The Reserve

Written by Russell Banks

Narrated by Tom Stechschulte

Part love story, part murder mystery, set on the cusp of the Second World War, Russell Banks' sharp-witted and deeply engaging new novel raises dangerous questions about class, politics, art, love, and madness-and explores what happens when two powerful personalities begin to break the rules.

29-year-old Vanessa Cole is a wild, stunningly beautiful heiress, scandalously linked to any number of rich and famous men. But at her parents' country home in a remote Adirondack Mountain enclave known as The Reserve, two events coincide to permanently alter the course of Vanessa's callow life: her father dies suddenly of a heart attack, and a mysteriously seductive local artist, Jordan Groves, lands his biplane in the forbidden Upper Lake...

Internationally known as much for his exploits and conquests as for his paintings themselves, Jordan's leftist loyalties seem suspiciously undercut by his wealth and upper-crust clientele. But for all his worldly swagger, Jordon is as staggered by Vanessa's beauty and charm as she is by his defiant independence. He falls easy prey to her electrifying personality, but it is not long before he discovers that the heiress carries a dark, deeply scarring family secret. Emotionally unstable from the start, and further unhinged by her father's unexpected death, Vanessa begins to spin wildly out of control, manipulating and destroying the lives of all who cross her path. The Reserve is a clever, incisive, and passionately romantic novel of suspense that adds a new dimension to this acclaimed author's extraordinary repertoire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jan 29, 2008
• ISBN: 9780061629389

Russell Banks

Russell Banks, twice a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, was one of America’s most prestigious fiction writers, a past president 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 he received numerous prizes and awards, including the Common Wealth Award for Literature. He died in January 2023 at the age of eighty-two.  

[steve02476 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Meh. Didn't really care for it. Seemed like a lot was clichéd. I guess just not my kind of story.

[Rafaguillo · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The reserve is another one of those great salads where everything is fine until you dress it, and you overdo it with salt, oil, vinegar, and chorizo—an ingredient that doesn’t really fit, but hey, I’m different!
The story starts with a capricious daddy's girl and a married painter with a strong character.
The passion between the two of them and the drawing of the high society of the 19th century is the main thread, to which different ingredients are added like brief flashes that leap forward in time, and to complete the stew, we'll take a trip through France and Spain, amidst their wars.
The book is saved by the two main characters and their tumultuous romance; well, "saved" is a bit of an exaggeration.
Banks, who had a couple of literary successes, creates a mix of meat, fish, and chocolate that starts off well but doesn't last long.
In short, it’s designed for use and disposal. (Translated from Spanish)

[bnation-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

One of my favourite writers but I thought this book was crap.

[jawalter · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I'm still not sure what to say about this book. I wasn't expecting it to be so much of a soap opera, but ... well, that's what it is. What's really making it difficult to evaluate, however, is that it feels so incomplete. The flash forwards tell the eventual fates of two of the characters, but leaves two others shrouded in mystery. But even in the case of the characters whose lives are given a final punctuation, I felt as though a lot was left unexplored.

I can't help but wonder if Banks decided he wanted to write a trashy novel, but in the end couldn't commit to it.

[ccayne_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I had never read Russell Banks before and I definitely should not have started with this title. It was full of trite dialog and had a preposterous plot, replete with characters which were more caricatures than real people. I only read it because I have a connection to the real reserve which is not like the one in this book.

[pdebolt_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Set in the 1930s, this is a story of multiple deceptions, class distinctions, madness, possible pedophilia, and two very strong personalities. It would make a good movie, but the book itself isn't as engrossing as the subject matter would indicate. The descriptive passages of the reserve were, for me, too long and too intricate.

[billpilgrim_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I did not enjoy this one as much as the other Banks' books that I have read - including Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, and Story of Jamaica. But, I enjoyed the Adirondack setting, having lived in Plattsburgh years ago and hiked the high peaks often.

[markmeg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

O.K.., but plodding.

[hairball_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Banks has done better, much better. I really like RB, but when he misses, he misses big. I read this several months ago, and don't recall much (actually, I recall quite a bit more than I thought I did, but--spoiler alert--not whether the main character dies in Spain or not). I'm thinking that if he did indeed die, that was my favorite part.

[cybrarian_wi_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I had really high hopes for this book and I think I gave it a fair chance but I just couldn't get into this book. None of the characters had any appeal for me and the storyline was a little too slow moving.

[chazzw_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maybe I’d better start reading reviews again. I thought I’d picked up a Russell Banks book. Instead, I get Danielle Steele on steroids. Or should I say, HGH. Well, this is not to say that this was a drag to read. It fairly leapt along from start to finish. Thing is, there were no surprises along the way, and in reading, one didn’t expect any. What you read is what you get.

I suppose movie rights are in the offing. Certainly, it’s ‘cinematic’ from page one, and I’d submit, opaquely so. Funny, I’m thinking that this is not a book I would have bought from the local B&N for example, based on the cover art. Since I borrowed this from the library, it’s not a book I picked up and perused before a purchase.

The characters are strong (too strong?) and well-drawn. But maybe they’re over-sized. They fit best, really, up there on the silver screen. With music a-crescendoing.

Jordan Groves is rich, he’s an artist, he flies his own plane, he’s a free-thinker, and handsome. Hey. Chicks dig him. His wife Alicia is a Nordic Goddess. He’s got two great kids. Vanessa Cole is his female counterpart in many ways, though damaged in some core way. Beautiful, rich and damaged. Hey. That’s sexy! Then there’s Hubert St. Germain who seems to have been raised by wolves in the wilds of the Adirondacks - hunter, trail guide, trapper, and that wool plaid standby - Woodsman. Eh….maybe a little stupid, Socially inept, at least. The strong, silent type, yeah?

Ah, enough. It ain’t that bad. It rips right along just fine, even if the denouement is a bit fey. It’s just a funny book for me to have been reading. I’ll even go so far as to say that if’n you ain’t me, you just might just love it!

[davedonelson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book about bad choices made by less than perfect people. In other words, about your life and mine. The basic difference is that almost all of these people are rich, but trust me, their wealth does not improve their decision-making prowess.