
And every evil work will cease."

I also took note of Elder John Bennett's view of human nature.
"...the Shakers...aren't like the rest of mankind. They are trusting and mostly live in the sweet hereafter. The rest of mankind...are mistrustful and are therefore untrustworthy, and they live only for the moment and are acquisitive and materialistic and hungry for power and sensual gratification."

This was a 'Buddy Read' and the discussion was very interesting. Thank you C,D and C.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read Russell Banks for awhile, and I almost forgot what a masterly novelist he is.

In the opening of “The Magic Kingdom,” 'Russell Banks' discovers a pile of reel-to-reel tapes in the basement of a library in St. Cloud, Florida. He takes them home and they sit in a box for a decade or so before he gets the jones to listen to them. Is this really Russell Banks the author, a stand-in, or just something he wished had happened? We don’t know.

The reels were recorded by a man named Harley Mann, a former land developer, and, as we will find, much more. Through him we will learn about utopian communities that flourished in Florida in the early 20th century, particularly the Shakers.

Harley and his family were Ruskinites, a utopian socialist group who followed the teaching of British painter and social reformer John Ruskin. They came to a failing Ruskinite community in Waycross, Georgia from Indiana, but following his father’s death, his mother and four siblings became debt slaves on a plantation. His mother reaches out to her network of utopian societies and one day a tall, handsome man speaking in Quaker grammar pays their debt and takes the entire family to a flourishing Shaker community in Florida, near what will become a different magic kingdom.

Harley immerses us in the life of the society and the natural world around it, as more and more people come to live in this delicate ecology that was never meant to sustain such a large population. Elder John and Eldress Mary manage the colony with love, placing members in jobs for which they are both suited and interested. Harley becomes a beekeeper. He also becomes enamored of a young woman with tuberculosis whom the Shakers have taken under their wing. If you’re wondering how could work in a celibate community, Harley will clarify.

Harley as an old man tells in his own words what he did to his world, which he loved and which had become a home for his family. We learn a little about his career in land development—just enough. We’ll wonder why he is living in a shotgun house with an emergent sinkhole at the end of the driveway.

I found the “author discovered” aspect sort of intriguing, especially when it allows Banks to tie up the story at the other end. Unlike many novels using this device, Banks does not participate in Harley’s story—he lets the voice on the reels do that job. He admits to some editing, and I think he could have done some more. After finishing “Magic Kingdom” I would see how important every element of the transcription was but I wanted him to get to it a little faster.

I’m wondering if I should put quotations around words like “Banks” and “editing” since he has written himself into Harley’s confession. He’s a master writer who tells a story with clarity and can create believable voices for his characters. In this novel he presents us with a world that no longer exists in any form—not just the Shaker community but the mysterious and glorious natural world of Florida a century ago.

Thanks to Knopf and Netgalley for this excellent reading experience!

[Cathrine ☯️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 🏰 🏰 🏰 🏰

[Gisell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting yet somewhat sluggish story that blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction. While it claims to be an explanation of the Shaker lifestyle and community in central Florida, as well as its downfall, it is, at its core, a love story. None of the characters were particularly relatable or even likable. While I did not outright dislike this book, I would be hard pressed to ever read it again or even recommend it.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book absolutely fascinating but I'm biased because the subject matter lines up perfectly with many of my interests: old Florida, religious socialist cults, etc.

[Floflyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce qui m'a principalement gêné à la lecture est le mode de narration choisit par l'auteur: un homme qui raconte sa vie en les enregistrant sur des bobines. Cela a tendance à un peu alourdir le texte sans rien n'y apporter.

Par contre j'ai adoré cette plongée dans les communautés socialistes et religieuses nord-américaine au début du siècle précédent. Très nombreuses et peu connues par chez nous, elles ont pourtant laissé des traces importantes dans la société etats-unienne. Même si très vite le capitalisme les a remplacé, elles restent néanmoins des pilliers de culture américaine.

Saupoudrez le tout d'une histoire d'amour tragique et d'un peu de drama, surtout dans les derniers chapitres, et cela donne un roman divertissant ET intéressant.

[Carmel Hanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up

An interesting fiction that educated the reader about a Shaker community and their practices. Not being familiar with this sect, I was interested enough to seek out more information about them. The narrative was somewhat repetitive and occasionally bogged down, but overall it was an interesting story that gave me new information about the history of the Shaker community. The characters and their interactions created opportunities for moral reflection and second-guessing the choices of the narrator.

Thanks, reading buddies, C, K and D!!

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read other Banks' book and enjoyed them. His use of language and description is high quality and his characters are usually captivating and engrossing. This one just did not grab my interest enough to keep me reading. A fictional (?) memoir of an elderly man who had recorded his life story on tape -- from the early part of the 20th century until the 1970s. The story is filled with detailed explanation of life within a utopian community and within a Shaker community in Florida. Those details were fascinating, but eventually I just became bored with the endless narrative. Much of it read like a primer on Shaker philosophy. I finally stopped reading about half-way. I know Banks' books have high emotional appeal, and this one is no different. I just found the reminiscences tedious at times and have far too many other books on my "to read" shelf to continue. I read other positive reviews, so clearly I'm missing something, but this one was just not my cup of tea.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m torn - I did enjoy this book while but ultimately I came away disappointed. A work of historical fiction, The Magic Kingdom tells the story of the demise of a Shaker community in early 1900’s Florida. Located in the area that would eventually become Walt Disney World, the community is rocked by a scandal centering around the narrator, an unfortunately unlikeable character. Fascinating but long winded and repetitive.

[Fede La Lettrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

• Ho deciso di leggere questo romanzo per via delle tematiche che tratta: le comunità religiose abbracciate per fuggire da un destino di estrema povertà e fame in una Florida di inizi '900. Il fanatismo, il leader manipolatore, la fede che mano a mano si sgretola davanti alla follia e alla menzogna.

• Indubbiamente le tematiche sono presenti, ma la struttura a diario/cronaca/romanzo mancato come se l'autore non riuscisse a decidere quale tra queste scegliere facendo così altalenare il racconto prima su uno poi sull'altra e sull'altro ancora esasperando il lettore, e la prosa lenta, lentissima, ripetitiva, soporifera restituiscono un libro del tutto fallito.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Telling the story from the point of view of an 81 year old man looking back at his childhood and young adult life allowed the author to look at what the passage of time does to our memories. In this novel, Harley is raised in various commune-type settings until his father dies and his mother moves with her 5 children to a Shaker compound in south central Florida. The majority of the book covers his teen years there, his admiration for his mentor Elder John (the leader), and his attraction to a young woman suffering from tuberculosis. Of course tension builds when Harley is confronted with a moral and ethical dilemma that threatens his Shaker family.

The writing is absolutely superb; the descriptions of the swampy areas and how it is made habitable really bring the reader into the story, especially when we learn that this country’s largest amusement park buys the land to build on. But the really genius is the emotion the author brings and the issues the reader is confronted with: right/wrong, is betrayal justifiable, when is truth a lie, sin vs, law.

Thanks to NetGalley and Alfred A Knopf Publishing for the ARC to read and review.

[Lori · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - audible version: Banks’ novels have been some of my favorites, but this one was just SO boring with the shaker rhymes for teaching children and the repetition of troubles faced by the family after the father’s death. Just because the author is a heavy hitter doesn’t mean he doesn’t need a strong editor to tell him when he’s going off the rails. I’ll just stick with his past novels after this.

[Carly Howe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a hard time because this book is such a repetitive yet descriptive narrative. I learned a lot about shaker life but overall skimmed the last half because I just wasn’t interested.

[Jo Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live historical fiction and this book kept me reading. It is cleverly written and I found it enjoyable.

[Bookslut · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excellent. It leaves you a little breathless, it's so immediate and absorptive.

[Ward]

DNF at 62%

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am always drawn to Russell Banks and was excited when I saw this come out. As I started in and realized what the theme was, I was a bit skeptical. Banks writing kept me engaged and I ended up enjoying this story about a Shaker community in Florida. Well done!

[Clifford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rounding up from 4.5 because, despite some repetitiveness and the occasional tedium, I was engrossed in the story of Harley Mann and a Shaker settlement in Florida. When I first got the book, I assumed it was about Disney World, and it is, very indirectly. The story of the Shakers as it turns out is way more interesting.

[KB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve had this on my TBR forever, but wow. 3 stars. It started off so interesting and strong and then just lost me. It was a struggle to finish, but I made it through by playing the audiobook instead of reading like I had been. 😞

[erraticdemon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

There are spoilers in this review unless you are aware of scandals about the Shaker colony in Florida from the early 1900s which I doubt any of you are so you have been warned.

First of all, this is not a book about Disney World. At least, not in the way one would expect. I picked this book up because, as a native Floridian from the part of the state the majority of the book takes place in, I was interested in seeing how it would be represented in a historical fiction book. What made it fascinating to read was the grounding in reality of the real events (from what I saw stated elsewhere - this was based on a real scandal in the real Shaker community here) and the real places in old Central Florida. It kept me engaged as the narrator dragged on and on to avoid revealing his guilty conscience or whatever.

Side note, I looked up the Shaker settlement in Florida and saw an article in the Florida Historical Quarterly from 1959 and many of the details about the colony, and about Sadie, are in this article. Of course, the dramatique narrative about the narrator, Harley, and Sadie having a love affair and Harley's subsequent life long guilty conscience over her death is the fictional part. Anyway, point is, grounding the fictional story in real historical events and real places is a fascinating way to structure the book.

My favorite part aside from the looming presence of Walt Disney World and how overdevelopment will change central Florida is the other looming presence of the sink hole in Harley's driveway. Perhaps the moral is one day if we continue to build where we shouldn't then the sinkholes will open up and swallow us whole.

I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

------January 17, 2023 update----

just learned that we lost another great writer. Banks passed away ten days ago. Sad to hear this news. We will no longer have any new books by this author.

I'm going to have to go back and read some of the other books of his I've missed.


------original posting----

Russell Banks can write. Was fully engrossed with the story, feels so believable and yet it is only fiction. More thoughts on this soon.

------a while later----

Finished reading this book over a month ago, and not sure how I missed posting my review, as I really enjoyed the book. Russell Banks is one of the author’s that I would like to read the entire cannon.

The frame of the story is the author (a fictional Banks) found these tapes and he edited them for this story, which is an old man telling about his youth.

Harley Mann came of age in a Shaker community in Florida, where he fell in love, which was forbidden. She was older and sick with tuberculosis, and of course this not going to end well. It was told so realistically that it felt as if true. Good storytelling! Good narration too.

This is one of my favorite reads of the year.



Thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for an uncorrected electronic advance review copy of this book.

However, I listened to the book via audio from my public library. A great way to read this book. Great narrator voice!

[Joe Mahoney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m still processing this novel and would probably rate it 3.5 stars. Based on some true events, the novel traces the fall of a shaker community in Florida, on the land that eventually becomes Disneyworld. The framing device of the story was clever and I enjoyed the interludes of the “reels,” where Harley Mann narrates the story and speaks directly to the author/reader, the pacing felt slightly off to me, as the story sort of plodded along. I feel like banks was trying to tackle a lot of big ideas in tackling love and obsession, interspersing history of shakerism, capitalism/materialism, family, ambition, etc. however, I do feel like as if there are too many ideas and throughlines to follow. Banks can’t be faulted for sheer ambition and this was written very well and there are pieces here that are worth savoring. However, the execution falls short and as a whole it was truly a middle of the road read for me.

(Advanced copy provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review)

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this book had been as magic as the title promised. It was way too long and full of details that just didn’t interest me. Looking back from the vantage point of an old man, the narrator definitely had a tough childhood being raised in one cult-like community, suffering slave conditions on a harshly run farm before taking refuge with a Florida branch of the Shaker community. At this point the story begins to lag. Much too much tedious detail about tenets of the Shaker faith which alternates with the narrator’s obsession with a young TB patient with issues of her own.
I finally skipped ahead to the last section to wrap the story up and felt none the less for leaving out some of the events. If I had felt that either the Shakers or the narrator had proven themselves successful, I might have become more fully engaged. Instead I felt like a witness to a long term slide to failure.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would be more about the history of Disney in Florida but it is not. IDK I found this very readable and I enjoyed the depiction of life in a Shaker village at the beginning of the 20th century but I found it hard to swallow that the novel's central conflict seemed to be about whether or not a 20-something woman with tuberculosis returned the affections of a teenage boy who was obsessed with her. For me this novel seemed to be constantly adjacent to the story I was really interested in.

[MarySue · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are so many things that make this novel wonderful to me. The plot, set in the early 1900s among utopians communities popular in that time, has interesting and relatable characters with an element of mystery. The setting around the northern edge of the Everglades in Florida eventually becomes Disneyland. The historical interplay of these features is engrossing and suspenseful. I highly recommend this book.

[Caroline Hedges · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is based on the 50% of the book I read. I could not get into this at all. It was too long winded and detailed. I couldn’t wade through the memory lane reminiscent and wasn’t patient enough to keep reading. I scrolled though to find out more about the Magic Kingdom bit but there was too much other stuff that didn’t interest me.
It wasn’t badly written and I am sure there will be many people who will love this.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.