Most important books: Russell Banks

Russell Banks, whose many books include the novels Continental Drift, Rule of the Bone, Cloudsplitter, The Sweet Hereafter, Affliction, and the newly-released The Reserve, recently told Newsweek about his five most important books.

And answered a couple of related questions:

A book you always return to:

Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. It makes the reader feel young again.

A book you hope parents will read to their children:

Thornton Wilder's The Bridge of San Luis Rey, a fable about the two questions that all children ask: why are we here and why must we leave?

Read about Banks' most important books.

--Marshal Zeringue