lifelong obsessions

I just finished rereading Russell Banks' Cloudsplitter, a 700+ page novel about the life of John Brown, American abolitionist, reimagined through the eyes of his son, Owen. It's the type of novel that doesn't necessarily invite rereading, but it's the type of novel that, after I first read it nearly twenty years ago, set off what has become a lifelong obsession with John Brown. I've read a dozen John Brown biographies, a second Brown-inspired novel (James McBride's excellent, The Good Lord Bird), even written a dissertation chapter about Brown narratives, and the thing that haunts me most is this: John Brown hated slavery more than he loved his own life. I abhor violence and detest suffering, but reading (and rereading) John Brown narratives reminds me to seek out discomfort in the midst of my comfortable life. Reminds me that people with privilege should be on the front lines dismantling systems that oppress, demean, and destroy people's lives based on race . . . and religion, sexuality, class, and gender. Encourages me to do more. Inspires me to be a better human. Good fiction does that.